Derek Carr Interview: Saints Training Camp, Day 1
Derek Carr speaks with the media following the Saints' first day of training camp.
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:07 >> We good there?
00:07 >> Yeah, go ahead.
00:08 >> All right, wait.
00:10 >> How was day one?
00:12 >> It was good, good start.
00:16 It's a new CBA, it's a short practice.
00:19 But no, it was a good start, meeting for great last night.
00:24 Everybody was out there, so that was fun.
00:26 OTAs and many camp didn't have the full arsenal of everybody.
00:31 But having everybody out there today, seeing them in the huddle,
00:33 getting reps with them, throwing them the ball.
00:35 Calling plays with the O-line and all that.
00:37 So good to have that group and hopefully we can just build on it.
00:41 Keep everybody healthy and see what we can do.
00:43 >> Derek, what are you looking to accomplish here early in camp?
00:46 Because the A says you have a pretty good grasp of the offense.
00:49 >> I just want to compete now.
00:50 I feel it's not a new language now.
00:54 It's my language, it's our language.
00:57 And so to me, I'm just trying to be that leader, be that quarterback position.
01:04 To show the guys that they can look to me when they're tired.
01:07 They can look to me when it's hard.
01:08 And even if I screw up, they can still look to me.
01:11 And just build that camaraderie and that leadership within our team.
01:15 To know that trust and respect is mutual with everybody and compete.
01:22 That's what we're here to do.
01:23 We're here to compete.
01:24 We're here to beat the defense every day until we get to play somebody else.
01:27 And hopefully they don't get us.
01:29 But if they do, we come back the next day and we get them again.
01:31 So just that mentality to not stop is really,
01:37 I would say probably the main goal for all of us as an offense and reps together.
01:41 The more reps that we can get with everybody in that huddle,
01:44 the better I think that we could be.
01:46 >> Derek, what can Jimmy Graham bring to this team?
01:48 >> Well, besides the resume and the leadership and
01:52 who he is in the locker room, he's a great guy.
01:55 Jimmy was one of the guys Devontae would always talk about.
01:58 That he just loved him as a person, loved him as a teammate.
02:01 And I didn't even know Jimmy then.
02:03 And then when we signed him, the very first thing is Jimmy was talking about how
02:08 much he loved Devontae.
02:08 So I was like, okay, it's mutual.
02:10 They like each other.
02:11 And so that was my only impression that I had of him from afar.
02:16 And then yesterday we sat there and talked for 30 minutes.
02:19 We talked about Drew, Aaron, Seattle.
02:22 We talked about a whole bunch of different stuff.
02:24 And I had questions for him and all that stuff,
02:27 especially as a pilot too, flying around and stuff like that.
02:30 So we were just getting to know him, what makes him tick.
02:33 But when you get around him, you just want him in the locker room.
02:37 His leadership to that tight end room, leadership to everyone on the offense.
02:41 He's the first guy, hey, if you need anything said, you tell me and I'll say it.
02:45 He's that kind of guy.
02:47 And so he reminds me a lot in that aspect of Lee Smith was that kind of leader.
02:51 I played with Lee in Oakland and he was that kind of leader.
02:55 Whatever you need, I got it.
02:56 And when you have a guy that has your back like that, it always feels good.
02:59 >> Derek, how did you feel filing a practice rep, but not against Aaron,
03:04 together with you sitting with Michael Thomas?
03:06 >> It felt great.
03:08 I think it was good for everybody.
03:09 Yeah, I think it was good for everybody to see that and, okay.
03:14 Everybody take a deep breath and now we just work.
03:17 Now we just build off of it.
03:18 And to be able to throw him a ball.
03:21 I've gotten to throw the football to a lot of guys with a lot of catches in my
03:25 career, and he's another one that's special.
03:27 He's a great, great teammate.
03:31 He works his butt off and he's worked really hard to get to where he's at today.
03:34 And so first thing I'd say is I'm just proud of him, all the work that he's put in
03:38 and what he's endured and the injuries and the hardship.
03:41 But he's fought through it and he's answered the questions.
03:44 And he's done the work as we all know he would.
03:47 And so to see him out there, run a route, catch a ball, and get up field for
03:50 a big game, I know that that was good for him.
