National Football League

Notable Quotables: Oakland Raiders Week 5

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:03 p.m. ET

foxsports

Notable quotes from Jack Del Rio and other members of the Oakland Raiders, following the win in Week 5 against the San Diego Chargers.

The Raiders are 4-1 and tied with the Broncos for first place in the AFC West. This team hasn’t been this good in the standings after five games since 2002, the year they last went to the playoffs.

Life is good in Oakland from a football perspective for the first time in a long time. This team believes it can win every week and then goes out and does it, no matter what adversity they face on the field.

Although the defense has improved over the last few weeks, it still has a long way to go to catch up to the offense, which is humming along nicely for the most part.

The biggest difference in Oakland this year? The culture change Jack Del Rio has fostered and the buy-in from the players. It starts at the top and trickles down, and with Del Rio and Derek Carr leading the way, this team is really forging an identity of toughness and guts.

Just listen. They’ll tell you themselves.

Oct 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr (4) reacts after throwing a touchdown pass against the San Diego Chargers in the third quarter at Oakland Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the Chargers 34-31. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders in Winning Time

The Raiders used to fold faster than Superman on laundry day in close contests. If a game was close, they’d inevitably find a way to screw it up and lose. Kind of like this year’s San Diego Chargers. As Radiohead once sang, “You do it to yourself, you do. And that’s what really hurts.”

Okay now that I’ve aged myself with pop culture references, let’s hear what this newfound Raiders squad thinks when things get down to crunch time. It’s got a real family feel.

“You already know what time it is,” said receiver Michael Crabtree to Michael Silver of NFL.com in reference to going all out for the win and taking risks. “You already know about Coach. He believes in us, so we’ve got to have his back. It all goes together. We take care of each other.”

This year’s theme of trust continues to pervade, and this time it was the trust in himself that allowed QB Derek Carr to make a bold call on 4th and 2 at a critical juncture of the game.

“That’s one Coach (Musgrave) will be a little upset at me for,” Carr acknowledged. “He wanted a slant. I wanted him to go deep. I just felt it. I’m sure when he saw that ball leave my hand, he was like, ‘what were you thinking?!?’”

When talking about Carr’s gutsy audible after the game, Musgrave sounded like a parent who knows his kids will stress him out. But they’re good kids and will be successful so he lets it go.

“We’d already thrown two or three fades out of bounds,” Musgrave explained as to why he didn’t want to try it again. “Oh well, he’s the man on the field. You’ve just gotta go with it.”

Del Rio himself went through a range of emotions but ultimately felt like his QB made the right choice. No surprise from “Black” Jack Del Rio, riverboat gambler extraordinaire.

“It was like, ‘no, no, no…yeaaaahhhhh,’ said Del Rio, laughing. “At the end of the day, I really felt like it was the right thing to do.”

That goes with the team’s new attitude in winning time. We can win, we will win. So let’s win. Having a coach who’s all in on the philosophy whether it works or not – happy to take praise when it’s good, happy to accept blame when it’s not – helps immensely.

“I’m not going to be reckless, but I’ll look for opportunities to do the right thing,” Del Rio explained. “I honestly feel like there are times when [being aggressive] is the right thing to do for my team, and you have to be willing to put yourself out there, to have the courage to do what you know is the right thing for your team. And if it doesn’t go well, I’m gonna shoulder it. And I’m OK with that.”

Players love Del Rio for this. His belief in them, and his willingness to take accountability for his decisions and not throw his players under the bus, is endearing. It’s really a nice rich tapestry felt around the team.

“Yeah, I love that he believes in his team, he believes in his players,” said LB Bruce Irvin. “That’s all you can ask for in a head coach.”

Next: Notable Quotables: Culture Change

Oct 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio before the start of the game against the San Diego Chargers at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Culture Change

A big part of this new attitude in winning time is the culture change Del Rio has brought with him to Oakland. He spoke about his time in Denver as defensive coordinator and how the Raiders had a reputation of a team that folded under the lights.

“When we were in Denver, we really felt like ‘hey, they might hang around and be close for a half, but as soon as something goes wrong, they’re gonna fall apart’ he said in reference to the prevailing attitude toward the Raider teams of recent vintage. “So we had to learn how to change that. That’s not easy. But the guys understand what it looks like to just stay in and fight. I thought last year we learned that, and this year we’re learning how to not only stay in and fight, but how to execute in those critical situations.”

Derek Carr’s seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory since 2015 — the most in the NFL in that time — on Sunday showed that spirit yet again. It’s a testament to how far this team has come, and how far the culture has shifted, that even after a win not everyone was pleased.

“When I came to the locker room I was happy that we won, but (Coop) and I looked at each other, I said man, we left too much out there,” Carr said about the day’s performance. “And we can’t do that. We’re not going to get away with it every time.”

