Football is back or it’s closer than it was five months ago. After months of social unrest, and the COVID-19 pandemic and uncertainty, the NFL season will finally take place. Just days away from Week 1 taking place, Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Derek Carr has a message.
The Raiders have given Derek Carr weapons to succeed
Derek Carr had one of his best statistical seasons in 2019. However, it wasn’t enough to get the Raiders over the hump and finished the season with a 7-9 record. It’s true the quarterback’s touchdown total wasn’t very high at 21, but he wasn’t the reason the Silver and Black had a losing record in 2019. He definitely needs to play better in the cold and he must do a better job scanning the field.
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden knows what kind of quarterback he has in Carr, so he and general manager Mike Mayock spent this past offseason surrounding him with weapons. The team drafted Henry Ruggs III and Bryan Edwards back in April. They also signed tight end Jason Witten and Nelson Agholor in free agency. Carr has arguably the best surrounding cast he has had in his career. He also has a new mindset going into the 2020 season.
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The days of being a people pleaser are dead and gone
Carr has a reputation for being a “nice guy”. Some have called him sensitive and others have labeled him as soft. Whether he should be paying attention to what others say about him, the quarterback says he used to but not anymore. In a conversation with Adam Schein of NFL Media, Carr said he has a different mindset going into the 2020 season.
In Schein’s Mad Dog Sports Radio show, the Raiders quarterback mentioned that he no longer cares about what others say of him. He emphasized that they don’t know his situation and what’s going on.
“It is what it is, I’m just tired of the talk and I’m just ready to play. I’m excited to take my group of guys and go and do this thing. People can keep saying all they want. I think I’ve grown to a place where I just don’t care anymore. I’ve always been a people pleaser, I’ve always tried to appease everybody, but those days are dead and gone. I’m here, no disrespect to anybody, but I’m not here to be anybody’s friend, I’ve got enough of those. I think it’s time to just go out and play football and not to care about the other stuff.”
Carr also made sure to thank Schein for being one of six voters that believed the Raiders quarterback was the NFL’s 2016 MVP. Schein is of 50 writers that casts a vote on the Associated Press NFL MVP awards.
Words only take us so far and we have yet to see if Carr has indeed gotten that Mamba Mentality. We’ll find out soon enough in the Raiders upcoming Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers.
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