KNBR conversation: Derek Carr

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An edited transcript of a conversation with Raiders quarterback Derek Carr.

Q: I imagine after your rookie year, there are a lot of things you could work on. What are the things you’re concentrating on heading into year No. 2?

A: Just being more efficient on every down. We were in some bad situations last year in games and really just trying to learn. ... But we were also in some situations where we had to go down and win some games, so just growing on all of that. It was my rookie year, so it was a learning experience. You want to make sure that whatever you see on tape you’re working on. What’s nice now is that I know what to work on, whereas my rookie year, I went into it blind; I didn’t know. This year, I went into the offseason to make sure I was efficient on every single play.

Q: How much of this is just mental, seeing stuff you haven’t seen before and just going through it?

A: Every time I turned on the film as a rookie, I was seeing things for the first time. All the time I sat down with my brother (David, a former NFL quarterback), and he taught me coverages, blitzes and fronts, protection and routes, everything. But it’s different when you do it for yourself. So I would sit there and I would study and I knew what I needed to do, but every time I stepped onto the field, it was the first time I’ve seen it in person. ... Now when I turn on the film, I have that mental picture from playing quarterback and I know this is what I do, this is where I go.

Q: What percentage of the time would you say you made the right play in the first half of the season as opposed to the second half of the season where you say, “I made the right read and made the right play”?

Derek Carr passed for 3,270 yards and 21 TDs as a rookie. Derek Carr passed for 3,270 yards and 21 TDs as a rookie. Photo: Eric Risberg, Associated Press Photo: Eric Risberg, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close KNBR conversation: Derek Carr 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A: I don’t know the percentage, but I’ll try to explain it the best I could. ... At first, I was just learning on the fly and I grew up real quick and felt, “Hey, I can really do this.” Later in the season, I was able to tell at times when teams were disguising their coverage. Little things like that mean so much. It’s hard to put a percentage, but as it’s going on I’m like, “I’m starting to get this.”

Q: Was there a game last year where all of a sudden you said, “I got this,” or at least I got as much as I can have right now?

A: We had a bye week and after that bye week, I believe we played San Diego, and I was starting to make protection calls on my own and I knew the coverages. I knew where the ball was going every time. Statistically, it was a good game, but I didn’t care about that. I knew where the ball was going; there was no hesitation.

Q: Was there a time last year or in college when you got hit and you’re just like, “I really just want to lay down here”?

A: Oh yeah. Me and my brother have talked about it quite a bit. We’ve talked about those times where you get rocked and you’d rather just take a nap on the ground as opposed to getting up. But that’s one thing our dad instilled in us: “If you’re not going to get up, then it better be pretty serious.”