Oakland Raiders QB Carr has big brother watching

GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr remains circumspect in his goals regarding improvement as he prepares for Friday night's preseason opener here against the Arizona Cardinals.

His brother David, a former No. 1 overall pick for the Houston Texans who visited Raiders camp in Napa, Calif., as a correspondent for NFL Network, likes what he sees.

Not just from Derek, but from the roster as a whole, which has been hyped as a potential playoff team.

"When I got here, what I was hoping I would see is, one, when you get inside those lines, the hype kind of goes away," David Carr told the Bay Area News Group. "It's just work and these guys are competing, that's the cool part."

David, a 10-year veteran, told Derek the camp competition bodes well for the regular season.

"It's tighter coverage, it's more competitive in one-on-one situations," David Carr said. "Bringing over Reggie Nelson and Sean Smith has helped that side of the ball, and Amari (Cooper) and Crab (Michael Crabtree) has helped that side of the ball."

--Kicker Sebastian Janikowski has slimmed down and has no plans of hanging it up any time soon going into his 17th season.

Janikowski, 38, is down to 256 pounds and feels strong and ready to go.

"I worked my butt off and tried to get in better shape," Janikowski said. "Hopefully it's going to pay off."

The Raiders brought in Georgio Tavecchio, in his fifth NFL training camp, to compete with Janikowski. Special teams coach Brad Seely wasn't ceding the job to Janikowski, no matter how obvious it seemed.

"He's an NFL kicker," Seely said of Tavecchio. "Whether he does (kick for us) remains to be seen. But it's a competition and we're seeing who's best. Sebastian has done this for a long time. Obviously he's the front-runner."

--Free agent rookie running back Jalen Richard has demanded attention with his camp performance.

After averaging 5.9 yards per carry for Southern Mississippi last year, Richard has put himself in position for a spot on the 53-man roster with a strong camp. Carr was the second-leading rusher for the Raiders last season behind Latavius Murray, and DeAndre Washington, a fifth-round pick out of Texas Tech, will likely make the roster.

But Richard has opened some eyes, and with fullback Marcel Reece suspended for the first three games of the season, has a running start at being on the roster in Week.

Another camp standout is cornerback David Amerson, who made a great interception of a McGloin pass intended for Clive Walford in a workout this week.

Amerson was rated by some as a sure future first-round pick after 13 interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns, for North Carolina State in 2011 as a sophomore. But after a mediocre junior season he was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft by the Washington Redskins.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Amerson, who was timed in 4.35 seconds in 40 yards at the combine, started as a rookie. He made his first pro interception against the Raiders and returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

The Raiders obviously remembered and when the Redskins waived Amderson last September Oakland claimed him. He moved in as starter and made two interceptions last year in his fourth game.

--Head coach Jack Del Rio, a Raiders fan while growing up in Hayward, Calif., near the team's headquarters, had fond recollections of quarterback Ken Stabler, who was inducted posthumously into the Pro Football Hall of Fame .

"I was at a fundraiser where I bought a print of his and he signed the back of it for me and he actually knew who I was, which kind of blew my mind," Del Rio said. "To me, watching Snake and coach (John) Madden on the sideline, they were just so cool, calm and collected. They would talk things through. It was just the two of them. Now everyone huddles around and is a part of it."

--If wide receiver Amari Cooper is gaining any insight about Carr as the Raiders quarterback as they roomed together at the Napa Valley Marriott, he wasn't about to let on.

"We have a lot more time together, we talk about things, talk about what we want to accomplish when we come out to practice," Cooper said. "Every practice is scripted, and we have time to talk about that. How he wants me to do certain routes."

As far as any special bonding, Cooper said, "Sometimes we eat together."

That might become something for opposing defenses to chew on this season.

NOTES: S Karl Joseph (knee surgery) is not expected to play the first two preseason games. ... DE Mario Edwards Jr. has been limited in drills with a hand injury sustained in a scuffle with OL Kelechi Osemele.