Raiders QB Geno Smith wants to go long, but the deep pass isn’t always there

HENDERSON Nev AP The Chargers decided to take away Geno Smith s deep passing challenge Monday night and force him to go with underneath routes Smith at times did just that but he also opted to throw long regardless of the coverage and paid the price He tied a career high with three interceptions in the Raiders - loss to Los Angeles becoming the first quarterback since to go at least for from yards and beyond according to Sportradar Las Vegas coach Pete Carroll commented after the event he thought Smith forced too multiple throws Watching the video reinforced his opinion They defended him well Carroll reported Tuesday They were back there In retrospect it looked like it was really challenging to be hopeful and he was trying to make something happen Smith revealed back to offseason summer practices his willingness to take shots downfield and he has speedy receivers on the outside in Tre Tucker and Dont e Thornton who can get past the fastest cornerbacks That aggressiveness plays into the Raiders proud history of trying to beat teams with the long ball But Smith did his own Monday morning quarterbacking minutes after the championship Monday night I m never going to make any excuses about anything Smith mentioned I ve got to be better We got to be better and we ve got a short week to improve on that A week shortened even more because the Raiders have a cross-country trip to play Washington on Sunday What Smith demands as much as anything is a run competition which would help open up those deep routes Las Vegas averaged a league-low yards rushing last season which is why the Raiders drafted running back Ashton Jeanty sixth this year That hasn t fixed their ground event The Raiders average yards ahead of only Cincinnati at Jeanty did make progress A week after rushing for yards on carries at New England he gained yards on attempts against the Chargers He s still getting it Carroll reported We have a strategies to go here and I have no difficulty telling you that He s going to get better and get more reassured He felt more reassured in this championship He looked good running the football We need to just get to him more just liked to get another eight or nine snaps to him and get around One reason Carroll was thrilled to reunite with Smith after their success together in Seattle was that he knew he was getting a veteran quarterback who has overcome more than his share of adversity So one bad outing likely will not throttle Smith You got to learn from it and so I m going to be super hard on myself extremely hard on myself because that s all I know Smith noted I m going to get better this week find procedures to get better from this film and we ll be better as a squad as well What s working The defensive front is getting the job done ranking fourth in allowing yards rushing per tournament and tied for eighth with six sacks Usual suspect Maxx Crosby is a big part of it but it s not just him Defensive tackle Jonah Laulu stepping in when Christian Wilkins was dismissed has three sacks He had one in games last season What demands The Raiders struggles with the offensive line is a major reason they didn t have a running encounter last season Guess where much of the issue lies now Las Vegas drafted two linemen in the third round and signed free agent Alex Cappa so the Raiders didn t ignore the front But it s not looking like they did enough to address it Stock up Not everyone on the offensive line is struggling Kolton Miller long one of the NFL s top tackles is off to an especially good start Pro Football Focus rates him as third best out of tackles in pass blocking and th overall There s a reason the Raiders in July gave him a three-year million extension Stock down Three trips to the red zone netted two field goals and an interception against the Chargers The Raiders defense kept the company in the battle but the offense failed to take advantage It s a bad early trend as well The Raiders conversion rate ranks th Injuries Carroll reported he expected G Jackson Powers-Johnson concussion to return to practice this week He also commented TE Brock Bowers knee will increase his productivity in practice Bowers practiced once last week and was clearly not against the Chargers in catching five passes for yards Key number Jeanty s average per carry this season Next attempts At the Commanders on Sunday AP NFL https apnews com hub nfl Source