Music City Miracles
The Tennessee Titans travel to Las Vegas to take on the Raiders this week in a battle of 1-4 teams. The Titans finally have some momentum after the improbable comeback win over the Arizona Cardinals. To preview the contest, Matt Holder of Silver and Black Pride answered five questions to give us some insight into the Raiders.
1. Are Raiders’ fans pleased overall with the start to the Pete Carroll era?
Not at all. Carroll talked about winning now all offseason and mentioned several times how many 10-win seasons he has on his resume. So, a 1-4 start isn’t exactly what Raider Nation was expecting this year, especially since the team has been non-competitive in two out of the four losses and barely competitive in another. That’s led some to call for his job just five games in.
Now, the organization is looking at (another) rebuild with a 74-year-old head coach, and fans aren’t happy because this isn’t what was pitched to us.
2. How has Ashton Jeanty looked so far? What are his biggest strengths and weaknesses?
Las Vegas’ offensive line was awful at the beginning of the year, which made Jeanty look worse because he wasn’t putting up the impressive numbers that he did in college. But the Boise State product had no breathing room and was constantly met by defenders in the backfield. At one point, 101 percent of his rushing yards came after contact.
However, the line has played much better in the last two weeks, so Jeanty’s explosiveness and ability to make defenders miss or break tackles (his two biggest strengths) have shone through. To add context, he had 47 rushes for 144 yards (3.1 yards per carry) with 146 yards after contact in Weeks 1-3, according to Pro Football Focus, and has 35 carries for 205 yards (5.9 ypc) with 167 yards after contact in the last two games.
One area where Jeanty can improve is with his patience. He was a little overeager in the first few weeks and missed a few open lanes by not giving the blocks enough time to develop. To a small extent, that contributed to the offensive line’s issues. But he’s been a lot better recently and has managed to find some backside cutback lanes for explosive runs.
3. Is Geno Smith the guy the Raiders should be looking to build around, or will the Raiders be in the QB market this offseason?
Circling back to your first question, in my opinion, Smith is the biggest reason the Raiders are 1-4 right now and why a lot of people are pissed at Carroll. Those two are tied at the hip as Geno was Pete’s pick at quarterback this season, opting to trade for him instead of going after a free agent like Sam Darnold or Russell Wilson. Granted, Wilson wouldn’t have been a much better option, but at least he wouldn’t have cost the Raiders a draft pick, and Smith has been terrible in Las Vegas.
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