Opening statement...
Carson Beck: It's been really good just getting adjusted to, you know, moving out to Arizona, meeting my new teammates, coaches, right? You know, the last time I got to talk in front of y'all, I had literally been here for like two hours. You know, now it's been six weeks, so I've had a little time to, you know, get settled down and, you know, really get some good work in. So I thought it's been really good.
Reporter: I definitely think you're kind of just getting your feet wet with the playbook and kind of getting into it. Where do you feel like you're at now compared to there in terms of your understanding of the system and just getting comfortable level with everything that goes into being an NFL quarterback?
Carson Beck: Well, yeah, I mean, completely different, obviously, you know, having six weeks where really all I've done is been here at home and then, you know, eat and sleep because that's pretty necessary as well, you know, being a football player. But really that's all I've done. You know, I've been here a ton, been around the guys, been around the coaches, you know, meeting and trying to learn everything as quick as possible. So obviously the playbook is big, you know, there is a lot of things to learn, but, you know, the more time that I spend and the more reps you get, the more comfortable you get with it, and the more it just kind of feels like you're looking at the back of your hand.
Reporter: Coach Flores said that you asked the mature questions as far as like, ball placement or below recently. Do you feel like you've checked enough boxes? Do you feel comfortable now as like, all right, I want to prove I can catch up with the game speed that Coach Hackett talks about? You're ready to kind of prove yourself from that standpoint?
Carson Beck: Again, I think the biggest thing, especially in the first couple of weeks that I noticed, you know, heading into this, is, A, the NFL game is 100% different than the college game, right? We, I mean, there's different routes that they're running. There's different concepts and the way that we piece everything together. So, hey, where do my eyes need to be, right? Where are the defenders, right? Like what coverages are they running? Everything is disguised, especially in today's NFL. I feel like it's very different what defenses are doing, how athletic these guys are, right? These defensive linemen, and especially the edge guys, you know, there's a lot of stand-up guys that can do a lot and are very versatile. So, defenses are able to do more, right? So, I need to make sure my eyes are in the right place. I need to make sure I understand who's running what route, right? Again, there's so many levels to being a quarterback and understanding an offense. And the more reps you get, the more comfortable you become with that. But again, I've played a lot of football, so I think that my brain just kind of works a little bit different as a quarterback. So, again, just going in, you know, day in, day out, trying to get 1% better, and that's kind of been the mindset.
Reporter: How much faster is this game than college? Can you put that in perspective?
Carson Beck: I mean, it's 100% faster. I mean, think, like, the best guys from each college team are now all, you know, accumulated into one space, not one team, but 32 different teams, right? And obviously, I speak for this team because it's the only defense I've gone against. But, yeah, I mean, everything just happens a tick faster. And I think that a huge part of that is just the mental side of it because as I got more comfortable with the offense, with the guys I was throwing to, building that chemistry over such a short period of time, obviously, and again, we're not in pads, I'm not getting hit. So it is different because the game speed, I mean, it's something totally different than when you're in practice. But the game is still fast, especially if you have intention, which I feel like we have in practice, and we get really good competes out there from the ones all the way down. And it was, I thought it was a really good competitive, I mean, from rookie minicamps, OTAs to, you know, mandatory minicamp. It was really competitive, and the guys were really flying around out there, and we got really good work. But, again, it's definitely faster, and I feel like the more reps you get, the more comfortable you become in it.
Reporter: I know you'd like to ideally kind of ease into this a little bit, you know, and everything, it's just the beginning of your pro career. But, you know, it appears to me there's a starting opportunity. Do you try to speed up your process just knowing that there's opportunity right away maybe here?
Carson Beck: I mean, from day one, I mean, there was, for me, like, I didn't want to ease into anything, you know, to be completely honest. I mean, shoot, again, from Monday through Friday, I mean, they wouldn't, I mean, the rookies don't have to be here on Fridays. But, I mean, I'm here 13 hours a day, you know. I get in here early in the morning, and obviously we have our stuff that's required and mandatory. And, I mean, I guess not necessarily mandatory, but obviously as a rookie, you're going to be here and you're going to do it. And then we get done with practice, and then we have our little rookie meetings. And then I'm here, you know, up here with Coach Hackett, Coach Schaub. But really just spending as much time with them. And I think it's really cool because, obviously, Coach Saab did it. He's been in the league, he played, he played the position, which is so many, it's so hard to understand what the position of quarterback is if you haven't actually done it, right? And he has done it. He's been there, he's done it. Coach Hackett has coached amazing quarterbacks, just such a smart mind. Coach LaFleur has coached amazing quarterbacks, such a smart mind. So just trying to pick their brains and just take every little inch and every little thing to add it to my repertoire and get as good and as comfortable as I can is something that I've done from the second I feel like I stepped in the building.
