Oakland Raiders Week 2: Pressures, Hurries, Knockdowns

PRESSURES

Sean Smith – Cornerback

Gee, thanks Captain Obvious. Astute analysis there. Fair enough.

But I mean, come on man.

Smith is a great player. We’ve all seen it. When he played for the Chiefs, he routinely shut down the Raiders and made big plays. Everyone was excited when he signed a hefty  four-year, $40M contract in the offseason, which seemed like fair market value for a 6’3″, 220-pound corner of his talents.

However, Brandin Cooks, Drew Brees, Willie Snead and even rookie Michael Thomas took Smith for the ride of his life on Sunday. He gave up plays of 25+ yards to both Snead and Thomas, and then Marquette King kicked a beautiful punt to pin the Saints at their own two-yard line.

That’s when the wheels fell off entirely. Smith failed to get a jolt on Coaoks at the line and the speedy jitterbug raced past him while Brees did what Brees does. He dropped a perfect rainbow into the basket and 98 yards later Smith was cussing himself out on the sidelines. He remained there for the rest of the game.

Another alarming thing to consider, glossed over as it was “just preseason.” Smith got roasted by Marcus Mariota and an aging Andre Johnson in the only true test for the starters in the third preseason game.

Johnson beat Smith deep — yes, Andre Johnson deep — twice, and finished with three catches for 65 yards, with a long of 38. Smith also missed an interception that led to Tajae Sharpe’s 60-yard reception in the same game. Not a spectacular début in preseason, and unfortunately it carried over into the regular season opener.

Coach Jack Del Rio has already said Smith will start this week. To his credit, the veteran corner isn’t shying away from his performance and its impact on the team. Nobody wants to be benched, but he understands and is intent on moving forward and playing his game.

"“I was getting killed, I’m not going to lie to you,” Smith said to Eddie Paskal of Raiders.com. “It was bad out there. I was costing our team points. Coach did what he had to do. Obviously, I would have loved to stay in, fight that thing out, but coach made a decision about what’s best for the team, so I ride with it. It’s over. It’s football. It’s just like any other job. I had a bad day at work. I’ll come back the next day and get ready to roll for Week 2.”"

Smith is good enough and has played long enough to do just that. However, against Jones, an All-Pro and one of the most dangerous wideouts in the league, it won’t be easy.

Coleman also had five catches for 95 yards out of the backfield last week while Sanu added five for 80 yards and a TD. This team has viable options besides Jones now, but Jones is still the alpha dog.

Is Smith’s play in the Titans game and the opener the beginning of a trend of poor play, or does he just need to make a play or two to get his mojo back?

He’s under pressure to find out in a hurry, because Del Rio has shown that $40M and a pedigree doesn’t mean a thing to a man willing to risk it all to win the game. If Smith doesn’t bounce back quickly he’ll be cussing himself out on the sidelines yet again.

Next: PRESSURES - OFFENSIVE LINE REDUX