Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
Head Coach Jack Del Rio
Opening comments: "What a great finish. (It was) great, gritty performance by the team. There are so many different things, obviously, that we will need to do better. That's for tomorrow. Today really helps them with finding a way to get a win. We talked about last year learning how to compete for 60 minutes against every team that we played. Except for one game, I thought that we did that last year. This year, we are talking about learning how to win, learning how to close these games, sticking together and making plays at the end. I am really proud of our guys, really happy for them."
(On going for the two-point conversion late in the fourth quarter to win the game): "I was thinking that we're here to win. Let's win it right now. I thought that we took some clock there at the end so they would not have as much (time). That is why we went for two after the score…..I let them know early in that drive (that we would go for it). I said, 'When we go score here, we're going to go for two and we're going to win it right here. I said that right when the drive started."
(On trusting Michael Crabtree to make the catch on the conversion): "Sure, I trust Crab with that. He's got great hands. He did a nice job. Derek (Carr) gave him a really good ball. Crab(tree) went up really strong (and made the catch)."
(On Jalen Richard): "He is such a great story. The young man came into our camp as an undrafted (player). He did things like that everyday. It's a great story of a young man that just willed his way onto this football team. Coming home like that and to take his first carry and go 70-plus yards, it was just a special moment for him. Obviously, we are very pleased with him."
(On being able to come back and win the game): "At any moment, you can let go of the rope and you're done. We didn't. There were some moments that really hurt. It hurt to hang in and keep fighting. I think that we are developing that skill and that ability to do that as an organization and as a team with that grittiness that says, 'Hey, we are going to keep coming. We are going to keep coming all day.' We came here to win. That is what we are about. I am really proud of our guys for that."
(On being able to win despite a lot of penalties today): "I thought we fought through and made plays. There are so many different things that you want of them, obviously. There are many different things that we will need to clean up and do better going forward. It will be a lot more fun to go through that tape on the ride home."
(On both teams targeting young defensive backs): "I thought thatit was a good game. I thought that both teams probably did more offensively than the defenses wanted. Coming here and playing Drew Brees in this place, it can go like that and you're going to need the ball to score some points. I thought that the timing of Derek (Carr)and the receivers, with the things that they have done through out camp and the time together that they've had, it should be good for us."
(On being able to come back and win the game): "At any moment, you can let go of the rope and you're done. We didn't. There were some moments that really hurt. It hurt to hang in and keep fighting. I think that we are developing that skill and that ability to do that as an organization and as a team with that grittiness that says, 'Hey, we are going to keep coming. We are going to keep coming all day.' We came here to win. That is what we are about. I am really proud of our guys for that."
(On being able to win despite a lot of penalties today): "I thought we fought through and made plays. There are so many different things that you want of them, obviously. There are many different things that we will need to clean up and do better going forward. It will be a lot more fun to go through that tape on the ride home."
(On both teams targeting young defensive backs): "I thought that it was a good game. I thought that both teams probably did more offensively than the defenses wanted. Coming here and playing Drew Brees in this place, it can go like that and you're going to need the ball to score some points. I thought that the timing of Derek (Carr) and the receivers, with the things that they have done throughout camp and the time together that they've had, it should be good for us."
(On removing cornerback Sean Smith from the game following the 98-yard touchdown play between Brees and Brandin Cooks): "I thought that he had a rough day, so we took him out. He'll be back. He's going to play well for us, but he didn't play well today."
(On the missed field goal by the Saints at the end of the game): "I didn't think that he (Wil Lutz): had much of a chance, really. That's a lot on a young guy that's been with the team for a week. It would've been a heck of a kick if he had made it. It's not like it's impossible in a dome in perfect conditions. We got a hand on a kick earlier in the game. I was hoping that we could block it so there wouldn't be a question about it."
Quarterback Derek Carr
"Coach Del Rio came up to me and told me, 'we are doing to go for two.' And I just said, 'OK, no problem.' It is just that kind of belief and that kind of trust, for a coach to believe in us like that. It just gives us so much confidence to have him do that for us."
"We finally got a matchup that we liked. DA – that's Coach (Dennis) Allen – does such a good job of forcing good matchups for him. We knew coming in it was going to be a tough game because he knows me and he knows a lot of guys on this team. We knew he was going to do some things to disrupt me, especially, because of him being with me in the past. We finally got a match up with Crab (Michael Crabtree) that we liked, and I just put the ball up on the top shelf and Crab did everything."
