The Real Reason Individual Success Benefits the Raiders

Hard Work Pays Off

Before Thursday's practice, Carroll acknowldged how citical it is for players to see the fruits of their labor by expriencing in-game success. That was undoubtedly the case for Tre Tucker and Michael Mayer against the New England Patriots.

Tucker finished with two catches on three targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. Mayer finished with four catches for 38 yards receiving. Although both players' yardage may not seem like much, the plays they made were impactful.

"It is good for them to get rewarded, but they've been doing it, and so it's just reassuring for them. I think that, ‘Okay, this is my role, this is my opportunity, I have a chance to really factor into the results of our games,’ and both guys had terrific plays that made a difference in the game. And so, I'm thrilled for both those guys," Carroll said.

"It's great to have Tre’s [Tucker] extraordinary speed that he has show up and it was so obvious. The great route he ran on the sidelines, 20-yard comeback, was a beautiful play. And Mike [Mayer] had a number of stellar plays. So, it's really good for their conference. Yeah, I'm thrilled for them because they've worked so hard, and they've been with us every step of the way, and then to actually show up on game day and really make a difference, it was great." 

Before practice on Thursday, Raiders quarterback Geno Smith noted that while Tucker and Mayer's success was nice for the offense's morale, Week 1 was only one game. Smith and the Raiders' offense aim to sustain that success throughout the entire season.

“I mean, it felt good, but that's just one game. Like I said, man, we got 16 more of these things that we got to go out there and take care of, and we got to continue to grow throughout the season. There's a lot of great things that we did, but I think we all can agree that we left a lot of yards out there and maybe some points as well," Smith said.

“And so those are the things I'm focused on, is how can we improve on those things so that we can go out there and fully execute throughout the entire game, so we can see exactly what we can be? That's really important to me, but Mike [Mayer] and Tre [Tucker] have done a great job, extremely hard working guys. They're always prepared, and I enjoy going to work with these guys because they work extremely hard. They want to get better, and we're all eager to learn, so we're in it together. We're getting better, and it's going to be good."

The Raiders need Smith and their offense to play well on Monday night, as the Raiders' offense must keep up with a potent Chargers offense.