Quarterback Derek Carr
Napa Valley, Calif. – The Oakland Raiders completed a light practice without pads this afternoon, as the team is set to depart tomorrow for its first preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Friday. Quarterback Derek Carr took time after practice to speak with the media about the upcoming game and where the team stands going into its first matchup.
Here are the highlights from his time at the podium:
Carr keeps the same mentality for every game; whether it's the Super Bowl or preseason, he plans to play his heart out.
"Just play my heart out. That's every time, whether it's preseason, regular season, playoffs, Super Bowl, whatever. Hopefully we'll get there, but no matter what it is, I'm going to play my heart out, whether it's one play or 90 plays. Anytime you put an NFL jersey on, put a helmet on, it's time to go."
Carr understands that preseason is a time to work out kinks, and wants to make sure the team is on the same page.
"When you go out there, you just don't want to have pre-snap penalties, all those things. You want to play clean football. There's obviously going to be mistakes first time playing in a game and those kinds of things, but you always want to make sure you're playing clean football and you always look back and make sure that we're better, practice included."
**He praised the offensive line for being a tight-knit group and having great leadership from both the players and coaches.
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"They're a close bunch. I mean they're joking with each other all the time, making fun of each other nonstop. They sit together while they're eating. Obviously, most of them room together. That's a close, tight-knit group and that comes from their leadership in [offensive line] coach [Mike] Tice and [assistant offensive line coach] Tim [Holt]."
Rookie safety Karl Joseph has stood out to Carr and believes that Joseph can be a vital player for this team.
"Great player. Karl is a great player. I'm excited that he's on our team and healthy. He looks great, man. He's going to be a great player. He did a great job. Reggie [Nelson] is teaching him really well back there. [Assistant defensive backs] coach [Rod] Woodson, 'M-Rob' [defensive backs coach Marcus Robertson], they're doing a great job with him, [Defensive Coordinator] coach [Ken] Norton, Jr. They're teaching him what it takes to be a great safety."
Carr acknowledged the amount of talent on the team and thinks this is a special group. "This team right here talent-wise is very talented, extremely talented. Obviously we've seen most of these guys play and we've seen what they can do and now they're all together on one team. All those things are great. Compared to last year, obviously, we're better. Hopefully our record will show that, what we earn. Talent-wise, absolutely. You can definitely see it."
