Through the first six games of the season, the Raiders have not gotten what they bargained for with Geno Smith.
Despite the presence of Ashton Jeanty and a $6 million offensive coordinator, Smith hasn’t looked anything like the quarterback he was in Seattle, and former Raiders’ great Lincoln Kennedy said this week that Smith looks like a quarterback that is “shell shocked.”
“I’ve watched a lot of football. I have not seen a lot of games where Geno Smith was quarterback, but I had seen some games, most notably in Seattle. Yesterday was the first time that I watched Geno Smith play guarded,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders Squad Show podcast.
“I can’t blame him. He’s shell shocked. When I watch his reads, when I watch his head from my vantage point, because I can’t see his eyes from where I’m sitting. I watch him survey and if his first reads gone and if he doesn’t absolutely believe in that first read, he holds onto the ball just a slight bit longer…. ‘I’m going to try to wait for something to come open, but I’m not going to take that risk. I’m not going to take that chance,'” Kennedy continued.
“What we are now seeing are defenses that play against the Raiders are like, ‘You know what? I’m going to challenge you to throw it long. I don’t believe you’re going to throw long because I don’t believe that you have a receiver that can defeat press man-on-man coverage and get that separation against my best corner… and so you’re not going to try it.’ More importantly, from the offensive standpoint, because Geno is hindered, because Geno is shell shocked, playing guarded, [you] can’t really have a lot of those throws where it’s like, ‘Okay, I know he’s going to come open there, let me get it there.'”
Kennedy said the offensive line in Las Vegas has contributed to Smith’s inconsistencies and with that being the case, it’s fair to wonder if the situation on offense is going to get better anytime soon.
The Raiders won’t be adding any offensive linemen before the end of the season, and if anything, they could end up trading Jakobi Meyers ahead of the NFL’s November 4 trade deadline.
“Teams I’ve spoken to believe the Raiders are open to trading wide receiver Jakobi Meyers but are not actively trying to move him,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday. “The sense is the Raiders would prefer to play out the season before making major determinations about the roster. But Meyers requested a trade in the preseason, so a potential deal feels at least on the table.”
After beating the Titans on Sunday, it’s been a relatively quiet couple of days for the Raiders, but week 7 is likely to be a critical junction in the season.
There are things brewing under the surface in the Raiders’ locker room and this week’s game in Kansas City is going to go a long way towards either burying some of the doubt in the building or bringing more issues to the surface.
x: @raidersbeat
Geno Smith is shell shocked what about Raider Nation. I knew he was bad but wow 10 picks in six weeks. Thinks he’s too good to run and takes sacks. Defenses have his number and can’t wait to play against him. Telegraphs where he’s going with the ball and has a coach that coddles him like a baby. If he’s shell shocked imagine how we feel.
I am just starting and I want, with respect for my fellows football lovers, you to know that I am a FRENCH-Canadian who started watching football in 1956 (no errors 1 9 5 6) CFL and 1960 NFL because of the Sam Etcheverry refusal to be traded and went from the Montréal Alouettes to the St-Louis Cardinals. So, for a start : . The 17 games schedule is stupid mess, all the players injured is the reason (too short training camp) and 2. Thursday gave (to a lesser degree the Monday) should not be…it means a game with no “reaL”pratice !!!
He just isn’t any good. Hes had one decent year out of 15 & yet this organization acts like we have to be patient with him.
Again, last off season the QB options were Geno, Darnold, Jones, Fields. Jackson Dart, and what did Brady’s puppets do? Get the 2nd worst one, and the only one who required draft compensation. Brilliant stuff
I agree with Kennedy. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his best game since z week 1 involves a conservative game plan that didn’t ask him up do much. I don’t see much confidence. If his first read is gone, especially if it’s a deeper route, he seems to panic. Some of his movements in the pocket against Indy were almost spastic. And unfortunately, the Raiders don’t have many receivers who can win downfield on the outside right now. They should be able to do more damage over the middle, even with Bowers out, but aren’t.
And Kelly doesn’t seem to call any designed QB runs that might keep defenses honest. He’s broken right now. Not sure if it’s fixable.
Jeano should be gono time to bench the scrub!
At this point give picket a chance if he can’t cut it put in cam Miller for the rest of the season!
The only way to know that the NFL isn’t rigged is if the Raiders start winning ,because we know the NFL would never do anything to help the raiders!