The Pete Carroll era got underway on Sunday as the head coach and his quarterback, Geno Smith, led the team to a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots in Week 1. The win was refreshing for an organization that is in need of a culture change and has struggled tremendously when traveling to the East Coast in recent years.
Carroll became the first head coach in NFL history to win his franchise debut with four different teams, having previously done so with the New York Jets, New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks. He also accomplished the feat in his lone collegiate stop with the USC Trojans.
Meanwhile, Smith was quite impressive under center in his first game with Las Vegas. He set a record for the most passing yards in a Raiders debut, but despite his strong performance, Carroll did not exactly sound overly impressed with his play.
Pete Carroll believes Geno Smith can play better despite Raiders win
Smith had a great showing in his first game in a Raiders uniform, as he threw for 362 yards, one touchdown and one interception. He completed 70.6% of his pass attempts while adding ten rushing yards on two carries, posting a 102.8 passer rating.
Despite ranking tied for 12th in pass attempts, only Josh Allen threw for more yards than Smith in Week 1. His 15.1 yards per completion was the highest of any quarterback, while his 10.6 yards per attempt trailed only Lamar Jackson.
Speaking with the media after the game, however, Carroll made it clear that his quarterback still has more work to do.
"For him to complete over 70% of his passes again, Geno had a very good game today. I don't think it was a statement game or anything like that. I just think it was what he does, and we'll do better than that. He's got it in him to do better than that," Carroll said. "He got rushed a little bit today, a couple (of) times. That really kind of changed his opportunities to have an even bigger day, but the fact that we had so many big plays -- somebody said that we had nine plays over 20 (yards) and it tied a record or something like that. I can't believe that now. I can't believe that with all the guys we've had in the years with the Raiders, we didn't have more than that. But it was still a big day for us, and he did a great job."
This is not necessarily a criticism of Smith, as Carroll said multiple times that he did a great job. But it is possible that Raider Nation has been so starved for good quarterback play that an average or unremarkable Geno Smith game seems like a revelation.
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Smith became the sixth quarterback in Raiders history to throw for at least 350 yards while completing 70% of his passes. Rich Gannon is the only quarterback to accomplish the feat more than once, having done so three times.
While Carroll believes that Smith can be better, he showed plenty of promise to a fanbase that has been looking for an answer under center for quite some time. If he continues to play at a high level, the decision to acquire him for the mere price of a third-round pick will continue to look like genius.
In Week 2, Smith and Co. will face an even bigger test against the Los Angeles Chargers as they welcome their AFC West rival to Allegiant Stadium for a Monday Night Football matchup. If Smith can find another level, like Carroll believes he can, the Raiders have a chance to start 2-0.