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By Jordan Sigler
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Pete Carroll has gotten off to a slow start in his first year as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. The Raiders are 1-4 before their Week 6 contest at home against the 1-4 Tennessee Titans.
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The offense has not been as explosive as predicted with offensive coordinator Chip Kelly working with veteran quarterback Geno Smith and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty. The Raiders are averaging 16.6 per game, which ranks 30th out of 32 teams in the NFL.
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During his news conference on Wednesday, Carroll was asked about issues with the offense. Carroll didn't directly name Kelly, but he made the case that the play calling needed to be better, something Kelly is in charge of.
“We have to run the football better, more,” Carroll said via Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. “And we’re going to continue to work at it and see if we can’t continue to bring it to life. The running game has looked well in order right now, we need to get more of them. That’s part of it. That’s just mixing football. That’s how you do it."
"We don’t ever want to rely on the quarterback has to do the whole show, sitting in the shotgun, throw the football. Never coach that way. So we have to mix our stuff so we can use our play action game.”
Carroll praised Jeanty for the progress he's made in recent weeks, claiming the rookie is starting to stretch opposing defenses in a way that will open up the passing game. Carroll defended Smith, saying the quarterback isn't in charge of calling plays on offense, putting Kelly on notice about his need to put the offense in better situations.
"And we’ve got to make sure that we’re calling all the best stuff in the situations," Carroll said. "He’s not calling the plays. We’ve got to call them and we’ve got to make sure and get him in the right spots and give him the best chance to stay out of harm’s way. Part of that is really controlling the game with what we do in front in the running game.”
Kelly, 61, is a decorated offensive coach who most recently won a national championship with Ohio State in January.
It'll be interesting to see if the Raiders begin to give the ball to Jeanty more on Sunday, as he's started to show why he was the No. 6 pick when he ran for 138 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in Week 4. He rushed for 67 yards on 14 carries in Week 5, but the Raiders abandoned the run early in a lopsided 40-6 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts.
For more on the Raiders and the NFL, head to Newsweek Sports.
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