Coach Pete Carroll isn’t ready to change his approach to each game despite the Raiders (2-7) being all but out of the playoff race.
“You either have your philosophy or you don’t,” Carroll said. “The next game is the biggest game we could possibly play. It’s a championship game and whatever happened last week has nothing to do with what’s going on now. That’s the mentality we’re trying to drive home.”
Carroll doesn’t have a whole lot of experience with the Raiders’ current situation. His teams tend to make the postseason or at least be in the race until the final few weeks.
The 74-year-old understands the reality that it’s probably wise in the big picture to turn most of the organization’s attention to the future. Still, Carroll believes building a winning mindset is best done with a singular focus on the next task at hand.
He stressed the importance of playing a division rival in prime time leading up to the Raiders’ “Thursday Night Football” matchup with the Broncos last week. The team, especially the defense, responded fairly well in a 10-7 road loss.
Carroll’s message is similar leading up to the Raiders’ home game against the Cowboys on “Monday Night Football.”
“Now we come back with a chance to do that same thing at home,” he said. “I’m building it for these guys so that they know they’ve been in these situations and we can learn to be comfortable and play like we’re capable in these settings regardless of what the impact is or what the story and the storyline is.”
The hope is the Raiders will be ready in the future when these opportunities come up again and the stakes are more meaningful.
“You’re trying to find that consistency that allows you to perform like you’re capable regardless of the circumstances around you,” Carroll said. “And that’s what this presents to us. Big wins can affect your mentality and your mindset just as much as big losses and difficult outcomes can. We have to learn how to deal with all of that and come right back to it. So in this building right here, we always come right back to the very next game, the very next opportunity.
“We have a way to prepare ourselves to deal with the next opportunity. And that’s a really powerful thing when you’re trying to build a winning program.”
Kicking competition
Carroll went back to his trusted catchphrase when asked about signing kicker Greg Joseph to the Raiders’ practice squad to put pressure on kicker Daniel Carlson, one of the longest-tenured players in the locker room.
“Competition,” Carroll said.
Carroll indicated he expects Carlson to handle kicking duties Monday, but insisted the door is open for Joseph. Carlson has made only 12 of his 16 field-goal attempts this season, though three of those misses were from 50-plus yards.
“(Carlson is) competing, too,” Carroll said. “He needs to do better and he knows it. And like always, (general manager John Spytek) is going to keep bringing us guys to give us a chance to keep pushing and seeing how far we can take it. And that was what this decision was about.”
Injury report
Quarterback Geno Smith was a full participant in practice Thursday and was not listed on the Raiders’ injury report despite suffering what appeared to be a painful quad injury in the loss to the Broncos.
“I feel a lot better,” Smith said. “(Wellness coordinator) Alex Guerrero and the training staff have done a great job at just staying on top of it. Obviously not completely healed yet, but feels a lot better.”
Guard Dylan Parham, who left the Broncos game with an ankle injury, was also a full participant Thursday.
Safety Isaiah Pola-Mao (hip) was a full participant. So was quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who remains on injured reserve with a right wrist injury he suffered in the preseason. The Raiders have to decide on whether to activate O’Connell or shut him down for the remainder of the season when his 21-day practice window closes next week.
Rookie linebacker Cody Lindenberg sat out Thursday’s practice with an Achilles injury.
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