Raiders rookie WR Amari Cooper: "I don't really feel any pressure to deliver"

It's training camp report day for the Raiders. But even though the rookies have been here for a few days already, Amari Cooper spoke to the media. Here is what he had to say:

Q: How important was it for you to get work with Derek Carr this offseason and why was it so important?

Cooper: "Just to get some time with him, he hasn't really been practicing when I first got to OTAs, so I wanted to build a rapport with him."

Q: How beneficial was it?

Cooper: "It was beneficial because we got a couple of days to throw. He is very accurate with the football."

Q: Being the fact that he didn't get a lot of time in the mini-camp, does it make these next couple weeks more important for you and him to get that rapport?

Cooper: "Yeah, we're just going to take it day by day and build daily."

Q: What are your thoughts going into camp?

Cooper:" I'm just going to take it day by day and try to get better day by day, taking advantage of every moment while I'm out on the field."

Q: Is there somebody you go to for advice when it comes to football?

Cooper: "Not really."

Q: Did you talk to Nick Saban any before camp?

Cooper: "Yeah, I talked to him a little bit. He was just telling me how different NFL is from college football."

Q: What advice did he give you?

Cooper: "He was just telling me basically to just stay the player and person that I am."

Q: Tim Brown is going into the Hall of Fame. Jerry Rice just compared you to Tim Brown. How does that make you feel?

Cooper: "It makes me feel great just to be compared to a player going to the Hall of Fame."

Q: Does it add to the pressure to deliver in Year 1?

Cooper: "No, I don't really feel any pressure to deliver."

Q: Do you see any specific similarities in your game that would cause Jerry Rice to compare you to Tim Brown?

Cooper: "I haven't really seen him play."

Q: What are some of the differences you've noticed from playing college football at Alabama, especially the preparation during the offseason, compared to the pro league?

Cooper: "One thing I've noticed is players in the NFL are smarter than the players in college. You can't beat them with the same move twice in a row, or you can't really use the same releases and stuff. They're better at situational football so you have to be on top of your game and every aspect of the game."

Q: It seems like route-running is becoming a lost art in the NFL but that's one of the keys to your game. How did you develop that and do you take a lot of pride in being a good route runner?

Cooper: "I've developed it because I've played the same position for so long. So I'd say through repetition."

Q: Have you felt any pressure throughout high school and college or have you never really felt any pressure?

Cooper: "I have before but I've really grown as a person so I don't really feel any pressure anymore."

Q: Do you just shut out all of the nice things people say from your quarterback and Hall of Famers for example, do you just kind of put blinders on and not listen to it?

Cooper: "Yeah, I try to."

Q: How did playing for Alabama in the SEC and winning National titles prepare you for the NFL?

Cooper: "I would say a lot of people say the SEC is the toughest league in college football so just playing against top players in the SEC has prepared me to play in the NFL."

Q: You're used to playing with big crowds on a big stage?

Cooper: "Yeah."

Q: You didn't lose many games at Alabama so you know what it takes to win. How much of that is a mentality to turn things around here? And how much has Jack Del Rio instilled that winning mentality?

Cooper: "I've learned a lot of the times it isn't the talent on the team because the talent is close, a lot of players are good, especially in the SEC. It's all about leadership and the attitude of the team, that's what separates the winning teams from the losing teams."

Q: And does Jack Del Rio embody that and instill that in you guys this offseason?

Cooper: "Yes"

Q: What were your first impressions of Michael Crabtree? What's it been like so far between you two?

Cooper: "Yeah, he's a great player. I always watch him. He uses his body well to get open and is raw so I try to steal those things from him."

Q: How do your last four of five weeks away from the team go? Where did you train?

Cooper: "I went back to Alabama to train with the players and staff there."

Q: Was there someone on the team aside from Derek Carr that you need to talk to everyday to keep the rapport going?

Cooper: "My fellow receivers, all the players on the offense and some of the defense. Just everybody, really."

Q: What were the conversations like? Were they about football? Turning this thing around?

Cooper: "About football, about that, about things outside of football. Just about many things."

Q: One of your former teammates DeAndrew White signed with the 49ers, what do you see about him and about his strengths?

Cooper: "I feel like he will make the Niners. He's a very talented player. He goes and high-points the ball, is a very good route runner, really fast, so I feel like he has a great chance at making it with the Niners."

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