Defensive End Khalil Mack
The Raiders' star defensive end talked with the media on Friday after he participated in the team's first practice of training camp. Mack addressed everything from his EA Sports Madden 17 rating to the expectations for this season.
Here are the quick hits:
Coming off of a 7-9 season, Mack talked about how to improve.
"I believe it's the mindset. We have the talent. I feel like the work we put in out here right now is going to give us the confidence when the season hits to go out and win games consistently. That's what we're looking forward to doing."
Mack noticed a number of positives on defense today.
"You saw the edge effort, you know what I'm saying? That is one of the things that doesn't take talent. I remember my coach, coach [Lou] Tepper in college, he said, 'You have to do the things that take no talent,' and you can tell where the team is going to go. You saw the effort guys going around trying to get the ball out and that's what we need as a defense. We need turnovers, we need guys hustling to the ball, we need 11 guys on the ball carrier at all times. So, that's what we kind of got a glimpse of today."
Mack believes that quarterback Derek Carr is ready to take the next step in his development.
"Yeah man, D.C. [Derek Carr] has always been a leader. You can tell it's a different level of confidence, on the field too, you can see it. The way he groups the guys together, commands the offense in a way. But, he also has a command over everybody in a sense. So, that's what you want to see from your quarterback and that's what he's been showing us."
Mack and Carr have both made an effort to talk about changing the culture and what it takes.
"I feel like we're in the midst of a great turnaround, especially when you think of the leadership. Both of us are coming up on our third year, a lot of new faces, a lot of great guys and a lot of guys that want to come in and work hard. That's what you need. You need guys that are going to come in and work hard, put the pedal to the metal and grind and go out and try to win games. That's all we can do at this point and that's what it's looking like too."
With this being Mack's second season with this coaching staff, he feels more comfortable with the scheme.
"It adds a different kind of confidence because you know what the coaches expect. You know what they want and it's easier because you know the things they're going to tell you when you look at film. So, it's going to be that much quicker for you to take in what they're teaching you in so many ways."
