**
Q: What did you learn about yourself as a quarterback after last week's game?**
Carr:"That I can do this. I was able to go out there and play against a great defense, obviously, they're in the top, whatever, every year in what they do. Especially if you get really down to breaking down the stats on their defense, situationally, and all those kind of things. They're good. So to play against them for your first game, I was fired up, obviously, because you want to see as much as you can as early as you can in your career. I want to see, I hope to see everything, knowing I'm not going to, but I want to see as much as I can, that way I always have it in the back of my head, 'Oh, I've seen this before,' like it was in college, like it got to be. 'Oh, I've seen this before, oh this is what they're doing.' So it was nice to be out there, but learning about myself, I feel there's a lot to get better at, but I felt confident and what the coaches are telling me and what the teammates that we have here, that as long as we continue to grow we'll be able to do some good things."
**
Q: That said, what type of adjustments do you need to make before Week 2?**
Carr:"It's hard, because it's a different defense, but I keep a notebook on every coordinator so far that I've played. I take those notes always before and then after the game, I'll write down what happened and what I saw and notes from a lot of different resources in that thing. Put that away, on to the next one. So I'm kind of just moving on to Houston now. That's kind of just the mindset with that. If they did the same, similar type things, then I could have a better answer for that one."
Q: You watched your brother play in Houston when you were younger. Does all of the off-the-field stuff get shut out as you prepare for the game?
Carr:"Yeah, these guys are trying to rip my head off. I'm not thinking about being a kid watching those games. They're coming after me. It's cool, obviously, like you said. I've sat in that stadium who knows how many times, you guys probably know better than I do, but I was there a lot. Knowing Andre [Johnson] growing up, knowing him, having him come to my junior high football games. Not a lot of kids have a Hall of Fame wide receiver coming to their junior high football games. So I have a lot of memories there, especially [Texans Owner] Mr. [Bob] McNair all the way to Toro, their mascot. I always had a good time playing catch with him at practice. I have so many memories, but my goal isn't to enjoy watching them play. My goal now is to go out and compete and try and beat them. That's what I'm trying to get ready to do."
Q: What junior high school did you attend?
Carr:"First Colony Middle School, in Sugar Land."
Q: And you stayed there until David left and then the family moved?
Carr:"Yes, sir. Then I went to Fort Bend, Clements High School in Sugar Land, as well, and then I moved after my junior year."
Q: So your last year at Clements would have been your junior year?
Carr:"Yes, sir."
Q: Why did you bond with Andre? Obviously, he was trying to bond with David. Is that how this came about?
Carr:"I grew up, I was a big college football fan, so I grew up watching the Miami Hurricanes. Everyone knows around that time it seemed like nobody could beat him. So I was a big fan of his and I was hoping during the draft like, 'Man, I hope we get him.' So I was a fan. Then we got him and I was kind of like, 'Man, I kind of want to hang out with this guy.' I would always joke around with him like, 'Someday I'm going to throw you the ball.' You know, joking around and stuff. But now we'll going to be playing against each other, so it's pretty cool. I don't mean to make him feel old, but we get to play against each other now, so it'll be pretty cool."
Q: Every quarterback that faces J.J. Watt gets asked the question, what do you see on film?
Carr:"He plays a high motor. I respect the heck out of guys that play hard all the time. I have nothing but respect for him. Obviously, he's one of, if not the best players not just at what he does, but players in the NFL. So it'll be fun to play against him, obviously. You always want to play against the best and he is definitely one of them."
Q: Did you do much changing of plays at the line of scrimmage in the first game?
Carr:"Yeah. With this offense, how much we're asked to do that Coach Olson asks us to do as quarterbacks, there is a lot of things that we have to handle at the line of scrimmage, so yes. Obviously, I can't get into what time and all that, but there were definitely some."
Q: Coach Olson said going into the game that you probably would rely heavily on Stefen Wisniewski in terms of protections and things. Is that the way it played out?
Carr:"Yeah, definitely, because he has played them before and I would be silly to go in there and override some of the calls he was making. This is my first start, whereas he's played a lot of football. Obviously, I know the calls and I know what's going on and I could see everything that he was saying. Then if I saw something, I would change it, but at the same time, he had seen a lot of that stuff way before I have. Obviously, it was my first game, so we did rely heavily on what he was doing. But every single snap, it doesn't matter if we're at practice or if we're playing a game, we're both making calls. So it kind of just goes hand in hand, but am I going to override it, am I going to change it kind of a thing."
