Quarterback Derek Carr
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr didn't have his best day at the office against the Buffalo Bills, but I can assure you the former Fresno State signal-caller is taking every step to ensure he gets this offense rolling again. At 3-5 the Silver and Black don't have much margin for error, and in the second half of the season they'll need to get things ramped up if they want to have a shot of making the postseason. Wednesday afternoon, Carr met with media members to speak about the team's preparation as they enter Week 9.
Here are the quick hits from his time at the podium:
Carr talked about the intensity level, and how the team is looking at the second half of the season.
"We've seen where we're at, and we've seen what we have to do. Now it's the leaders' jobs, not only myself, there's a lot of us on this team that have to make sure we're pushing the intensity at practice because that's really our first work day. The Tuesday practice is just a walk-through kind of deal. But today is really that day. We take it not only from the meeting room but to the field to make sure we're finishing and doing those kinds of things right."
No. 4 spoke about the return of running back Marshawn Lynch.
"I think that having him back, again I said it last week, having a teammate come back, whether they were injured or suspended, whatever it was, whenever they're away, you miss them because they're brothers. You spend so much time together and all of those things, so getting him back, obviously, everyone was excited to see him. Running up, seeing him, how's he doing, all those kinds of things. I would say yes. To answer that absolutely. Anytime someone comes back, everyone is excited."
He shared his thoughts on rookie safety Obi Melifonwu, and what his initial impressions have been of No. 20.
"Crazy athletic. I think what he's going to be really good at is being able to man-match tight ends. I really think that's an advantage for him. Usually as a quarterback you see a safety and tight end, we like that. But Obi is the kind of guy who's fast, he's explosive. He's strong and he really works hard. Every time he's been running the scout team, he comes up to me and this is really the first time this has ever happened, you'll like this. He came up to me and said, 'Hey, man if I'm doing the look wrong or anything like that, tell me because I want to give you the best look.' That just shows his selflessness. That just show how much he just wants to do it the right way."
**Carr commented on the current training conditions in Sarasota, Fla., and how the team is enjoying their time together.
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"Obviously, the rooms are nice, we're sleeping in good beds. The food is right there prepared for you, so there's no time wasted there. We're eating the right things. I mean there's so much, but it starts with him [Owner Mark Davis] allowing us to be able to do this. It starts also with a vision form Coach Del Rio saying, 'This is what we need to do in order to maximize our bodies and our minds for Sunday.' Doing it a second time. I loved it the first time. It's also, again I think we talked about it, it's like a mini camp again where everyone is eating together. Everyone is going out to dinner together. Everyone is together, and It's nice to not have to drive in traffic for a week."
He finished his presser by explaining how the team has a sense of urgency, but isn't overlooking the little things.
"We have to attack our process with urgency but don't rush things when we get on the field. The preparation is where you get after it. The preparation of your body, training the mental side is where you get after it. Then when you get on the field you have to compete and just let it flow. I think we have a lot of guys, and you guys know I've been open about it, my mistake is trying to do too much for my team instead of letting our team just do it together. I'll try to make a hero throw or a hero check or whatever it is. That's my mistake. I think that's more of what he's talking about is be urgent in the preparation and the process, but we you get on the field, just cut it loose because we're all talented enough to go out there and play well."
