Quarterback Derek Carr
The Oakland Raiders will have Week 10 off to recharge their batteries and take advantage of the bye week. Before the team departs, quarterback Derek Carr addressed the media Wednesday afternoon to talk about the team's 7-2 start and how it compares to a couple seasons ago. He shared that the team is aware it can accomplish a lot more and that the work is far from over.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
**Carr shared how the team was able to go from a 0-10 start two seasons ago to its current record of 7-2.
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"We kept our heads down, and we knew that there was an end goal in mind. Obviously, we're not there yet, so we have a long way to go. To see that it's working, to see how last year went, hey, we got better. It's not what we wanted, but it's better. Now to match our win total already, we see that the process is working. Honestly, just makes us bear down more, grit down more, just trying to achieve those things that we have set out."
He expressed that the team hasn't changed the culture yet, but is doing all it can to achieve that goal.
"We haven't done that yet, but this is the process that it takes to get there. [Head] Coach [Jack] Del Rio has done a great job of giving us a vision and a format of how that looks because he's been there. He's done those things. It takes a little bit of both. It's us making it up in our mind, obviously, as players, but it takes a vision and a plan laid out by our leader. I think it's just a perfect mesh of both."
The Fresno State-product talked about the team's bye week and how it comes at a good time.
"It's such a long year and it's way different from college. The rookies are finding that out right now. We've played nine games and usually they're getting ready for their bowl games. They're getting ready for the end of their season. Nah, we're not even close, man. It's a long, long season, so it's good right now. It's like a perfect timing for everyone to just gather themselves, hang out with their family and get back ready again to hit the stretch right."
**Carr discussed that the team isn't where it wants to be, but the players can see the pieces are in place.
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"Absolutely, we're not even close and I say that so one day, hopefully, I'll be able to say, 'See, we weren't close yet.' We're not close to where we want to be and where we need to be. Are we doing really good things? Absolutely. We are doing really good things, but there's so much more out there for us. I don't ever want us to get complacent. As long as I'm throwing the ball here, I'm not going to let guys get complacent. I can see all of these treasures in all these guys, that there's more that we can get out of them."
He broke down why he's been accurate throwing the football and kept the turnovers to a minimum.
"I just try to take care of the ball. I just try to be accurate. The biggest thing is your footwork. You want your footwork to lead you to completions. [Quarterbacks] coach [Todd] Downing always says that to me and you just create a mental clock in your head, 'Hey, you're half-a-hitch too late, get off of it.' Because, it's not worth that risk; there are more completions to be found throughout the progressions. Honestly, I just try to do exactly what coach Downing tells me, because I know that if I do that, it will lead me to good decisions."
