One of the most disappointing teams this year is undoubtedly the Raiders..This may not be a surprise since they were coming off a 3-14 season; however, this year they started a new project that may not have been meant to win a Super Bowl, but at least to start competing in the tough AFC West. That hasn’t been the case.
The Raiders have only two wins this season, sit last in their division, and practically all their units show very little talent. Of course, defensive star Maxx Crosby is the exception-he is an elite player. To make matters worse, Shedeur Sanders earned his first win as an NFL starter against them with the Cleveland Browns. It’s worth remembering that the Raiders were one of the teams that shut the door on Sanders before the draft.
We’ll have to wait and see what happens next, but the new Raiders project is led by general manager John Spytek, who was part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that won the 2021 Super Bowl with Tom Brady against the Chiefs. However, based on what we’ve seen this season, Las Vegas still has a lot to fix.
Geno Smith apologizes to the fans
With Spytek as general manager, Pete Carroll was named head coach of the Raiders, mainly because of his experience and his successful tenure with the Seattle Seahawks, where he won a Super Bowl in 2014 and came very close to winning another-until Malcolm Butler’s interception of Russell Wilson prevented the Seahawks from beating Tom Brady’s New England Patriots. Brady is now a minority owner of the Raiders.
After the Raiders’ latest loss to the Browns, Geno Smith, the team’s quarterback, walked off the field frustrated and made a gesture toward fans that went viral. Smith, who has thrown 13 interceptions, appeared visibly frustrated and acted poorly toward the supporters, but a few days later he issued an apology during a press conference:
“I made a poor decision out of frustration. That’s not an excuse – I’ve got to be better than that and hold myself to a higher standard. In that moment, I didn’t. I’m sincerely apologetic and very sorry for doing that. I just want to make it known that those things will never happen again,” Smith said at a press conference.
It’s clear that being the quarterback puts you at the center of criticism, but the truth is the Raiders have many problems, and one of the biggest is the offensive line. That may be one of the reasons Smith hasn’t looked better. Against the Cleveland Browns alone, the Raiders allowed 10 sacks.
To make matters worse, the Raiders’ first-round pick, Ashton Jeanty – who was talked about as the next Saquon Barkley – hasn’t produced either. He has surpassed 75 rushing yards only once. The Boise State product has fallen short, averaging just 3.64 yards per carry – far below what Las Vegas expected from their first-round pick in the last draft.
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