Carr realized though that they’ve come a long way to be at this point where they’re discussing plays left on the field after a win.

“We scored 34 points and we’re disappointed. That’s a really good thing as an offense that we’re there,” Carr went on. “If we can have that many yards and points and we still feel like we haven’t even scratched the surface of what we can do…that’s a good feeling.”

Carr’s leadership is on display on the field, but he still knows all the right things to say off of it as well. And he’s realistic about his team’s accomplishments — or lack thereof — at this point.

“It’s nice, but the road still goes through Denver,” he stated during the post-game presser. “They’re Super Bowl champs, division champs. I will always pay their respects tot hem, because that’s what they’ve earned. We’ve earned absolutely nothing yet. We’ve earned four wins in five games, which is a great feeling. It feels very nice, trust me, don’t twist that – but we haven’t done anything yet.”

Not for the other 31 teams in the NFL.

Aug 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders safety Karl Joseph (42) stands on the field before the start of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Oakland Alameda Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Karl Joseph

The rookie made his debut three weeks ago against Tennessee, and the Raiders defense has shown improvement with him in the lineup. Still working back from a torn ACL, Joseph is trying to be his dynamic self while adding as much as he can to the team.

He got his first career interception on a Philly Rivers floater late in the second quarter and it was interesting for him.

“That was slow motion,” he said about the floating pass. “It felt like it was in the air forever…I was thinking don’t drop it, don’t drop it. I caught it like a punt too, those are probably some of the hardest ones to catch. I’m just happy I came down with it.”

He raced 21 yards to set up a Seabass field goal at the end of the first half. But he wasn’t done there. He later on recovered a forced fumble from Melvin Gordon at a key juncture in the game when the Raiders were trailing.

“It just popped out, and I was happy I got on it,” he said of the fumble. “And I gave our offense the ball.”

He sure did, and the Raiders drove down to score to regain the lead and ultimately secure the victory.

Joseph has been playing well since he got in the lineup in Week 3, and he only plans on getting better as time goes on and his knee heals up more.

“I’m still battling the knee a little bit, but every day I go out and get a little more comfortable with it,” he said.

That’s all a part of the whole defense improving, something Joseph sees himself having a big hand in.

“The defense still has a lot of work to do, but we came up and made stops when we needed it,” he said about the Chargers game. “We’ve still got our best football ahead of us. So we’ve just got to continue, keep going, enjoy this win and get ready for the Chiefs.”

Joseph was born in Haiti and lived there until he was ten. He still has a lot of friends and family members there and was very worried about them in the wake of Hurricane Matthew. He is happy to say things are good from that perspective. His mother kept in touch with him and advised him that his family was safe.

“Where most of my family is didn’t get hit too hard,” Joseph said with relief.

Next: Notable Quotables: Jokes

October 9, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; San Diego Chargers punter Drew Kaser (8) misses the snap on a field goal attempt in front of kicker Josh Lambo (2) during the fourth quarter against the Oakland Raiders at Oakland Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Jokes

Just a couple of funny tidbits I found around the Interwebs from Raiders….

Del Rio in talking about why he wished Cooper’s TD had counted — the one called back for illegal touching against the Chargers. I think Del Rio has a Fantasy team…

“I thought right foot, left foot, catch,” Del Rio said. “It would’ve just been nice for Derek and Coop to have that TD pass. Especially for those fantasy-league people out there that were playing them.”

Bruce Irvin thought it was more about karma than luck or fate regarding the strange way the game ended. Punter Drew Kaser fumbled a clean snap – this after shanking a 16-yard punt earlier. Irvin had some thoughts on Kaser’s lifestyle impacting the game.

“Probably the kicker wasn’t living right this week,” Irvin said with a smile. “But the football Gods looked out for the Oakland Raiders and we appreciate that.”

Next: Keys to Victory: Raiders vs. Chiefs

Notable Quotables: Oakland Raiders Week 5

What the Deebo Samuel trade means for the Commanders and 49ers

2025 NFL free agency tracker: 49ers trading Deebo Samuel to Commanders

Aaron Rodgers next team odds: Giants favored after Stafford remains with Rams

2025 NFL Scouting Combine notes: Surprising discrepancy in Jalen Milroe's hand size

Travis Hunter vs. Shohei Ohtani: Whose two-way play is more impressive?

2025 NFL Draft: Re-visiting non-QB No. 1 picks, could Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter be next?

Dolphins legend Dan Marino: I would have won 'a couple' Super Bowls with Steelers

Dillon Gabriel not short on confidence, savors chance to show he belongs in NFL

NFL Combine Confidential: Draft prospects on No. 1 pick, CFP, NIL and more

2025 NFL Mock Draft 3.0: Despite QB woes, Giants take Abdul Carter at No. 3