Off Topic » Zimmer for many years, so very similar

ALAMEDA Derek Carr Jersey White , Calif. (AP) — Jordy Nelson’s debut season in Oakland didn’t go exactly as he hoped when he signed with the Raiders following 10 years in Green Bay.A team he hoped would be good enough to contend for the playoffs went into rebuilding mode instead. He dealt with knee injuries that hampered him early in the season, and it took time for him to build up a rapport with Derek Carr after so many years of catching passes from Aaron Rodgers.But the results have been there in recent weeks as a healthy Nelson has been a staple of Oakland’s offense.“It’s just time. It takes time. Nothing happens overnight,” Nelson said Wednesday. “We just continue to work at it. It’s chemistry, its confidence with me in him and him in me. It just takes time. It was nothing I was worried about.”After catching five passes in a span of five games and missing another with a knee injury, Nelson has been prolific of late, starting with a 10-catch performance against Kansas City earlier this month. He has 29 catches for 308 yards the past four games, ranking tied for eighth in the NFL in catches and 12th in yards over that span.“Anytime you get new receivers and they’re going to be a focal point, it does take some time,” Carr said. “I would say that, especially when he came off his injury, he was healthy and we had a lot of time on task. Obviously, I trust him. He’s a great receiver. I think a lot of that has to do with once he got healthy, he was ready to roll. It was really that Colts game where I felt like we were ready to hit it rolling. Then he ended up hitting his knee or whatever and he was out. When he got healthy, just ever since then, he’s a trustworthy guy that does things the right way. Usually guys like that, the ball ends up finding them.”Nelson signed a $14.2 million, two-year contract with Oakland in March after being cut by the Packers. Nelson has no guaranteed money for next season until March and the Raiders could cut him before then with no penalty if they decide to move on from his $7.2 million salary cap hit.Nelson essentially replaced Michael Crabtree, who was cut by the Raiders and then signed with Baltimore this past offseason, and the two have matched production. Nelson has 54 catches for 661 yards and three TDs, slightly ahead of Crabtree’s 52 catches for 587 yards and three scores for the Ravens.While Nelson knows he’s near the end of his career at age 33 Womens Bo Jackson Jersey , he’s not quite ready to retire and hopes to be back with the Raiders in 2019.“I plan to,” he said. “It’s not always the player’s decision. But that’s the plan. We’ve enjoyed our time out here so far, enjoyed the team and starting the rebuilding process and being a part of that. I believe that’s the plan.”It’s a new experience for Nelson after being with a Packers team that made the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons in Green Bay. He almost always played in games with playoff implications before joining a Raiders team that began this year 1-8.But Nelson has played his best down the stretch when the games have had little meaning, and he takes pride in the performance of the entire team the past few weeks when it would have been easy to pack it in.The Raiders (4-11) have won three of their past six games and head into the season finale at Kansas City looking to build on that performance with something they can carry into next season.Nelson has relished his role as a mentor to young receivers like rookie Marcell Ateman after being the beneficiary of that when he entered the league alongside Packers veterans Donald Driver, James Jones, Greg Jennings and Ruvell Martin.“I think a lot of guys can take pride in that,” Nelson said. “It’s hard to do. You can get in a lull and just wish for the season to go by and not really worry about it. There are a lot of guys who have stayed true to the course and taken a lot of pride in their performance and have gotten a little bit of a taste of it. … As much fun as you try to have playing football, if you’re not winning it’s not that much fun.” RaidersJon Gruden on the toll the injuries have taken on the team:“Yea, we lost three linebackers pretty much for the whole year, two safeties, our receiving corps took a lot of hits, tight end, running back, and offensive line, so yea it has been.Special teams, our punt returner, it’s been pretty tough but it’s been a great opportunity for other guys to get a chance and in the long run I think it will help our team.”Paul Guenther on facing Phillip Rivers throughout the years:“He’s just a great competitor.I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone up against him both here and in Cincinnati.You know he does a lot of stuff at the line of scrimmage getting in and out of plays.He’s a competitive guy, he’ll still try to stick the ball in there and it’s always fun to go against him for sure.”ChargersDefensive Coordinator Gus Bradley on the Raiders offense:“I think with the Raiders, they have the potential to score a lot of points and I know they’ve got some guys injured, the back is out Bo Jackson Jersey , the tackle is out.Those guys didn’t play against Tennessee and they had 21 points right away in that game.They’ve got enough players, very talented, they’ve got some guys that always pose a big play ability and we are very familiar with that. We’ve got to keep our eye on multiple players on their team and offense just because they have those capabilities.What we’re going to get is a little bit of uncertainty with the new guys they have, going to have to rely on some of our fundamental principles.And I think really every game comes back to that, how you tackle in space, how you play your fundamentals and things like that.So it will be a big test for us.”Quarterback Phillip Rivers on the Raiders defense:“It hasn’t been that long since we played them, similar scheme to Minnesota, the D coordinator was with in that regard.In the first game we did a lot of good things against them, we spotted them 10 points with the two turnovers, then we battled back, and we finished terribly with those 7 or 8 plays and didn’t gain a yard.I imagine it will be another hard fought game, we know with that team and that coaching staff, and the veterans they have, it’s going to be two teams fighting, it won’t look like two teams that are out of it, disinterested. It will be a spirited divisional contest.”Follow @Egroat5