Raiders Analyst Shares What “Stood Out” About Geno Smith During 1-On-1 Film Review

Geno Smith has only been with the Raiders for a few months, but the more time goes by, the more it’s starting to feel like the team doesn’t view him as a stopgap quarterback.

Every move the Raiders have made since trading for Smith has pointed to the idea that the 34-year-old veteran is the team’s short-term answer and the long-term answer at the quarterback position.

The majority of Raider fans aren’t particularly familiar with Smith, and one of the most revealing pieces on the new franchise quarterback in Las Vegas came last week from Athletic’s Ted Nguyen.

Smith broke down film with Nguyen and what fans are going to figure out soon about their new quarterback is that he’s incredibly smart.

“Smith’s football I.Q. is apparent when watching tape, but after breaking down film with him, his understanding of defenses and their rules stood out,” Ngueyn wrote at The Athletic last week. “Knowing the general rules of defenses is one thing, but understanding defenders’ responsibilities in their given schemes is the next level.”

Later, on his Raiders’ podcast, Nguyen added to those thoughts on Geno.

“I’ve broke down film with the quarterbacks in the past [and] I think the one thing that stood out with Geno is you could tell that he was coached by defensive coaches,” Nguyen said on the Just Win podcast. “Obviously, with Pete Carroll and then Mike McDonald. Because when he talks about defenses and he breaks down the film, you could tell he really understands the responsibilities of each defender in details, not just a general idea of what defenses are.”

Reed’s colleague followed up with a few observations of his own.

“Something that Kelly really harped on with Geno and probably the reason why he likes him so much is his intelligence and just his football knowledge,” Reed said.

“He thinks that it comes from him obviously just being a smart guy, but also he’s played in a bunch of systems throughout his career. He’s bounced around a few different teams, has had a bunch of different offensive coordinators, and so he knows what he’s looking at and is able to process it and digest it and react in live time. And that’s part of what makes him such an effective quarterback.”

What’s interesting about Smith’s intellect and football IQ is that former NFL quarterback Brian Hoyer essentially described Smith in March when he talked about the kind of quarterback Tom Brady was going to be looking for in Las Vegas.

Hoyer has a tremendous amount of familiarity with Brady, and he was asked by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer what he believed Brady would be looking for as he evaluates rookie and veteran quarterbacks.

“No. 1, in my opinion, has got to be toughness, work ethic, leadership,” Hoyer said.

“There’s a big mental aspect that’s probably going to go into [the decision] and I’m sure any quarterback that’s going to be brough in to be considered the quarterback of the Raiders at some point is going to sit down with Tom Brady and he’s going to go over things and say ‘Ok, it’s third down and here comes the weak safety blitz. How are you going to handle that?’”

Sounds a little like he was talking about Geno Smith, doesn’t it?

The Athletic’s Michael-Shawn Dugar was one of those covering Pete Carroll in Seattle and he shared a couple of interesting insights in April about Carroll’s affinity for Smith.

“Pete knows Geno and probably believes in Geno more than anyone outside of Geno’s immediate family. The way Pete talks about Geno is the way I talk about my daughter. Pete really loves this dude,” Dugar said on the Just Win podcast. “At some point last year, he was like, ‘Geno is one of my favorite stories. He’s one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached.’ Pete has been coaching since the 70s. For Geno to rank that high, that means a lot.”

Considering those comments, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Carroll said eaflier this month that Smith was on his mind as soon as he took the Raiders’ job.

”I was trying to get that done from the moment this thing happened. I was hoping we could do something [to get Geno Smith],” Carroll said on Brock and Salk.

“Geno was a backup for all those years… so there was a lot of times where we had to do stuff together to keep him going and he was keeping me going , but I was keeping him going. What he demonstrated to me [was] this remarkable connection in spirit to be ready knowing that the very next play he may be in the game. He never forgot that. His resolve about that I thought was so exceptional that when he got his turn I was thrilled for him…”

x: @raidersbeat

Rich Eisen: Why Raiders Fans Should Have Faith in Geno Smith & Pete Carroll

Rich Eisen reacts to Geno Smith’s introductory press conference with the Raiders and says why fans of the Silver and Black should feel confident in the team’s direction under Smith and Pete Carroll.