Quarterback Derek Carr
Saturday night marked not only Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr's 2017 preseason debut, but also the first time he's played in a competitive game since breaking his fibula in Week 16 against the Indianapolis Colts. Following the game, he openly expressed how much it meant to him to be back on the field with his teammates. Tuesday afternoon, Carr met with the media again, to talk about this week's preparation, as well as recap his emotional night on the gridiron.
Here are the quick hits from his media session:
No. 4 talked about the versatility of the offense, and the number of weapons he has at his disposal.
"We were glad, obviously when things are designed, it's built for all different kinds of coverages. People can get other balls, but if they want to take [wide receivers Amari Cooper] 'Coop' and [Michael Crabtree] 'Crab' away, then they've got to cover Jared, Clive, Lee, as we've talked about, as we joke about. That is something that is important, like I said after the game, it's important that we're not limited by a personnel grouping."
Carr reminisced about his return to the field on Saturday, and what it was like to be out there with his teammates.
"I was excited for the game. I was just so happy to be back out there that I forgot how to be calm for a second. That's something that I have to do, especially playing quarterback, but leading up to it pregame, coming out of the tunnel, I was overly, overly excited so I had to take a step back."
At 29 years of age, wide receiver Michael Crabtree continues to be one of the most consistent players on the team, and his signal-caller knows it.
"He's not slowing down. 'Crab' is a guy that genetically he's going to play as long as he wants to play. It's not going to slow down for him. He ran a go route on the one that threw to 'Coop' on the right sideline. 'Coop' went up and got it, you watch Crabtree run on that play and you can answer that yourself. He has not slowed down one bit."
**Carr also shared his thoughts on Crabtree's running mate, Amari Cooper.
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"He's just playing so physical. He's not going to let anybody push him around, and that's his personality since I've known him. He doesn't want anyone to push him around. He doesn't want to take anything from anybody. I think that each year he has gotten so much better at both of those."
The former Fresno State gunslinger talked about this week's upcoming matchup with the Dallas Cowboys.
"You go into a game against Dallas, they're going to be basic, we're going to be basic, because you play each other in the regular season. Everyone knows that. It's not secret. I'm not giving anything away. That's just how it is. You go out there and you compete your tail off. You try to win. But at the same time, you're more focused on playing them in the regular season than you are in the preseason."
