Former No. 1 pick raves about Mendoza, Raiders coaching staff
NFL Network’s Omar Ruiz and David Carr reported live from the Raiders facility Sunday for NFL’s Back Together Weekend.
Carr has obvious ties to the Silver and Black through his younger brother, Derek, who is the team’s franchise leader in passing yards and touchdowns. However, the elder Carr can also relate with Fernando Mendoza as he adjusts to the NFL. Twenty-four years ago, David Carr was in the same shoes as Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2002 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans.
“Physically when you see him out here, he looks the part,” Carr told Raiders.com. “He’s going to have the big arm and obviously has the work ethic, he’s the first guy out here in the red shirt trying to get in work. He has the right mindset. … What I could tell him is just try to gain [experience], even if you throw a pick, come back and hit a completion. You have some negative plays, learn from them.”
The former NFL quarterback also has ties to the Raiders head coach and quarterbacks coach. Klint Kubiak’s father, Gary, was Carr’s head coach in Houston during a 2006 season in which he led the league in completion percentage (68.3). Mike Sullivan was the receivers coach for the New York Giants during Carr’s first stint with the team from 2008-2009.
“He’s is in the best hands,” Carr said of Mendoza having Sullivan in his corner. “Honestly, I believe this is the best coaching staff in the league. If you’re talking about just the quarterback from a schematic [standpoint], to [Andrew] Janocko who’s calling it, to Sully [Mike Sullivan] who’s going to prepare you better than any quarterback coach in the league, he couldn’t be in a better situation.”
