Las Vegas Raiders Derek Carr Week 8 Update
HENDERSON, Nev.--The Las Vegas Raiders find themselves entering their week eight tilt against the New Orleans Saints with a disappointing 2-4 record, but riding a wave of some momentum.
This team is loaded with talent, rejuvenated, and excited to return to action this weekend.
You can watch the entire press conference below, and read the transcript:
Quarterback Derek Carr
Q: It seemed like last game the play-action pass game worked well for you guys. What do you think has allowed that to work out so well, and how can you carry that forward?
Carr: "I think it all starts with how we run the football. When I turn my back and stick the ball out to Josh's stomach, people have to believe it. And so we were able to hit some good play-action passes, but that all stems from the offensive line and Josh going to work. So, if we want to keep doing that, we've got to keep running the ball well and ne able to have both phases. A lot of execution and all that kind of stuff comes into play."
Q: When we see you move up in the pocket - there were a couple plays where you did that - how much of that is just improvising, but also practicing and also knowing your offensive line and getting a better handle on the offensive line?
Carr: "Yeah, and learning the scheme. When you're sliding, where's the double team, where are the easier spots to get into and all that kind of stuff. Knowing those things - as a quarterback - knowing their rush plan as you go throughout the game, how teams want to rush you and put pressure on the quarterback and things like that. A lot of it's that, a lot of it's just reactive. Some of its that and some of it is just by play design, I'm just trying to step up - sometimes I'm trying to look, I can't really see over Kolton [Miller] sometimes – he's is 6'9''. So some of it is that too. But whenever I can make space, really I'm just trying to buy time to find space to be able to get the ball out of my hands to our playmakers."
Q: We've seen some trick plays from you guys. As players do you guys kind of like that when you see it in the playbook?
Carr: "Yeah, I mean it's fun. It's fun in practice, everyone talking trash to Josh [Jacobs] if he can throw or not and all that kind of stuff, so it's fun. I mean, we have a lot of fun with them. And we feel if you rep them enough, it's not really trick play, it's just play you execute at a high level. We were able to hit one, and I think we ran two last game. Every team always has them, but Josh [McDaniels] - it's up to him. Does he like how he saw it in practice and calling them and things like that."
Q: When is your catch coming?
Carr: "Oh my gosh, I don't know. Hopefully someday, I don't know. I think I'm at negative yards right now, because I caught a ball batted back to me. So one day, maybe."
Q: What led to the success in the red zone this week compared to the struggles that you've had in previous weeks this year?
Carr: "I think one, what was awesome is we just ran it in. I think we had three plays, three touchdowns. And if you count the one on the 26, that's four plays. Going back to the KC game too, we were able to score from distance. When we got down there, we were able to execute on the run play down there. We just can't hurt ourselves with penalties, and it takes, again, and offensive football - it takes all 11 doing right. And when all 11 do right, to us we believe that we should have a successful play. If we can keep doing that, hopefully we can have success. But this team that we're playing this week is unbelievable in situational football."
Q: Could you talk about Thayer Munford's maturation, please? He seems to be looking, from where he was in an OTA to now, like he's a different player.
Carr: "Yeah, absolutely. And he's worked really hard. From when he came in, you're like, 'Okay'. You could see the talent, but he was just not there yet like every rookie. And that's not a knock, it's just a fact for all of us that come into the league. As he kept working, all of a sudden we got into camp and you're like, 'This guy, he's onto something. He's taking the coaching, he's retaining all the information,' and he's still a rookie, so he'll have mistakes and things like that, but I've been very proud of the work that he's put in, because he's been able to come in and help us and played some really solid football for us."
Q: You only had him for four games, but Dennis Allen drafted you. What are those feelings like when you look across the field and see DA over there for the first time being a head coach again for the first time since you were rookie?
Carr: "DA [Dennis Allen] and I have a great relationship still to this day. And I still talk to him and things like that - obviously not this week and all those things, but we've always kept in contact, we've always been close. I love him, I loved having him. Obviously I didn't know what had gone on before I got here, so all of a sudden, boom it's four games, boom, he's gone. I'm like, 'What the heck. Is this how it's supposed to go? Like what is going on?' And come to find out all the cap problems and this and that and all the things that he had to try and work through, it's tough. And then you see him leave, and all the success that he's had as a defensive coordinator. So to see him get another chance at being a head coach, I was so happy for him, because I loved him. He's a brilliant mind, really smart, cerebral, can break down an offense, can really put pressure on quarterbacks, make it hard on them. From a quarterback perspective as a defensive coach, I had a great relationship with him. We had open communication for the short time that we had, and I'll never forget it. I mean, he gave me my chance in this league, and I've told him 100 times and I'll tell him 100 more times how thankful I am for the chance that he not only drafted me, but to trust me when he asked me if I was ready to start. And obviously the rest is history. So it's crazy that it's almost been 10 years now, that it's been that long, but him and I, we've always stayed close, again obviously except this week."
