The season is all but lost for the Las Vegas Raiders. After entering the year with high expectations, the new combination of Tom Brady as the owner, Pete Carroll as the head coach, and Geno Smith as the quarterback hasn’t worked out quite as well as the team would have liked.
Standing at 2-7 after Week 10, they are in last place in the AFC West and have the second-worst record in the entire NFL. However, things may have gotten worse during their clash against the Denver Broncos when Smith suffered an injury to his leg. Unfortunately, for one analyst, Carroll’s treatment of his quarterback left a lot to be desired.
Pete Carroll Overlooked Geno Smith
As the game went into the fourth quarter, it was still firmly in the balance, with Denver holding a 10-7 lead over Vegas. However, a knee to his thigh immediately affected Smith, who was targeted all game long by the Denver defense.
As he hobbled off the field, the Raiders had no choice but to send in Kenny Pickett for the next few snaps. Soon after, though, after getting some treatment on the sideline, including getting on the training bike, Smith was back on the field.
Although clearly hobbled, he tried to gut it out and lead LV to their third win of the season. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough, and they ultimately lost to the Broncos. On the night, Smith finished with 143 yards and one interception, while being sacked six times.
For veteran radio host Craig Carton, the decision to send Smith back in was questionable at best, and downright mismanagement at worst, by the legendary head coach. On the latest episode of “The Craig Carton Show,” he explained his stance.
“Geno Smith got hit pretty hard. It looked like on his thigh, or his quad,” Carton started. “He couldn’t walk.” Even though he understood the problems with sending Pickett into the game, Carton’s rationale remained unchanged.
“Kenny Pickett was able to walk. Geno Smith couldn’t walk,” he began, before throwing out some harsh words against the former Super Bowl champion. “Either Pete Carroll is senile, and he is 80 years old, so he might be senile, or he wants Geno Smith to get killed.”
Calling for the team to fire him, Carton believed it was a brutal mistake to keep Smith in the game, risking long-term injury to their starting quarterback. While the competitiveness of the game might have influenced Carroll’s decision, the 2-7 Raiders weren’t going anywhere, even with a win.
As a result, accepting the result and moving with a bit more caution regarding his quarterback might have been the smarter choice to make for the veteran head coach.