03:52 But it was cool for me to see too, just out of respect for him as a person.
03:57 Just see that work that he's put in.
03:59 >> Derek, you and Chris Olave had a nice connection over on the right sideline.
04:02 How do you feel the kind of,
04:04 how you two are seeing the field together is growing over the course of this?
04:10 >> Yeah, I feel like now, at first it was like, hey, I see it this way,
04:13 you see it this way, let's do it like this.
04:15 And that was OTAs, and I kinda hit on that a little bit during OTAs and mini camp.
04:20 And then we put some work in in Vegas together, a group of guys came out and
04:23 we did that.
04:24 And now it just feels like, he's my whiteout and I'm his quarterback.
04:28 And we're just playing football now.
04:30 And of course, there's always gonna be things like, hey,
04:32 I thought it was this, or maybe do it like that.
04:35 There'll be a little stuff like that, but it's not every play.
04:37 It's not every round.
04:38 We're just playing football now.
04:39 Like when he made that break, and the way he did it, the timing of it,
04:43 I was ready for him, all that.
04:45 Those are good signs that it's heading in the right direction.
04:48 Doesn't do anything for us today, but it is.
04:51 It does show that we have put the work in, and he's put the work in.
04:54 He's a sponge man, he just wants to do whatever I want him to do.
04:58 And I'm trying to push him to be free in some of that too.
05:02 Use what God gave you, cuz I can't do what you do.
05:04 So to see him run that route and at the right depth and all that kind of stuff,
05:09 right timing, that just shows that we're heading the right direction.
05:12 >> Derek, it's been a couple of months now with Pete Carmichael.
05:14 How would you describe your relationship with him?
05:16 And maybe how is he different?
05:18 What is the Pete Carmichael signature that you can see at this point?
05:22 >> Man, he is the same guy every day.
05:24 He's just even kill, great personality.
05:27 It's just when he walks in the room, you can't be in a bad mood.
05:31 Like Pete is just such a good guy.
05:33 And being around him, and you see,
05:36 now that I've been around him so much time, you see how smart he is.
05:39 He's like, hey, they're gonna do this, like this, blah, blah, blah.
05:41 And you're like, wow, it happened just like he said.
05:44 And a lot of guys you get around, it's easy in coaching too,
05:50 long hours, all that, they go like this.
05:54 But he is like this every day.
05:56 And that's something that Drew said about him.
05:58 When I talked to Drew before I signed to him,
06:01 Drew was like, you're gonna love him.
06:02 He's even kill, he's smart.
06:04 All the things that Drew said, he's been all of that.
06:07 And I've thoroughly enjoyed being around him.
06:09 I continue to learn from him.
06:12 I've been blessed to be around a lot of really great coaches and smart coaches.
06:16 He's another one, so it's been fun.
06:18 >> [INAUDIBLE]
06:28 >> Yeah, now I just feel like a part of the family.
06:29 At first, my daughter was running out there today after practice, and
06:35 she's like, touchdown Raiders.
06:36 I was like, no.
06:37 >> [LAUGH] >> Don't say that anymore.
06:39 >> [LAUGH] >> So it was still new.
06:43 It's new for them, obviously.
06:44 But to me, it just feels like home now.
06:47 This is my home.
06:48 I'm gonna give New Orleans everything that I have.
06:50 And that's physically, mentally, in the community.
06:54 Anything that I can do to help somebody and help us win and
06:58 bring excitement to the city and help encourage some people in the city,
07:02 I'm gonna do it.
07:03 And I've set out to do that in Vegas.
07:06 I'm still doing that in Vegas, cuz I said I would.
07:08 I'm still working on things there.
07:09 I'm gonna do it here, cuz I said I would.
07:11 And so I'm gonna do everything that I can.
07:14 But I'm not gonna try and help them win.
07:15 I'm gonna try and help us win.
07:16 >> I think a lot of people think of the quarterback as the go-to
07:20 kind of leader on a team.
07:22 You talk about establishing leadership here.
07:23 How do you do that when you're coming into a new organization,
07:26 you're meeting a lot of new faces?
07:28 What's the best course of action?
07:30 >> This is my first time stepping into a new organization, right?
07:34 And so for me, I just was gonna walk in and I was just gonna be myself.
