Silver And Black Pride
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...
