Best Derek Carr Quotes from SiriusXM Interview
Saints quarterback Derek Carr joined SiriusXM's Mad Dog Sports Radio with host Adam Schein on Tuesday. You can catch the full 18-minute interview on demand here. Naturally, Carr talked about a variety of topics as we approach Week 1 of the regular season. Here's a few of the best quotes from his interview.
CAN YOU BE REJUVENATED AND HAVE A CHIP ON YOUR SHOULDER AT THE SAME TIME? IS THAT POSSIBLE?
“Oh, absolutely. (laughs) I think it's fair. I think that chip on your shoulder, when you wake up, it's always there. I remind myself all the time, I got cut. And I know maybe I could have accepted a trade and all that, but I like to remind myself that I was cut. (laughs) I like to say that to myself. And I like to think that every time I walk into this building I just see the atmosphere, the culture that has been created here over the last 10 years, it is one of the most winning programs in all of football. One of the top five most winning programs in all of football. You see why when you get in the building. This program I've been very impressed with, how they do things and how they carry out their business. And I’m just excited to add value to them.”
ON WHAT HE'S SEEN FROM THE SAINTS DEFENSE
“I think the most impressive thing that I've seen is the intensity [with] which they practice. Every great defense you hear about, it was the intensity of practice, the intensity of practice, those old Buccaneers defenses, the Ravens defenses, all of those great defenses that were at the top of their game. [It] was the intensity that they brought. We have a lot of alpha dogs on that defense and you feel their presence every single day. It's been the most intense practices of my 10-year career, from OTAs to veteran minicamp to training camp, going against them. My challenge and my goal was to make sure they felt the same way about us. Because we knew we were going to feel that way about them. I think going against them every day helped us all get better, helped us compete. Man, you see some guys out there with obviously all the talent, but it is the physicality and violence that they play [with] every single day. They don’t do it just one day. It’s literally instilled in them, it is ingrained in them, it’s what they do every day here. It’s been fun to watch, that’s for sure. And I’m glad that I’m on their team now.”
HOW'S MICHAEL THOMAS?
"Mike is doing great. He's in a great place. He's looked fantastic all training camp. He just looks fantastic. I'm just so proud of the work he's put in. The one thing I'll say about Mike is when he runs routes, he runs violent, and he's physical. The way he runs routes and the way he plays the game is the way he attacks his recovery. It's the same way that he studies and watches film and knows his position and knows his assignment. He's violent. He's aggressive. He doesn't care who you put in front of him, he's Mike Thomas. He's going to run violently. He's going to play as hard as he can. If he makes the play, awesome. If he doesn't, I promise you he'll make it next time. He just doesn't stop. I think that's why Saints fans and football fans all around him have fallen in love with him. Just wanna see him back on the field. Just like I do. A lot of my decision-making went into my confidence into how he felt and where he thought he was and all that kind of stuff. He's proven it to me, and not that he had to, but he's proven it to me every single day that he's still fully capable of being the Mike Thomas that we've all seen. Now, we have a lot of weapons, so does that mean that he's going to have all the stats? I don't know. I hope so for him. I hope so for everybody. My goal is to always distribute the ball wherever it should go, and I can guarantee you it's going to go his way a lot."
IMPRESSIONS OF CHRIS OLAVE, ALVIN KAMARA
ON OLAVE: "He is someone that understands. I don't think he gets enough credit for how smart of a football player he is and understanding the timing, understanding the windows, understanding the speed and tempo which he needs to run certain things to set things up. His versatility too, to be able to run all the routes. He's not just a deep ball guy. He's not just an intermediate-short guy. He can do everything. Very impressed by Chris and his mentality, and very excited to see him continue to grow as a player. But he was another guy I'd watch on film making my decision, and you're like, 'Man, I can see what this can potentially be.' I see what it is already and I'm excited, but I can see what he can potentially also be and it makes me even more excited for the times I'm going to have with him."
ON KAMARA: "My favorite thing about him is how good of a teammate he is, how good of a friend he is. He's an unbelievable person, 10 out of 10 person. You absolutely want him to be on your team. You absolutely want him to be in the huddle with you. Leading the guys, pushing the guys, he is unbelievable in person."
"He is someone from afar, I just couldn't wait to work with and all that, and as soon as I got to know him, I was like, 'Oh my gosh, I'll go buy me a 41 jersey.' He's an amazing person. He's an amazing player. You don't understand. He's such a smooth athlete, and you see him make all these smooth runs and his great balance, but what you don't understand is how explosive he is in until you're in person, because he's so smooth when you watch the tape. But man, when you hand him the ball or when he breaks off a route right in front of you, the explosion and the violence in which he cuts is something I've never seen before. His acceleration has to be the top I've ever seen in any position player I've ever been around. He gets from point A to point B as fast as I've ever seen, and I think that's his secret and why he always makes people miss. He's always kind of smooth and then hits that burst and makes people miss. It just makes sense once you get around him."
ON THE EUPHORIA OF THE SUPERDOME ATMOSPHERE, CROWD
"I felt it just even in the preseason Chiefs game, and everybody's telling me, 'You haven't seen anything yet.' I've played here and I've won a thriller at the end, and I've played here and I couldn't get the ball past the 50. I've seen the atmosphere that this city can bring, and it was honestly something I was really excited about being a part of. Hopefully, we'll be able to score some points this season and let our defense get that crowd behind them, get the city behind them, because they're really playing for the whole city. When you hear us on defense, it's really the whole city going nuts. That's the atmosphere that I envision, and everyone just tells me, 'Just wait till Week 1. Just wait till Week 1.' So, I can't wait. I'll be excited, hopefully, I'm going to try to stay as calm as I can though so I don't get too excited and throw it in the 10th row on the first play."