Q: You talked about the good memories of your time in Houston, but it must be somewhat bittersweet. Your brother had a rough time there. They didn't have the best supporting cast and everybody knows what happens. Where does that stuff factor in?
Carr:"I've got to be honest, my time in Houston was awesome, plus they have so many restaurants. My goodness, on every corner. I don't know if I ever ate at the same place. But I loved Houston, I really did. I still have some of my best friends from Houston that I talk to. Football-wise, with what happened with Dave, I mean they were an expansion team. I can tell you personally, I've played in I think four games now in the NFL, and I know that you cannot do it by yourself. I'm not saying that he was right every time. I'm not saying that anyone else was wrong. I'm just saying it takes a team effort to win football games. It is what it is, but we loved our time. You could ask him, he loved it. We love that city, we have nothing but love for that city, and especially for Mr. McNair. Mr. McNair and his wife are the first class. They always were."
Q: At the age you were watching some of the beatings he took in the games that were played, it couldn't have been easy.
Carr:"No. All I remember, because I didn't really know much about football yet – I mean, only the things that my brother taught me and stuff like that – but all I knew was I grew up a Cowboy and Raider fan. I was like, 'I never saw those quarterbacks get hit that much.' Just being honest, that was what my thought was as a kid. Being older and going back and watching his games, I understand what was going on now."
Q: Before David went to Houston, you grew up in California, Fresno and all that. The Raiders resonated with you, so it's kind of cool that you're the Raiders quarterback now.
Carr:"Absolutely. My uncle played here. We all had Raiders shirts. I had Raider jackets before I even remember I had a Raider jacket. So being able to play here is just an honor."
*Q: Have you reflected at all on how strange it is that Matt Schaub replaced David, and here's Matt and now you and Matt, and some would say you've replaced Matt. *
Carr:"It's just one of those things. Is it a great story? It's one of those things you could talk about and all those things. But to Matt and I, and to David, it doesn't mean anything. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just it doesn't mean anything to us. All we care about now, Matt and I, is helping the Raiders win. However we can do that, that's our mindset, so it was never like a clash or a, 'Hey, you took my brother's job,' or that kind of thing. It was never like that, because he is, first of all, the most professional person I've ever been around. Secondly, we have the same mindset. We just want to win."
Q: Right now is it a little awkward, or has Matt remained unchanged in terms of your relationship?
Carr:"He's been awesome. He's been nothing but help. As a rookie, there's so much to learn, especially at this position alone. He's done everything that he can every single day, every single week to help me. Again, I sit up here all the time and thank him. I can't thank him enough, because he's helped me so much."
Q: Dennis Allen talked about how you guys had some deep pass plays called on Sunday, which you didn't really get to them for various reasons. Why do you think you weren't able to stretch the field more?
Carr:"It depends. We could put the film on and I could break down each one. One time I had to step up. We're taught certain things, you step up certain ways, a certain way things happen on a certain play, check it down, these kind of things, just because of the timing of stuff. There's so many – one time we called one and the corner was playing way off. I'm not going to throw the ball when the corner's 15 yards ahead of my guy looking at me. You just can't. It just depends on the situation, the coverage. There's so much that goes into it. They were called. There's no doubt they were called, but if we went down there and out of 30-something throws, we threw it down the field 28 times, it would have been probably even worse than it looked. It doesn't always work out the way you want it to, but they were called and we're going to continue to call them."
Q: What's the biggest difference between preparing for the Jets defense and preparing for the Texans defense?
Carr:"The biggest difference I guess now after playing a game, just for me, I know how to prepare. I had a plan. Coach Olson always talks about, 'Hey, have a plan. Know how you're going to prepare, play the game and then reflect back on that play. How did it work?' Now I can take my plan and say, 'OK, I saw the blitzes they were bringing, I knew the coverages they were playing, I knew who we wanted to go at,' and all these things. 'That plan worked. This, I didn't really like this on this day.' Now I can take it to this week and change it. This is only my second game starting, so that's really all I have to go off of. But being able to play and now I have my plan set, how I like to do things, it's so helpful and beneficial to me. Like I said, with time it's going to keep getting better the more experience I get and the more I can use that plan and say, 'Oh, let's go back and change this. I need to look at this more.' So like that."