"Obviously it's a great win for us. When I got the call, I took a deep breath, made sure my footwork was right, and just lobbed it up for Crab. That's just my thought process. I say lob it up, but obviously trying to put it in a certain spot where he can make a play."
Wide Receiver Seth Roberts
"It was an amazing game and what you saw out there was a team just keeping it together. We just kept fighting to the very end and we all followed our motto, 'just win baby.' Nobody fell apart and we executed the plays to win in the end."
"This is an amazing step for our team. You look at this group the last few years, Coach (Del Rio) keeps emphasizing to us to follow his plan and to finish out games. We were in many games last year but we just didn't close them out. Even when we got down in the fourth quarter, a lot of guys were going up and down the sidelines saying 'it's not over yet' and reminding everybody there was a lot of time left to score and win. And that's exactly what happened."
"I'm not surprised at all we went for two at the end. I heard in the huddle our offensive line coach making the call, just telling us to be ready. And in the end Derek (Carr) made a nice pass and Crab (Michael Crabtree) brought it in for us to win. We're 1-0 and that's what I was saying to myself the whole weekend and now we're looking ahead to the next W next week."
Running Back Jalen Richard
"I'll remember this game forever and I give all glory to God. It feels great. I've been telling people all along it's been an amazing journey. From high school to going to USM (University of Southern Mississippi), battling injuries like I have, and then coming into (training) camp to win a job and get a spot on the roster, and then to come in here and perform like that in my home state, I'm just so blessed. I can't even put it into words."
"I'll do whatever the coaches want me to do, whatever my role is I will do (it). Even on that long run (in the fourth quarter) my number was called and I made a play. And I felt great I carried the ball late in the game, giving us a chance to win at the end. I am a patient person and a patient player. I was waiting during the game for my number to be called, and when it was called, I knew I had prepared myself to this point to go out there and perform. It doesn't matter if your first carry is in the fourth quarter or at the beginning of the game, you've got to be ready."
Wide Receiver Michael Crabtree
"We fought hard and game out with the W (win). On that last play (2-point conversation), I mean, we practice that so much it becomes routine. I feel like we all made a big play out there, and we all won today. When was the last time the Raiders were one and O? I know its only one game, but we want to win and we did. It's one game at a time and we got the W and I can't wait until next week. He (QB Carr) gave me a great ball there, and he did that the entire game. That shows he trusts me. And it wasn't a gutsy call at all, not at all. He (Coach Del Rio) has a lot of trust in us, and we have a lot of trust in him. I mean when you put in so much work in camp and in the preseason, I feel like all we have to do as players is execute."
"You gotta have heart and we showed it today. We were competitive and never gave up, even when we were behind late."
Tackle Donald Penn
"It was a great call (two-point conversion) and it shows the coaches having trust in us. You have to have trust in your players to make a call like that. Having trust in your players gives him (Coach Del Rio) the guts to make a call like that. I think everyone in this locker room's earned his trust by how hard we're working to win. But we have got a lot of work ahead of us, man. But we are going to enjoy this one right now."
Wide Receiver Amari Cooper
"It's awesome, it really is. It shows we are definitely learning how to win. When we got down late in the game, no one got upset about it. We just kept going. We were resilient today. We all knew we just had to keep playing and make plays."
(On the call for the two-point conversion) "It was just great - phenomenal man. I knew the play was going to Crab (Michael Crabtree) because the defensive player was crowding up on him at the line of scrimmage and he was the closest receiver. And I just knew Crab was going to make that play. He's made it a lot of times."
(On watching New Orleans' final field goal attempt from the sidelines) "On that final field goal attempt by them, I was on the sideline. And it looked like it had the distance, but I just knew he didn't make it."
Defensive End Khalil Mack
"We have a lot of faith in those guys to make the final plays to win the game. By any means necessary. You saw it out there on the first series, when Bruce (Irvin who forced the fumble on Drew Brees in the first quarter) came around the end to make a play like that. Everyone on this team just kept fighting and fighting."
(On his reaction to Sean Smith being pulled from the game after a 98-yard touchdown connection between Drew Brees and Brandin Cooks) "Of course I talked to him right after that. I just went up to him and told him to let that play go. You need to let those bad plays go and just ride it out. Other guys went up to him to show him support and that's what this team does."
