The Las Vegas Raiders head into their bye week with a 2-5 record after a tough Week 7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Looking back, the decision to go with Geno Smith hasn’t exactly worked out.
According to ESPN, Las Vegas currently ranks fourth-worst in the NFL in passing offense, averaging just 182.7 yards per game. Only the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, and Tennessee Titans have been worse in that category.
Adding to the struggles, Smith has thrown 10 interceptions while recording only seven touchdown passes. Amid the offensive struggles, former Raiders offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy believes it’s time to start from scratch.
“This team doesn’t have the ability to come back and stay toe to toe with most offenses in the league right now. So totally blow up everything this bye week. Go with a different offense,” Kennedy said on the Locked on Raiders podcast.
“Put Geno under center, put a traditional tight end and take your other tight end and put them in the backfield as a fullback and you do a mimic of an eye formation, do a mimic of an eye formation and run straight downhill right at these opposing teams that you are facing.
“What this is going to do is it’s going to say, ‘I’m relying on you to get it done’ and that’s exactly what these guys in the front need. [They need] to stand up. I don’t care if it’s JPJ. I don’t care who’s out there. These guys need to stand up for themselves and defend themselves because there’s no reason to go from shotgun on the three-yard line and throw a **** tackle eligible. So that’s all I got to say about that.”
Will Chip Kelly Last With the Raiders?
Although most of the frustration seems directed at the veteran quarterback, NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms turned his attention toward offensive coordinator Chip Kelly.
“I think Chip Kelly is probably the first guy they’re looking at and go, ‘I don’t know if we should have done that,’” Simms said on the October 20 edition of “Pro Football Talk.” “He looks like he’s in over his head as far as an offensive coordinator.”
“His offense is too simple. It’s too easy to figure out. For a guy like [Steve Spagnuolo], he was like, ‘What is this? This is kindergarten stuff for me. I got it.’ And I think that’s where you [have] to give Geno the benefit of the doubt.”
Can the Raiders Improve After Losing to the Chiefs?
Following Las Vegas’ rough outing against the Chiefs, Jeanty addressed reporters and offered an honest assessment of the team’s showing. He avoided blaming Kelly or the game plan, instead emphasizing that the group needs to improve.
“Just a terrible performance by us as a team,” Jeanty said postgame on October 19. “Couldn’t stop them on defense and offense. We couldn’t get going at all. So, you’re going to lose a lot of football games like that…
“We just got to be better. I mean, simple as that. We got to go back, watch the film, can’t point the finger, can’t point a finger at coaches for the scheme or another player for making a mistake. We got to look inward and see how each and every single one of us can get better to make sure that never happens again.”
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