Derek Carr Talks Las Vegas Raiders Week Two
HENDERSON, Nev.-The Las Vegas Raiders (0-1) are ready to get back to Allegiant Stadium for week two of the 2022 NFL regular season.
The Raiders are coming off of a disappointing loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but, the silver lining in a league where only winning matters, is that they didn't play well, against a very good team, and still had a chance to win.
Carr took time to reflect on the loss, discuss the state of the team, and look ahead to this weekend.
You can watch his entire press conference below, and read the transcript.
Quarterback Derek Carr
Q: What were your takeaways after last Sunday's game?
Derek Carr: “Josh [McDaniels] had some things for me and for our team, but I leave all the coaching points to Josh. I don't want to give away what he's telling me and things like that, but we talked about it. We had some stuff to correct, obviously, but we also had some stuff that we could build on, and we tried to do that today, really build on those things and correct those things to have a good practice today, so we can be on to Arizona.”
Q: What's the balance between flushing it and moving on and learning from it as well?
Carr: “I try and learn from every game. I think one of the big things - as you know - in my career, no matter what the game was, we always talked about those five plays. What about those five – the five that keep you up at night. I learned that from Coach [Jon] Gruden, and Josh is the same way. We're going to make sure we correct these, make sure we're on top of these, so that we're better always going forward, and that'll never change. Whether we won that game or lost it, that has always been the process with Josh - we're always going to try and get better - and that's always the process I've believed in. And then you go to practice and try and do those things better, not just say, 'Okay,' and write it in your notebook, but then go out there today and do them."
Q: When you look at a Cardinals team that got it handed to them on Sunday, is it easy to look past the score and look at the team and see what you're up against?
Carr: “I never put too much into stats or into ultimately the score. I want to see the 'why'. I want to see the scheme, I want to see the blitzes, the coverages and the players. I've been on a team with a losing record, but we knew we could beat certain teams when we turned the film on. And we'd go out there and we'd beat them, and people would say, 'Oh my gosh, how did you do it?' Well, when you turn the film on, we saw it based on what we had. So, I never get too caught up in that stuff. They're a really good football team, they caused a lot of turnovers last year stripping the ball on running backs, and receivers, quarterbacks running and all that kind of stuff. They're really good at that. They're really good at creating negative plays. They've got some really, really good football players. Budda Baker is one of the best players in all of football. Isaiah Simmons can do everything. I've literally seen him line up everywhere except maybe nose tackle, and I'm sure he's done that too, I'll get to that. But he's literally done everything. I mean, they've got guys everywhere, they're fast, they can run, they play physical. And so, anytime they have those kinds of traits, and they can create those kinds of problems, you better be on it when you play them on Sunday."
Q: When you're in the pocket and you feel pressure, what is your process of determining whether you stick with the play or try to escape the pocket or throw the ball away?
Carr: “I think a lot of it is dependent on the situation. Sometimes there's times to throw it at a back's feet and just move on to the next play. Sometimes you're trying to hang in there as long as you can. In certain situations - end of game - you're trying to wait for a certain route, and you have to wait. So, it's just more situational. And then putting the ball in harm's way – that's another thing. If it's going to alter something so much and you're going to put it in harm's way, let's try and move on, try and move out of the pocket. Early in the game we had a third down, just move out the pocket and find Tae [Davante Adams]. Those kinds of things happen naturally, but when it comes to the decision in that split second, it's really situational. You hope that you've made the decision, you've already repped it in practice, in camp to where when you get in it then you're like, 'Okay, I know what I need to do, and I know who I need to wait for.”
Q: Last week we talked about balance. Is that something that's just going to come with time in terms of your distribution and what you see even before the snap and how you're making those decisions?
Carr: "Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean there were decisions I made in the game last week that happened before the ball was snapped. I already knew where the ball was going, and we threw it there, we moved on. Whether it's a touchdown, complete – whatever, it didn't matter. You just move on to the next one. But I'm not thinking, 'How many catches does he have, how many times have I thrown it to him.' I leave that to Josh [McDaniels]. I tell those guys, the targets and all that kind of stuff, go talk to Josh. I'm going to read it out exactly how he's taught me, and I'm going to do my best to do it that way."
Q: The pre-conceived notion of each play, where it's going to go, that can change the second the ball is hiked, right?
