Joe Montana wasn鈥檛 interested in teaching Steve Young when the two Hall of Fame quarterbacks played together in San Francisco.
Brett Favre felt the same after Green Bay drafted .
Montana and Favre wanted to keep their starting jobs as long as they could.
has a different perspective on mentoring in Las Vegas.
鈥淥n one hand, certainly happy to be a resource, and he鈥檒l learn 鈥� we鈥檒l all learn from each other so much in the quarterback room,鈥� Cousins said on the AP鈥檚 鈥淥n Football鈥� podcast. 鈥淚鈥檝e always said that the quarterback room is kind of a working force together, where we鈥檙e all giving each other feedback, giving each other thoughts, asking questions, wanting to get a feel from the pulse of the room.
鈥溾�榃hat do you think here? What should we do differently, or what are we doing well?鈥� So, there鈥檚 always good dialogue. You know, I鈥檇 hate to emphasize the mentoring thing too much in the sense that it makes it look like I know so much and he doesn鈥檛, when I think, in reality, we all have something to share, we all can help one another, and that鈥檚 how the good quarterback rooms operate.鈥�
The Raiders drafted Mendoza No. 1 overall after the Heisman Trophy winner led Indiana to its first national championship. Cousins knew the plan before he signed with Las Vegas in March, reuniting with new coach Klint Kubiak. The two were together in Minnesota when Kubiak was an assistant.
鈥淚 think it helps to kind of hit the ground running and have a shared history,鈥� Cousins said. 鈥淚 think any time you have continuity or shared history with coaches or players, it just helps you move faster and have built some trust. And so I think that鈥檚 a positive. But, you know, in today鈥檚 NFL, that鈥檚 more of a luxury than a common thing. It seems like there鈥檚 just so much turnover and so much change that you have to kind of be able to hit the reset button every spring. And so that鈥檚 part of it as well.鈥�
Cousins, who began his career with Washington in 2012, is on his third team in four years. He spent six years with the Vikings and the last two in Atlanta before going to Las Vegas.
If the Raiders start slow or he struggles early, calls for the team to start Mendoza will be loud. Cousins has played long enough to know how to block out the noise.
鈥淲ell, you just go play football. You kind of insulate yourself,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou certainly listen to the voices that matter, your coaches, your teammates. When they鈥檙e telling you something, then that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing. But I don鈥檛 think you need to listen to outside voices. And then you just go do your job the way I鈥檝e known to do it for 15 years. You do the best you can. And then, you kind of let outcomes go where they go.
鈥淚 think when you stay focused, you kind of stay in your lane, you keep blinders on. I think that鈥檚 when I play my best. And that鈥檚 kind of the process I鈥檝e employed through every situation I鈥檝e been in, every team, every season, no matter what the journey of that season brought on, you kind of keep a similar perspective, stay consistent, and that鈥檚 what we鈥檒l do again this year.鈥�
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