The Raiders have found their franchise quarterback in Geno Smith and the question now is… can he live up to the hype around him in recent months?
At least one former Kansas City Chief doesn’t think so, but a few compelling arguments have been made that Smith could end up being a Rich Gannon-like fit with the Raiders.
Warren Sharp of Sharp Football Analysis made an appearance this week on the Raiders’ flagship radio station, and he pointed to Smith’s accuracy as one of the most underrated aspects of the veteran quarterback’s game. Additionally, Sharp said it’s going to be a huge deal that Smith will be playing more games in a dome.
“It’s night and day. [Geno Smith] is the most impacted quarterback by great weather conditions,” Sharp said on Raider Nation Radio’s The Morning Tailgate.
“When he plays in a dome, 6.7 touchdowns for every interception. When he plays outdoors, it’s only 1.6 touchdowns for every interception. When he plays in domes, he’s averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. When he plays outdoors, it’s 7.2 yards per attempt,” Sharp continued. “His sack to interception rate drops in half. He averages a much higher success rate and a much higher EPA per attempt. The one thing, though, is that Seattle, obviously playing in the Pacific Northwest, they haven’t played a ton of dome games.”
Sharp said the sample size isn’t a lot with Smith in dome games, but it’s enough to feel confident that he is going to thrive in his first year reunited with Pete Carroll.
“In the last three years that he’s been a starter, it is a decent enough sample size to start looking at per pass attempt… but he’s still only started 10 games in domes the last three years [and] 39 games outdoors,” Sharp continued. “Do you know this year alone, he is going to play 12 games indoors? So he played 10 games indoors over the last three years, and his numbers are dramatically better every single time.”
“And keep in mind, all those games are road games, where a quarterback shouldn’t necessarily be flourishing in a hostile environment, but he is, when he’s playing in these dome games, 20 touchdowns, only three interceptions. That’s what he’s doing in dome games. Now he gets to play 12 such games in 2025.”
Outside of the nine games at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders travel to dome games at Houston, Indianapolis and Los Angeles in 2025.
The Raiders went into the offseason with an unsettled situation at quarterback and after coming up short in their efforts to trade for Matthew Stafford, it was only a matter of days before the team was able to work out to a deal with the Seattle Seahawks for Smith.
On the outside, many viewed Smith as a short-term answer at quarterback, but based on the way free agency and the draft played out, the decision makers in Las Vegas don’t view Geno Smith as a stopgap quarterback.
Carroll has an extensive history with Smith from their time together in Seattle and it seems like Smith might have been the quarterback Carroll wanted for the Raiders from the start.
”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 in May.
“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
Much like Jim Plunket and Rich Gannon before him, Geno Smith is a journeyman who never gave up and in his latter end he is finally making good, he is finishing strong and with honor. Smith is a straight up good QB, I like the fire of competition with in him, winners never quit. Smith wants to win and he will win you over if our offensive line can keep him alive. You will like this offense and be frustrated with this defense in general, that secondary is the real story, it is Swiss cheese on toast.
Raider On Nation
The Raiders still need a competent, MOBILE, backup quarterback in the event that an unforseen injury should befall Geno during the NFL’s 17 game regular season. Last week year Gardner Minshew and Adian O’Connell both went down to injury and the Raiders were forced to play Desmond Ridder who was largely ineffective but mobile.
Why not pursue a battle tested, mobile, younger and affordable veteran like Joshua Dobbs? If injury should befall Geno, during the regular season, Adian O’Donnell has shown that he IS NOT a MOBILE option. I hope that the team that I have been a fan of, since 1968, will use some foresight for a change instead of getting caught with their pants down again and add a viable option at the quarterback position.
It’s a long regular season and usually the unthinkable occurs but, for a much needed change, the Raiders can prepare themselves, by being proactive as opposed to being reactive, and mitigate the almost inevitable, of a possible injury to their starting quarterback, and be prepared for a change.
THIS is, and should be, a NEW era for the Raiders and a chance to turn this once proud franchise around. It took Kansas City 50 years to win their second championship. Hopefully it won’t take 50 years for the Raiders to win their fourth but it has to start with better decision making and adding a mobile, affordable, battle tested veteran quarterback, THIS SEASON, would be a good start.