Geno Smith Doesn’t Hold Back on Raiders’ Offense

Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll spoke Tuesday. Below is a partial transcript.

Q: How did Ashton Jeanty's reads this week compare to Week 1? 

Coach Carroll: "He ran the ball well. I thought he hit stuff well. And he went the wrong way on a play and so that was unfortunate and mixes up the whole play. Geno [Smith] goes this way. He goes that way. He's still getting it. We have a ways to go here, and I have no problem telling you that. He's going to get better and get more comfortable. He felt more comfortable in this game. He looked good running the football. And we need to just get to him more, just liked to get another eight or nine snaps to him and get around 20. That'd be really nice." 

Q: You mentioned already that you got to improve, but would you talk about your offensive line, what you're seeing from it after two games?

Coach Carroll: "Well, we're giving us a chance. We're giving us a chance to make our plays. We get it all works together, the ball has to come out when the rush is hard and quick, and sometimes we did that, and other times we didn't. The reason Geno [Smith] had a chance to throw some late balls down the field is because the protection was so good. But it's a work in progress and with Cap [Alex Cappa] coming in this week, late in the week, that was a little bit of an adjustment for us. And we just have to try to manage that more quickly. And as when you've been together longer, those transitions get smoothed over.So, were they a factor? Very subtle, but we definitely can be better, and we definitely know we will in time." 

Q: From your perspective, is that one of the areas that just takes time?

Coach Carroll: "It always has. There are so many intricacies about what goes on up front, and it's identification, then the proper communication, and then the execution of it. All of those go hand in hand, they kind of have go in sequence. So for IDing well and we make the correct calls, then we have to work together, and then we have to execute the physical part of it. So that's different than running a route. That's different than other positions. And so, it always takes time."