Quarterback Derek Carr
The Oakland Raiders are well rested after spending Week 10 on the bye, and quarterback Derek Carr is eager to get back to work. Wednesday afternoon, the former Fresno State Bulldog went to the podium to kickoff this week's preparation for the New England Patriots.
Following his press conference, here are the quick hits from his chat with the local media:
**No. 4 was asked if there's any added incentive for this Sunday's game against the Pats.
**
"No, if I had to get more amped we'd all have a problem, so no. Good thing, like I told you before, it's a good thing I don't play defense, so I'm not playing him [Tom Brady], or we'd be in even more trouble, but it is exciting. He's done a lot of great things in his career, and he's a Hall of Famer, walking Hall of Famer, so I've got nothing but respect for him. Love his game."
He talked about what it'll be like to travel to Mexico City and play at Estadio Azteca for the second year in a row.
"I think for us we've done such a great job of being able to travel, and make it just like home. Especially taking a week off in Sarasota, and those things. We've done that a couple of times, I feel like we're used to it now, and we love our fans down in Mexico. We love playing in front of them, [because] Raider Nation is everywhere, so it'll be a home game that's for sure."
Carr discussed how the bye week helped him recuperate from the first half of the season.
"My body. My mind. I got a break, which is nice having that bye week somewhere in the middle of the season. You get it too early and it's like, 'we just want to play,' and then you get it a little too late and you're like, 'dang, we want to go on a run.' Ours being right where it's at, we're sitting at 4-5 with a lot of work to do, so it's good to sit back and reflect on what has happened, but really hone in on this week, and how important this game is going forward."
**He broke down what makes the Patriots a tough team to square up against.
**
"They're well coached, they've got first round picks all over the field, they have talent, they have veterans to get them lined up, they've got veterans that know that system, been in that system a long time, and so like I said, stats are misleading a lot of the time. They play very efficient, they tackle very well, they're very fundamentally sound, [and] they don't miss a lot of open field tackles."
Carr praised tight end Jared Cook for the way he's impacted the Raiders offense in such short amount of time.
"It helps us because I think we have guys now, I think the teams that play us see that we have guys that can all go off. Like I said, every team tries to take something away, they try to take a player away, or certain phase of your game, or emphasis, everybody does that. Whoever they take away then that means that other guys have to step up, and [General Manager] [Reggie] Mr. McKenzie and Coach Del Rio have put great players on this team, so when their numbers called they win."