07:39 And this is me.
07:41 This is what Mickey asked me to be.
07:44 He's not asking me to be anything I'm not.
07:46 Mickey, when he asked me, when the DA asked me to be here,
07:48 they said, we want you to come here and be you.
07:50 That's all I've done.
07:51 And it was an easy fit, because I don't feel like I have to be in front of you or
07:55 I have to pull everybody.
07:56 It's not that, we got Cam, we got Tyron, we got DeMario, we got Mike,
08:01 we got Alvin.
08:02 Everyone's saying the right thing and doing the right thing.
08:03 To Eric, we got so many guys doing and
08:06 saying the right things that we're all doing it together.
08:09 And one of the things that I thought was cool, I asked Cam about, I said, hey,
08:13 you're one of the leaders on the team, how do you feel if I come?
08:15 That was one of the questions I asked Cam before I signed here.
08:19 I was like, cuz I wanna walk into a locker room where I want to.
08:21 And he said, one of the very first thing he said, he said, I'm not the leader.
08:26 He said, we got a team full of leaders.
08:28 And I was like, right when he said that, I forgot what the rest of the message said.
08:31 He may not even want to meet.
08:33 But when I saw that, I was like, I'm coming here.
08:36 Because he sees it the same way I do.
08:38 It's like it's gonna take all of us to lead.
08:40 And so I'm not trying to be the guy.
08:42 I'm just trying to be one of the guys and be one of the guys doing it the right way.
08:46 And showing everybody else what it's supposed to look like.
08:48 >> The climate question here, I know Cam, you got a little bit of this as well.
08:52 It's here, but how have you seen that evolving in terms of awareness about
08:59 balancing health versus mental toughness in training camp?
09:04 And he is in the news as an issue that can affect health.
09:08 >> Yeah, I mean, well, that's one of the parts is training in it.
09:13 Hopefully that guys aren't just running in air conditioning all the time and
09:16 then you show up to training camp.
09:18 You gotta acclimate to it, I think.
09:20 I don't know the science behind everything, but
09:21 I know it feels better when I run and throw outside in Vegas in the 115.
09:26 And then when I go to practice, it felt better.
09:28 And so I was doing the same thing out there.
09:30 I was working out throwing, I was doing everything outside in Vegas.
09:34 So that when I got here, I was used to the heat.
09:36 And so again, I don't know all the science and all that stuff behind it.
09:41 I have a rec major from Fresno State, and so I do my best to understand it.
09:46 But for me, I just do what our strength staff has taught us.
09:50 And over the years, I've seen the growth in that though, for sure.
09:53 From when I first came to the league to what we talk about now,
09:56 it's definitely a difference on the things that we talk about,
09:58 the way we practice, how long we do something.
10:01 We may stretch in here and then how much time you're actually accumulating outside
10:05 during a week and all that stuff.
10:07 There's stats behind it that back it up.
10:09 So we do things a certain way now, it's different.
10:11 >> Just a couple examples, like just water breaks, more water breaks.
10:16 What do you mean?
10:17 >> I mean, you gotta stay hydrated for sure, with the heat stuff.
10:21 And the heat stuff's always been around.
10:23 So that's one of the first things they talk about when you're in this kind of
10:25 climate, you gotta stay hydrated.
10:27 But you don't do it just the day of, it's days in advance.
10:30 I'm doing this for tomorrow, it's not for today.
10:33 So that's some of the things that we've just learned over time.
10:36 And just keeping your body cool, you gotta let it sweat,
10:39 you gotta stay as cool as you can.
10:41 >> What feels more aggressive out there, the dryness or the humid?
10:46 >> The dry in Vegas, it just feels like your skin is gonna fall off.
10:50 It just feels like it's boiling.
10:52 But it's so dry, you can see in my hands,
10:54 I have cracks all in my hands from throwing out there.
10:57 Cuz it's so dry, throwing so much, it'll literally split your hands.
11:01 And so I would have chapstick in my pocket at practice,
11:04 put it on my fingers so it wouldn't crack and rip open.
11:08 But out here, I don't need that.
11:10 I instantly go out there and the ball is tacky.
11:12 And like in Vegas, I would always spray my jersey cuz it was so dry there.
