There were plenty of storylines going into the Las Vegas Raiders’ preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks, especially considering new Raiders head coach Pete Carroll spent 14 years as the head coach in Seattle. The franchise trading for QB Geno Smith this offseason, reuniting him with the coach who helped resurrect his career with the Seahawks, only further made this game even more intriguing, even as a preseason contest.
News would be made as video emerged of Smith and star defensive end Maxx Crosby flipping off a Seahawks fan as they entered the stadium. Some felt the move was inappropriate as Smith didn’t take kindly to the fan’s sign, which read “Bigger Bust — Geno or JaMarcus Russell?”
Carroll wasn’t among those who felt that way, as he would defend his quarterback in a news conference a couple of days after the game. When asked about Smith’s gesture, Carroll quickly made it clear that he completely understood and sided with Smith, via Kari Anderson of Yahoo! Sports:
“Did you see what the sign said?” Carroll asked. When the reporter confirmed that they had, Carroll kept things moving: “Next question.”
After that statement, Carroll moved on to the next subject, not feeling the need to address the situation any further. The Raiders coach clearly felt that the fan’s sign was ridiculous, and Carroll himself even tried to remove the sign when he saw it during the game, so his response should be no surprise.
In fairness, comparing Smith to JaMarcus Russell makes no sense. In addition to Russell being the first overall pick in 2007, while Smith was a second-round selection in 2013, Smith threw for more yards last season than Russell did in his entire career, which only lasted three years, as Raiders fans are very much aware of.
Fans taking a jab at players with signs like this is standard, and Smith’s gesture back at the insult really shouldn’t be viewed as a big deal. But one thing that is clear is that Pete Carroll will have Geno Smith’s back no matter the circumstances.
Raiders coach Pete Carroll impressed with rookie QB Cam Miller’s performance vs. Seahawks
As expected, Geno Smith played just one series with backup Aidan O’Connell taking over for most of the game. But rookie sixth-round pick Cam Miller got a chance to show what he can do late in the contest, and he did well by completing 6-of-7 passes for 76 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown pass to Shedrick Jackson. And Miller’s performance in his NFL debut impressed head coach Pete Carroll.
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