From gunslinger hitting the bullseye in Week 1 to misfiring in Week 2, Geno Smith’s first two games as the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback went from an encouraging high to a disconcerting low.
Smith went right at the Los Angeles Chargers defense this past Monday night, however, instead of hitting his mark like he did in the rain at the New England Patriots in the season opener, the 34-year-old quarterback didn’t complete any of the dozen throws over 10 yards downfield against the Bolts.
“Yeah, he took
shots, put the ball up and tried to give the guy a chance to make the play, Dont’e (Thornton Jr.) and Jakobi (Meyers), and they defended him well. They were back there,” Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said the day after the game when asked if the film affirm Smith’s decision making. “In retrospect, it looked like it was really difficult to be hopeful, and he was trying to make something happen.”
The topsy turvy performance is indicative of the ebbs and flows of being a NFL signal caller though. And a quarterback that’s willing to make something happen is a double-edged sword. It can cut the opposition deep —like it did against the Patriots — and it can gash the Raiders good, too — like against the Chargers.
And the Monday night thud showcased a bevy of ugly warts regarding the Raiders offense. Like the double-edge sword, though, the missteps on offense has elements of both bad and good.
That said, it shouldn’t dissuade Las Vegas offensive coordinator Chip Kelly or Smith from attacking deep. The Silver & Black should keep pushing the envelope — like I noted a week ago, bold Kelly is what Raiders need — and not clam up or recede like a turtle defensively hiding in its own shell.
Yes, the tape is out there after two games on how to and how not to defend a Kelly-orchestrated offense. New England decided to deploy majority man coverage concepts and got burnt. Los Angeles, meanwhile, went with a more zone-focused approach and both suffocated and stymied the Raiders offensive attack.
Now we’ll get to see how Carroll’s coaching staff collects itself with intentions of a bounce back game in Week 3.
With the NFL being a copycat league, don’t be surprised if the host Commanders (1-1 overall) dabble in zone concepts to see if they can mimic what the Chargers (2-0) did to the Raiders (1-1) under the primetime lights. Washington defensive coordinator Joe Whitt Jr. uses a combination of man and zone coverages but his philosophy is rooted in aggressive play style that features physicality and violence. He does lean more towards pressure man concepts with blitzing all with intent to disrupt the opposing quarterback.
Fortunately for Kelly and Smith, they’ve seen this already on the young season as the Patriots deploy a similar style and the Raiders took full advantage. Las Vegas couldn’t do so against Los Angeles’ two-high zone shell, however.
Carroll intimated that at times, his team could’ve simply taken what the Chargers were giving, immediately after the 20-9 loss.
“Yeah, it felt like that tonight. That’s right. It felt like that tonight, and he had a lot of time back there. He had chance to look and see, didn’t like what he saw underneath and gave those guys some shots down the field, which he’s tremendous at doing basically,” the Raiders head coach said when asked if there’s a time he has to pull the quarterback aside and say “we can’t.” “So I’m not not supporting some of the choices there. I need to see what happened though. I want to see if he had other options that we could’ve gotten the ball out of his hands. And so he’ll play. He’s been a 70% guy for the last four or five years. He’ll be right back at it just like he was last week.”
A day later and after looking at the game film, Carroll noted he isn’t going to pull the reins on his quarterback’s gunslinger ways. But did note to make smart decisions and take care of the football.
“Yeah, well that’s experience with the guy and trust. I know what he was thinking, and I know the shot that he took, and he threw a ball that was catchable, possibly, but it was a challenge,” Carroll explained. “And so a couple of them came up — they made their plays, and they did a nice job with it. So I’m not going to slow him down. Taking the shots instinctively are there for him. But we will evaluate, and if there’s a better option, let’s not give them their opportunity to get the football from us.”
It goes without saying, a completely healthy Brock Bowers helps the Raiders offense. Sporting a knee brace on his left knee, the second-year tight end wasn’t his usual productive self in the Week 2 defeat. Also, getting a moribund ground game going exponentially makes Las Vegas’ offensive attack that much more effective.
But the Raiders should test the Commanders pass defense early and often. Washington sports the 18th-ranked unit in terms of passing yards allowed (426) but has only yielded two passing touchdowns (good for sixth). The Commanders defense has also missed 13 tackles on the young year, according to Pro Football Reference, which is the 11th most whiffs in the league. So getting the short passing attack going alongside the deep bombs is a must.
Kelly is in his first season as the Raiders offensive play caller and growing pains are to be expected. But wide receiver Jakobi Meyers — who leads the team in receptions and yards with 14 and 165, respectively — doesn’t like the term “growing pains”.
“I’m going to say issues. It’s just setting the foundation. I mean, we’ve got to see what works and what doesn’t work,” Meyers said in the locker room after the Raiders’ Monday night loss. “It’s a little too early right now, so we’re just going to keep pushing honestly, it’s a long season, and if this defines our season, then we’re in trouble anyway. I think we’ll be all right. We’re going to bounce back from this, learn from it and get better.”
We’ll get to see exactly that this coming Sunday in Washington. Is this incarnation of the Silver & Black able to adjust and succeed?
I’ll leave you with this hilarious take from former quarterback Peyton Manning on “halftime adjustments”:
