Raiders’ Pete Carroll makes ‘surprised’ admission about disastrous start

The start of the Pete Carroll era has not gone how the Las Vegas Raiders have planned. Even Carroll is a bit stunned.

Their 31-0 Week 7 loss against the Kansas City Chiefs dropped the Raiders to 2-5 on the season. The Chiefs are a strong team, but Carroll expected more from his team. Overall, the first seven games haven’t been up to his expectations, via team reporter Levi Edwards.

“I’m surprised we’re not further along,” Carroll said.

The Raiders managed to pick up wins over the New England Patriots in Week 1 and Tennessee Titans in Week 6. However, offense has been a serious problem. In both victories, Las Vegas only scored 20 points. Coming out of their Chiefs loss, the Raiders rank 28th in total offense, averaging 276.4 yards per game.

Las Vegas’ biggest problem has been the play of Geno Smith. Through seven weeks, he has completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 1,417 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Against the Chiefs, Smith threw for just 67 scoreless yards before eventually being benched for Kenny Pickett.

Defensively, the Raiders rank 18th overall, allowing 328.6 yards per game. However, before allowing 31 to the Chiefs, Las Vegas gave up 40 points in their loss prior to the Indianapolis Colts.

Pete Carroll came out of retirement to reunite with the quarterback on the Raiders. But so far, the pairing hasn’t gotten off the ground. They’re entering their Week 8 bye week looking to figure out things in a major way in offense.

If Smith continues to struggle, the losses will continue to pile up. The Raiders will have their next opportunity to turn things around against the Jaguars in Week 9.