Quarterback Derek Carr
Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr addressed the media Wednesday afternoon to talk about the upcoming game against the San Diego Chargers. He shared the importance of winning this game at home in front of the faithful Silver and Black crowd. Carr also talked about the weapons on offense, as well as special teams.
Here are the quick hits from his time at the podium:
**Carr shared what he's been able to improve on in 2016, compared to last season.
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"Just trying not to do too much. I still feel that I can go out there and make all of the throws, make every play, and, I'm just learning that I don't have to do that. We have a great weapon with our punter. We have a great weapon with our defense. When we've needed them, they've come up big. So, I needed to learn last year that I don't have to make every play."
He talked about being aggressive with the football and when not to move too quickly.
"When you don't have to, it's being smart with the football and making sure that the ball ends up in our hands and it's something I work really hard to do. It's something that San Diego does a really good job of, taking the ball away. And so, that's something that in practice you have to be smart situationally and knowing when you can do things and when it's probably better not to."
The Raiders signal-caller commended wide receiver Michael Crabtree for his commitment to making plays.
"He was so committed to running the routes how I wanted it done, he was so committed to our relationship being right. He was so committed to making sure he made so many plays for me that I would always look his way, that's what he wants and so far he's done that, man. You have to give him credit. The guy's worked his tail off and he's super competitive to get to where he's at to where if it's one-on-one, he's a great matchup."
**Carr talked about punter Marquette King's ability to be a difference-maker and weapon on special teams.
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"He's been huge. We've been in some backed-up situations where we get pinned back and he'll completely flip the field with a 60-yard punt, put it out of bounds at the 10. Stuff like that, that is just ridiculous. It's not normal. You can tell that man spent a lot of time in the offseason at the park and at the fields just punting, over and over and over again."
He stressed the importance of winning this game at home in front of Raider Nation.
"We need to win at home, there's no doubt about that. We need to win at home. Our fans are too awesome. They deserve it, to have a win in front of them. It's going to be a tough task, obviously, in the division. We need to go out and we need to set a standard at home. We definitely need to do that."
