The Raiders are trying to figure out what’s been wrong with Geno Smith in the first month of the season, and if you listened to head coach Pete Carroll this week, he placed a lot of responsibility on offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
Whether the issue has been the coaching or something else, it is clear that Smith isn’t playing anything like what he did for most of his tenure in Seattle.
The Athletic’s Ted Nguyen talked about Smith’s struggles this week and said Smith has looked like a completely different quarterback in his first five games with the Raiders.
“The pushback for Geno Smith seemed to come from the time that he played with the Jets and he was a very bad quarterback for the Jets. But he was a completely different quarterback with the Seahawks and what he’s doing now doesn’t change what he was with the Seahawks,” Nguyen said on the Just Win podcast.
“It’s kind of crazy the drop off that has happened from that Geno Smith into the Geno Smith that we’re seeing now. He was legitimately one of the most accurate quarterbacks in the league when he was playing for the Seahawks. He was fourth in completion percentage over expected during his time at Seattle.”
In four years with the Jets, Smith threw 28 touchdowns and 36 interceptions, which was a major disappointment considering he was a second-round pick.
But in Seattle, Smith was a different player. He threw 76 touchdowns against 36 interceptions and had a 95.9 quarterback rating in five seasons with the Seahawks.
Nguyen said even some the advanced numbers point to a bizarrely different version of Smith now that he’s with the Raiders.
“His off-target rate was only 6.9, which was among the lowest in the league, and it jumped up to 9.2%, almost a 30% increase in off-target percentage, which was, I think, the strangest regression as far as looking at Geno Smith… how his accuracy has been affected,” Nguyen said.
“As far as the turnovers, he had 15 turnovers, interceptions in 2024. But a lot of it was unlucky, tip passes, things like that. And we know that because his turnover-worthy play percentage was 2.6%. That means he was only putting the ball in harm’s way 2.6% of the time, and he got unlucky in those times, and it became interceptions. But 2.6% ranks in the bottom of the league. He was 26 in turnover-worthy percentage, and they doubled this year.”
“It’s at 5.2%, which is 36 worse in the league, so he is putting the ball in harm’s way. The first interception against the Colts was unlucky. That second one, Dont’e Thornton ran a really crappy route, but that ball should not have been thrown based on the coverage. So he needs to play better, bottom line, and that’s my final defense of Geno Smith until he plays better. I just don’t like that people are taking the way that he’s playing now and just saying, ‘We told you so.'”
If there was ever a time to get back on track, a home game against the hapless Tennessee Titans might be the perfect opportunity.
As bad as the Raiders have it right now, the situation in Tennessee appears to be even worse.
Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz was on the Raiders’ flagship radio station this week and he is well-connected to people in and around the Titans.
The way Fitz described the Titans, it would be hard to believe they aren’t the most dysfunctional organization in the NFL right now.
“Brian Callahan, the head coach of the Titans, was described to me literally, as one person that covered the team [said], as a meat shield that only has his job still, so that Amy Adams Strunk, the owner of the Titans, can put him out at the podium every week and let him get yelled at about how bad the team is rather than her having to face any consequence,” Fitz said.
“That’s how bad it is in Tennessee, and I know they just beat the Cardinals,” he continued. “I know they just won that football game. That does not change the fact that the Titans, there were reporters that I know that cover the Titans that at halftime were expecting Callahan would be fired today.”
“The fact that they won that game versus Cardinals doesn’t change the fact that the Titans, I think currently right now on the least talented roster in the NFL, and they don’t have a coaching staff that brings much to the table. I say all that to say, you got to beat the Titans. You don’t beat the Titans, and this whole, the tone of the entire season, wildly changes for all of us.”
x: @raidersbeat
A Geno Smith apologist blame everyone but Geno Smith it was like he was regurgitating the garbage Pete Carroll is spewing. Geno Smith threw 15 picks last year Seattle had seen enough and dumped him. You can say Thornton all you like but who was it that threw that wretched pass to Thornton who was wide open at the goal line against the Bears. Put the blame where it lies at Smiths feet. If the Raiders lose to Tennessee Sunday Carroll should be fired and Smith should be sent packing as well.
I’m pretty sure there’s plenty of blame to placed at more than just Geno, however Geno is just playing terrible ball. The most obvious is his decision making. In Sea he had DK here he has Meyers, one legged Bowers that shouldn’t have been playing, and a bunch of overdrafted rookies who aren’t being coached to play in the NFL. The system has sucked but that’s what happens when you put the coaching staff together with advice from ownership people instead of the HC. The only positive so far this year has been the Monday night home opener that was filled with Raider fans instead the opposing teams fans. Now that the team continues to fail at every aspect of the franchise the opposing teams can continue to overrun our stadium. It will stay that way until the organization decides to rebuild with a coach that is willing to do it the right way. With a GM that is willing to so it the right way. With a majority owner that is willing to tell his bought and paid for friend/minority owner/pet to leave the **** team alone and to focus on his day job since he clearly needs to work on that!