Q: Losing Dennis Allen, was that your first introduction to it all? You've learned a lot about the business, you've been through a lot. From a business perspective, is that the first lesson of, like, 'oh, that's what this is.'
Carr: "Yeah, 100%. Because you're just so caught up in like, 'Man, I'm in the NFL and I'm starting as a rookie.' They told me I wasn't going to play for a while. They were going to build the team around me, and then all sudden, they were like, 'Hey, you ready,' and I'm like, 'Okay, yeah lets go.' I think all the emotions of it, then all sudden you're hit with that out in London and you're like, 'Dang.' I had just got hurt like really for the first time. I'm like, 'Bro, what is going on? This sucks. Is this what it's like all the time?' So, I got welcomed into the league pretty quick with that. Obviously, you guys know we've been through a lot. A lot of us that have been here have been through a lot for some years right, but hopefully that's done."
Q: You got Darren Waller back on the practice field today. It's been a little bit of stop and start with him going all the way back to training camp. Especially with a new offense, getting him acclimated and getting on the same page. Has that process been a little difficult because of that?
Carr: "Yeah, I mean I think probably more so for him. He's probably frustrated, no one wants to get hurt. Like I said after the game, you get hit the ribs, you don't want to miss a play let alone a game or more games. I know especially the kind of competitor he is, the kind of person that he is, I know it's eating him up to have to miss. But the timing and all that kind of stuff that we have together, I mean that'll help us to a certain extent. It's a new playbook, it's a new system, it's new reads, those kinds of things. But we've had a lot of time in OTAs and training camp and games during the season, but it'd be great to have everybody healthy and just see what we can turn it into. But yeah, I think he could talk on it better. You guys know him, he's always positive. So if he's frustrated, he hasn't shown it, but I'm just banking on him being human."
Q: Do you have an idea of what this could look like when everybody is healthy and out there on the field again?
Carr: "I think we saw it a couple of times in practices. We've had glimpses of it in games here and there, but that doesn't mean anything, that's just a fact, we have to go out there and do it. It doesn't matter what you do in the offseason, it doesn't matter all that stuff. You've got to put the work in, you've got to do it together and it's going to be hard, it's going to be gritty, it's going to be physical, it's aggressive, it's violent, it's a tough game. So, you've got to be able to have everyone, all 11, push through that, and then you can see what it looks like. Hopefully we can at some point get everyone out there healthy. In the NFL, that's hard to do, and everyone has stepped up and played good football for us, but if we can do that then we can find out. But for the time being, it doesn't promise us anything."
Q: Seeing the Saints defense on tape and obviously Tyrann Mathieu you're familiar with, he's familiar with you. How much of an impact do you think he'll have in their preparation for you guys?
Carr: "Yeah, him and I, we know each other well, and we've talked off the field. We know each other, have great respect for one another when it comes to playing this game. The things that he's been able to do from college, his story, the injuries, different teams, all the success, the Super Bowl, all of those things, the player that he's become and the man that he's become. I'm just happy for him and all that. Especially with a coach like DA [Dennis Allen], just to move him around and be able to do things with him, intensify his skill set, he's going to put him on display. So, he's made a lot of big plays over there, especially in Kansas City, and he's made plays here at New Orleans. It doesn't surprise me, he's a really good football player. He's one of the best safeties in our game, and he can be in the box, up high, cover two, blitzing, he does everything. And when you have a guy that can do a lot, you can do a lot with him and he's a he's a competitor too. That's one thing I can say about him, he's a great competitor. And this defense, all of them are physical, they're violent at the point of attack, they're aggressive, and there's a lot of great people on that defense that I've gotten to know over the years. And none of us like each other this week, but I do have respect for those guys whenever we're not playing them."
Q: A lot of teams have kind of phased out of the full back position. They don't even have rosters sometimes, but you've had some good ones in the past. What does a full back of the offense, and how does it help the quarterback?
Carr: "What's crazy is even going back to my rookie year with Marcel Reese and [Jamize] Olawale and these guys that not only could be a thumper and open up holes, but run routes and catch the ball. I've been around different fullbacks but having that part of the offense with everyone going to the 11 personnel and all the receivers and the big plays and all this kind of stuff, it brings an element of some teams don't practice it anymore. There's an element of that, that there's different formations, there's different people on the field for them. It's not just five DBs all the time, they're playing their base groupings and all those things. So, having all those things, just speaking in general terms in football, for years you watch teams like the Saints when Gru [Jon Gruden] was here and with Josh, they've always just had different personnel groupings to just make it hard on defenses. And from what I've seen, those guys have had a lot of success. Kyle Shanahan is another guy, they have a great fullback. They use them well and they do things with him in the routes, in the backfield and all that, and it just gives you different fronts and different looks."
The Raiders travel to the Big Easy to take on the New Orleans Saints next Sunday. That game kicks off at 1 p.m. EDT (10 a.m PDT) and can be seen on CBS.
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