Carr: "Absolutely. If they fool you on the coverage, then the ball will go somewhere else based on the coverages that Josh has schemed it up for. And again, that puts a lot of work on Josh's plate, a lot of work on us as players when the ball is snapped. But we're not sitting here trying to count like, 'We're going to give him 20 and him 10.' A lot of it can dictate as soon as the ball's snapped or even before if they stay in it."
Q: When you watched the film together with Coach McDaniels from last game, did it immediately click on what you can improve on?
Carr: “Yeah, absolutely. He's a very good teacher. He just doesn’t throw something up on the wall and hope it sticks, like he describes every bit of it so you understand it with every call. And it's hard not knowing our conversation what all that means, but he's very good at explaining, very good at teaching exactly how he wants it done. I mean, I got a lot of philosophies in my head and I'm trying to get rid of them all to make sure it's only what Josh wants. I fought through that a little bit in OTAs and try to clean it up as we keep going. Our discussions from the last game, they were good, they were positive. And then the most important thing is that I do them today in practice. I don't just write it down and say, ‘Oh, yes sir,’ but that I go out there and I do it, and that’s the same for every football player. You always want to make sure whatever they say, now when we go out on the field, is it retaining? Am I actually doing it? That was the important part for us today.”
Q: How valuable is it just getting out there and doing it in an actual game against a real opponent?
Carr: “Yeah, it's completely different than a preseason game. Regular season you are going to get all the looks, it's schematics, it's all of those things. It's not just, ‘Hey, this is our defense, and this is our base offense.’ It’s not all that. So, you're trying to attack certain things and do all that stuff. And so, yeah, it felt great. Felt comfortable in the communication with Josh and in the scheme and everything and clean up the details that him and I talked about. But we feel very confident going forward. I think just communicating with him has been really, really great during the game and after the game. And then last night, we're on the phone getting ready for today. And I think that communication, it fired me up. It's exciting because I know if I just keep working, I can get better.
Q: Has that always been the case where you are talking to the head coach on a Tuesday night before practice on Wednesday?
Carr: “Most of the time. I won't lie to you, not every time. But Josh is on it, he wants to talk to me. He talks to me all the time. He has a set time, as soon as they're done like he’ll call me. He made sure that my kids were in bed already. He’s like, ‘No, go put your kids away.’ So, I put my kids in bed and then we called him back. He was good about that. But we have our conversation just to make sure him and I are always on the same page, and just that communication in those couple of weeks that we've been doing that alone, the growth and the communication. I can see, man, just keep doing this with him and we'll get it rolling and be on the same page. It’s exciting.”
Q: When Dylan Parham is playing center, what kind of growth have you seen from him when it comes to communication, making checks, snap exchange and things like that?
Carr: “Yeah, he's very professional, and I use that term as a great compliment. As a center, you got to be a pro, man. You got to do the job, you got to make the call. You got to help the other four guys. You got to get everyone on the same page after I make a point and all that kind of stuff, and he's been such a pro about it. He's gotten a lot better since day one. That's any rookie. If you ever look at anybody their rookie year or first practice, you’ll be like, ‘Okay, maybe they got it, but they don't have it yet.’ But he's come a long way. He's done some really nice things and so I think his growth at center, at guard, all of that, just as a football player, he's just getting better. I'm excited to see what his future holds for him.”
Q: Did you work a little extra with him (Dylan Parham) this week just in case Andre James can’t go?
Carr: “Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, you try to because of the thousands of reps I have with Andre and then obviously him being a young guy learning and moving (positions), and the game is happening faster and all that kind of stuff. Me making sure I'm taking the snap from him the right way. It's different with every guy, which is funny to say, it's just different with all of them but making sure that I'm ready for that. And so yeah, we get extra work at practice, before, after practice with all the guys just to make sure that we're smooth because that's basic football, you always want to do that clean.”
Q: How excited are you for the home opener at Allegiant Stadium?
Carr: “Yeah, very excited. Our crowd is so loud, it's always a fun atmosphere at home. Any home Raider game is an experience and I always have a blast in front of our home crowd, and I love our fans here in Las Vegas. When we came here, no one knew the home field advantage, what would that be like? Would it be the same as Oakland? And Oakland was a special place. But being here in Vegas, they've been every bit the Raider Nation. It's been loud and it's been exciting. Hopefully it'll be an advantage for us again this year, but I'm excited to have our fans back.”
The Las Vegas Raiders (0-1) kick off at home in Allegiant Stadium on Sunday, facing the Arizona Cardinals (0-1) at 1:25 PM PDT.
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