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.