Quarterback Derek Carr
The Oakland Raiders will take on the Carolina Panthers this Sunday at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, in what should be a quarterback duel. Current MVP candidate Derek Carr will face off against a tough Panthers team who happens to have last season's reigning MVP Cam Newton under center. The Raiders returned from their showdown in Mexico Tuesday, but are already focused on this Sunday's bout. Prior to Wednesday's practice, Carr met with reporters to discuss the upcoming game and the obstacles of practicing on a short week.
Here are the quick hits from Carr's time with the media:
**The third-year quarterback talked about preparing on a short week as opposed to a full week of practice.
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"Just that you don't really have a day off, you know? We kind of had one yesterday but there's so much film to watch. It's not like you can just get a head start. You have to hit the ground running and so that's fine with me. That's fine with our team, because we have a plan, we have a good plan that Coach Del Rio put out there for us. So, it's good for us, but I would say that's really the only disadvantage in a short week, is that extra day where you can get a little extra in or whatever. But, you just make it up on the back end."
Carr shared his thoughts on the team's offense and praised the front office for putting it together.
"Absolutely, and it's a big advantage that we have. Like I said after the game, I think [General Manager] Reggie [McKenzie] and Coach Del Rio have done a great job in our front office of bringing players in that can do a lot of different things. And, that's why we always talk about it, we can throw it 60 times or we can run it 50 times. Whatever the game dictates and however our coaches want to attack it, that's how we're going to attack it. We knew that we had some matchups that we liked in certain situations and we got the coverages we wanted for those plays and they did a great job."
The Raiders signal-caller acknowledged the emergence of fullback Jamize Olawale and what he brings to the table.
"He's here for a good amount of time and hopefully he'll be here as long as I am. I love 'Maze' [Jamize Olawale]. The cool thing about him is that not only is he a real, really good football player, he's one of the best people I've ever been around. He's quiet, he's funny and he works extremely hard. So, whenever you have a guy like that having success, everyone in the locker room feels good for him."
**Carr is confident that the offense is capable of winning games in a multitude of ways due to its versatility.
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"It's very important to know that we can win a football game either way. I can only speak offensively, because I don't know what goes into the defensive meeting rooms, but for us I know that if we need to win a football game, like I said we can do it either way. We can run the ball 50 times or we can throw it 60 times. I think 59 times we did in Tampa. So, however we have to do it, I'm all for it as long as we just keep winning."
He expressed that he's happy to have rookie running back Jalen Richard on the team and that he's a smart player.
"I was very impressed. In my head I was like, 'Stay up, go score,' but it's very smart. I don't know how they found him. I don't know how other teams didn't find him. But I'm glad he's on my team and I'm glad he's going to be on my team for a long time. Very good football player, obviously, we all know that; very dynamic, very explosive."