11:18 I needed something during the game.
11:20 So I'd spray water on my jersey so I had a little something on there.
11:23 Here, I don't think I'm gonna have to do that.
11:25 >> You mentioned working out with some of your teammates in Vegas.
11:28 Who all came out there to work out with you this summer?
11:30 >> Yeah, I won't say everybody, but there was a good group, seven,
11:33 eight guys that came out.
11:35 I don't want someone like, why wasn't he there?
11:38 Everyone has stuff.
11:40 But a lot of guys came out and we were in Vegas.
11:42 We had a little two day little thing where we went to dinner one night and
11:46 we just had a good time, just again.
11:48 The work was important, but even more than that, getting to know each other.
11:52 Letting them see me in my home and my element and that kind of stuff.
11:57 >> When was that, Derek?
11:58 >> It was last week or the week before, something like that.
12:01 >> And it was mostly pass catchers or skill position guys?
12:04 >> It was just, yeah, just guys.
12:05 >> Yeah, what I meant, that was the idea was to-
12:08 >> Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:10 >> Derek, I know it's early in training camp here.
12:12 Obviously, it's just the first day, but including OTA's mini camp,
12:15 what are you seeing from the defense and
12:16 their ability to make things tough on a quarterback?
12:18 >> Man, I told DA after one of the mini camp days,
12:23 I said I absolutely love practicing here because it's so difficult.
12:27 I have to be so on it every rep.
12:29 I got it.
12:30 Like there's no like this is just gonna be open.
12:32 Like that doesn't happen here.
12:33 The way they play their zones, the way they play their mans and
12:37 different things, the way that how good the players are.
12:40 How good the rush is.
12:40 I have to be on time.
12:42 I have to be accurate.
12:44 All those things.
12:45 You saw a play made today right on the ball.
12:47 I mean, great coverage and that's just not a layout.
12:51 So now it's gonna push us to even go harder.
12:53 And so all it's doing is making us better.
12:56 But at the same time, hopefully we're doing that to them too.
12:59 Hopefully they have good coverage and we put a ball out there and
13:01 they get mad at themselves cuz we were able to hit it and all that stuff.
13:04 So as good as it's been going against them and all that,
13:09 hopefully we're doing the same thing to them.
13:11 >> One or two more.
13:12 >> Derek, do you remember the first game you played in the Superdome?
13:17 And have you been given some thought?
13:19 What's it gonna be like first game in the Superdome?
13:23 >> I think it'll be a little bit more quiet for
13:24 me this time than it usually is when I've been here.
13:28 But I do remember the first time, cuz all I remember is we gave Drew too much time
13:30 to get down the field when we went for two and threw that fade to Crabtree.
13:34 And so, and of course they went right down and
13:37 almost made that field goal to beat us.
13:39 But I also remember doing a flip over somebody and
13:42 then looking at DA and going like this on the sideline.
13:45 So I got good memories in there.
13:47 Also got some bad ones.
13:48 We couldn't get one yard last year.
13:50 So I got a lot of memories.
13:52 But hopefully we have some better ones this year and
13:54 people aren't screaming at me as much.
13:55 >> Derek, what's the last one?
13:58 >> Some familiar faces like Edwards and Aiden.
14:00 How are you and what's with you?
14:02 >> It's great.
14:03 We have so much great stories that we can tell.
14:05 And we've had some good, some funny teammates over the years that guys ask
14:08 questions about and stuff like that.
14:10 So it's been fun.
14:11 And then my kids, they saw me, but as soon as they saw Foster,
14:15 my kids took off running to go see Foster.
14:17 And Foster, when Foster would come over to our house in Las Vegas,
14:22 I'd be like, we're all getting ready to go play outside, play pool basketball or
14:25 something.
14:26 I'm like, where's Foster?
14:27 He's in my kid's room and they're playing NBA Jam or whatever.
14:30 So Foster's like their best friend.
14:32 So they were more excited to see him today than me.
14:34 But it is good to have friends around.
14:36 My oldest today is like, is John here, dad?
14:39 I was like, yeah, Abrams here, son.
14:40 So my kids love it.
14:42 And obviously I love it cuz I've been friends with them for years.
14:44 >> Cool.