Reporter: Mentally understanding the playbook, what's been the biggest adjustment physically for you in your games the last few weeks into this style?
Carson Beck: Yeah, I don't know if there really has been a physical adjustment. I feel like really a lot of it is the mental side. And the more comfortable you become and the more reps you get, I mean, the physical kind of just takes care of itself. You know, I've thrown thousands of footballs in my life. I've thrown thousands of dig routes, thousands of out routes, thousands of go routes. Now it's just combining that with timing, with chemistry, with understanding. And, again, that's everything that comes with playing the position. So.
Reporter: You mentioned that you, to figure out ways to kind of keep diving into the playbook for five years. What kind of tactics can you take from that experience that you can use now?
Carson Beck: Yeah, I think the biggest thing and something that I feel like gets looked over a lot, especially as a quarterback, and I kind of said it earlier, is like doing the simple things, like in an elite way. Like how elite can you be at the easy things? Because, again, the flat route that gets you seven yards on first down, I mean, it's not ****, it's not the 45-yard go ball, right, that everybody wants to see, but it wins you football games. And the more that you can commit to that, it creates consistency, and consistency wins football games.
Reporter: When you're out there and you're practicing, you're trying to learn the mental side, learn the physical side, just do what you need to do to become a better player. How does building chemistry work with pass catchers and receivers, especially when, you know, you might not be getting reps with all of the different ones? Like how does that develop?
Carson Beck: So, yeah, that's obviously the balance of all of this and trying to establish yourself as a leader. But first you have to build connections to, you know, be able to establish yourself as a leader. So, obviously, I think the biggest thing in that is how much time can I spend on my own, right, in my own time of getting in the playbook, making sure I understand and can actually go out there and do it so I'm not out there on the field like in just a whirlwind of, oh, like this guy's doing this, this guy's doing this. It's like, no, I go to the line and I feel comfortable. And now I can focus on building that chemistry. Now I can focus on building those relationships. So, like, I mean, there's only so much time in the day, but how much of that time can I allot to making sure that I'm becoming a better quarterback, a better football player, a better teammate.
Carson Beck: It's been really good just getting adjusted to, you know, moving out to Arizona, meeting my new teammates, coaches, right? You know, the last time I got to talk in front of y'all, I had literally been here for like two hours. You know, now it's been six weeks, so I've had a little time to, you know, get settled down and, you know, really get some good work in. So I thought it's been really good.
Reporter: I definitely think you're kind of just getting your feet wet with the playbook and kind of getting into it. Where do you feel like you're at now compared to there in terms of your understanding of the system and just getting comfortable level with everything that goes into being an NFL quarterback?
Carson Beck: Well, yeah, I mean, completely different, obviously, you know, having six weeks where really all I've done is been here at home and then, you know, eat and sleep because that's pretty necessary as well, you know, being a football player. But really that's all I've done. You know, I've been here a ton, been around the guys, been around the coaches, you know, meeting and trying to learn everything as quick as possible. So obviously the playbook is big, you know, there is a lot of things to learn, but, you know, the more time that I spend and the more reps you get, the more comfortable you get with it, and the more it just kind of feels like you're looking at the back of your hand.
Reporter: Coach Flores said that you asked the mature questions as far as like, ball placement or below recently. Do you feel like you've checked enough boxes? Do you feel comfortable now as like, all right, I want to prove I can catch up with the game speed that Coach Hackett talks about? You're ready to kind of prove yourself from that standpoint?
Carson Beck: Again, I think the biggest thing, especially in the first couple of weeks that I noticed, you know, heading into this, is, A, the NFL game is 100% different than the college game, right? We, I mean, there's different routes that they're running. There's different concepts and the way that we piece everything together. So, hey, where do my eyes need to be, right? Where are the defenders, right? Like what coverages are they running? Everything is disguised, especially in today's NFL. I feel like it's very different what defenses are doing, how athletic these guys are, right? These defensive linemen, and especially the edge guys, you know, there's a lot of stand-up guys that can do a lot and are very versatile. So, defenses are able to do more, right? So, I need to make sure my eyes are in the right place. I need to make sure I understand who's running what route, right? Again, there's so many levels to being a quarterback and understanding an offense. And the more reps you get, the more comfortable you become with that. But again, I've played a lot of football, so I think that my brain just kind of works a little bit different as a quarterback. So, again, just going in, you know, day in, day out, trying to get 1% better, and that's kind of been the mindset.
