No Panic from Raiders: Why Carroll Stands by Smith

The Las Vegas Raiders have not gotten off to the type of start they would have hoped for. Las Vegas' 1-3 start was worsened by the fact that they could have beaten the Chicago Bears on Sunday. However, the Raiders made too many mistakes to overcome, losing their third consecutive game.

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith threw three interceptions in the Raiders' one-point loss. Smith regularly forced throws into coverage for yet another week, costing the team a win and putting the Raiders in a position to where they have very little room for error remaining.

Carroll Not Worried

There were few experienced quarterbacks available when the Raiders landed Smith via trade. There were even fewer quarterbacks available that Raiders Head Coach Pete Carroll were as familiar with as Smith. The two spent years with the Seattle Seahawks, building trust and a strong bond.

They are leaning on that bond right now, with the Raiders sitting at 1-3 and Smith being a large part of the reason why. Still, Carroll has the utmost confidence in Smith despite his struggles. Although Smith's struggles are more than apparent, Carroll stood by his quarterback following Sunday's loss.

“I'm not worried about his confidence. No, he knows. He has to reevaluate the timing of the of the choice. He was too comfortable in the throw. He ripped it. He ripped both those throws feeling like the ball is going to get there. What I'm concerned about is I want to make sure we're practicing him so that he understands that some of those shows aren't there,” Carroll said.

“He hits everything in practice. He's ridiculously accurate and has been the whole time we've been together. And so, he's really confident and thought he could get it, and game speed was a little bit different. So, that's where he grows. The game speed is a little bit different than the practice that we can create, and some of those choices go to check downs.”

Carroll did the right thing by defending Smith. However, it is becoming clear that Smith is struggling more than anyone anticipated he would when the season started. Carroll must find a way to settle Smith down, then he must find a way to get the most out of the talented signal caller.