Q: How is it going today?
Tuck:"It feels weird, very weird. It was good though. It's good to get in here and start meeting the guys and putting faces with the names. Weird because I haven't been in this situation since college, to be honest with you. But, it was good though."
Q: What was the impression or the reputation of the Raiders as an outsider looking in on this time since you came in the league?
Tuck: "I would say talented but hadn't put together, as far as knowing how to win. Beating themselves a little bit. Just go back to our game up there [in New York] last year. They had an opportunity to win, but just couldn't close it out. That's been the M.O., I guess."
Q: With this influx of older, productive, championship-pedigree veterans, do you guys think that you can close that gap and teach this roster how to close games out?
Tuck: "That's our mentality. I've had the opportunity to talk with a lot of the newer guys and some of the guys that have been here. It's funny because all of those veteran guys kind of think the same way. We all have a lot to prove, like I said, [there is] a lot of talent on this football team. We just have to put it together, and I think [General Manager] Reggie [McKenzie] and his staff upstairs have done a good job of mixing veteran football players that still have a lot in the tank and still have a lot to prove and come in here with the young guys and hopefully we can build that chemistry and build a team that is going to be a winner."
Q: Have you heard that kind of talk, that this was a great team in 2009?
Tuck: "Sure, but everybody that says stuff like that, go watch the film last year and tell me that I can't still play the game. Go and watch the film on all of us and tell us we can't still play the game. I don't really care. To me, age is a number. I'm 31, and I feel like I'm 25. For all of us though, what I'm saying right now doesn't really mean anything until we line up in training camp and preseason and the regular season and go out there and do it. I can sit here and talk as much as I want to, and obviously you guys can talk as much as you all want to. I really don't care that much, but once that 15 minutes in the first quarter starts ticking down, none of this really means anything. We'll have the opportunity to prove everybody wrong in due time."
Q: With all of the guys that they have brought in, having a chip on their shoulder and coming to a team that has had back-to-back 4-12 seasons, was it appealing to be a part of something special and turn this around?
Tuck: "Yes. Absolutely. I think the team from last year was Kansas City. I forget what their record was two years ago, but they took a lot of people by surprise with what they were able to do last year. I see no reason why we can't be that team this year. That's what our focus has to be. That's what the talk, the attitude has to be there. It's not coming in here, getting a paycheck. A lot of people always say that you go to Oakland for your career to die. No, I'm not looking at it like that. I'm looking at it like this is an opportunity to revive a very historic franchise in a city with a great fan base that is going to be behind this football team. The energy and excitement around this football team should be great. I'm excited about it."
Q: Having been on two championship teams before, do you see the same level of organization and attention to detail from the coaching staff and things you've been told so far that you saw in New York?
Tuck: "It's one day, but yeah. For me, I've been lucky to only have one head coach up until now. He had a certain way of doing things and everything was detailed to the point where I was like, 'That means absolutely nothing.' But that was just how he did it. Haven't had the opportunity to spend as much time, obviously, with D.A. [Head Coach Dennis Allen] yet, but from the first day, it just seems like all the coaches have a base of organization, have a base of how they want to do things … Even for the guys that were here last year, the word I kept hearing was starting fresh, starting new and learning everything from the ground up. I think that's how you have to approach it. From one day, I really like how they have approached things. We'll see. The things I have heard from coaches is that they want to hear how you guys have done it and if we can incorporate those things and if it will work well for this team. That's encouraging because it's hard to adjust after nine years of doing things one way. But, I do understand that regardless of how it's done, everybody has to be on the same page and everybody has to do it that same way. Obviously, this coaching staff has their way of doing things and I plan on abiding by all those rules and all those ways that they want to do it and try to, again, build a winner."
