The Las Vegas Raiders are not having the sort of season they envisioned when they brought in Pete Carroll as the franchise’s new head coach this past offseason. Quarterback Geno Smith is throwing interceptions at an unsustainable clip, and the Raiders are 1-4 after the first five games of the season.
Carroll was asked what could be done to help Smith get things figured out, and the head coach hinted at not being satisfied with the play-calling of offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
“We have to run the football better, more,” Carroll said, via Pro Football Talk. “And we’re going to continue to work at it and see if we can’t continue to bring it to life. The running game has looked well in order right now, we need to get more of them. That’s part of it.
“That’s just mixing football. That’s how you do it. We don’t ever want to rely on the quarterback has to do the whole show, sitting in the shotgun, throw the football. Never coach that way. So we have to mix our stuff so we can use our play action game.”
Caroll noted that rookie tailback Ashton Jeanty has the talent to make plays if he’s given the opportunities.
“I was pleased with how we saw Ashton come to life on the edge,” Carroll said. “He made some nice plays and stretched the defense and put some threat on them with that. And we’ve got to make sure that we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations.
“He’s not calling the plays. We’ve got to call them and we’ve got to make sure and get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way. Part of that is really controlling the game with what we do in front in the running game.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Kelly’s approach changes from here on out.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.