Reporter: How much faster is this game than college? Can you put that in perspective?
Carson Beck: I mean, it's 100% faster. I mean, think, like, the best guys from each college team are now all, you know, accumulated into one space, not one team, but 32 different teams, right? And obviously, I speak for this team because it's the only defense I've gone against. But, yeah, I mean, everything just happens a tick faster. And I think that a huge part of that is just the mental side of it because as I got more comfortable with the offense, with the guys I was throwing to, building that chemistry over such a short period of time, obviously, and again, we're not in pads, I'm not getting hit. So it is different because the game speed, I mean, it's something totally different than when you're in practice. But the game is still fast, especially if you have intention, which I feel like we have in practice, and we get really good competes out there from the ones all the way down. And it was, I thought it was a really good competitive, I mean, from rookie minicamps, OTAs to, you know, mandatory minicamp. It was really competitive, and the guys were really flying around out there, and we got really good work. But, again, it's definitely faster, and I feel like the more reps you get, the more comfortable you become in it.
Reporter: I know you'd like to ideally kind of ease into this a little bit, you know, and everything, it's just the beginning of your pro career. But, you know, it appears to me there's a starting opportunity. Do you try to speed up your process just knowing that there's opportunity right away maybe here?
Carson Beck: I mean, from day one, I mean, there was, for me, like, I didn't want to ease into anything, you know, to be completely honest. I mean, shoot, again, from Monday through Friday, I mean, they wouldn't, I mean, the rookies don't have to be here on Fridays. But, I mean, I'm here 13 hours a day, you know. I get in here early in the morning, and obviously we have our stuff that's required and mandatory. And, I mean, I guess not necessarily mandatory, but obviously as a rookie, you're going to be here and you're going to do it. And then we get done with practice, and then we have our little rookie meetings. And then I'm here, you know, up here with Coach Hackett, Coach Schaub. But really just spending as much time with them. And I think it's really cool because, obviously, Coach Saab did it. He's been in the league, he played, he played the position, which is so many, it's so hard to understand what the position of quarterback is if you haven't actually done it, right? And he has done it. He's been there, he's done it. Coach Hackett has coached amazing quarterbacks, just such a smart mind. Coach LaFleur has coached amazing quarterbacks, such a smart mind. So just trying to pick their brains and just take every little inch and every little thing to add it to my repertoire and get as good and as comfortable as I can is something that I've done from the second I feel like I stepped in the building.
Reporter: Mentally understanding the playbook, what's been the biggest adjustment physically for you in your games the last few weeks into this style?
Carson Beck: Yeah, I don't know if there really has been a physical adjustment. I feel like really a lot of it is the mental side. And the more comfortable you become and the more reps you get, I mean, the physical kind of just takes care of itself. You know, I've thrown thousands of footballs in my life. I've thrown thousands of dig routes, thousands of out routes, thousands of go routes. Now it's just combining that with timing, with chemistry, with understanding. And, again, that's everything that comes with playing the position. So.
Reporter: You mentioned that you, to figure out ways to kind of keep diving into the playbook for five years. What kind of tactics can you take from that experience that you can use now?
Carson Beck: Yeah, I think the biggest thing and something that I feel like gets looked over a lot, especially as a quarterback, and I kind of said it earlier, is like doing the simple things, like in an elite way. Like how elite can you be at the easy things? Because, again, the flat route that gets you seven yards on first down, I mean, it's not ****, it's not the 45-yard go ball, right, that everybody wants to see, but it wins you football games. And the more that you can commit to that, it creates consistency, and consistency wins football games.
Reporter: When you're out there and you're practicing, you're trying to learn the mental side, learn the physical side, just do what you need to do to become a better player. How does building chemistry work with pass catchers and receivers, especially when, you know, you might not be getting reps with all of the different ones? Like how does that develop?
Carson Beck: So, yeah, that's obviously the balance of all of this and trying to establish yourself as a leader. But first you have to build connections to, you know, be able to establish yourself as a leader. So, obviously, I think the biggest thing in that is how much time can I spend on my own, right, in my own time of getting in the playbook, making sure I understand and can actually go out there and do it so I'm not out there on the field like in just a whirlwind of, oh, like this guy's doing this, this guy's doing this. It's like, no, I go to the line and I feel comfortable. And now I can focus on building that chemistry. Now I can focus on building those relationships. So, like, I mean, there's only so much time in the day, but how much of that time can I allot to making sure that I'm becoming a better quarterback, a better football player, a better teammate.
