Pete Carroll opens up about an idea that everyone has regarding the biggest issue with the team’s offense
Pete Carroll needs to get the Las Vegas Raiders offense back on track.
The worst part about the Las Vegas Raiders offense has to be the offensive line, a position group that the Raiders didn’t address at all outside of the 2025 NFL Draft, and even those two draft picks aren’t seeing the field.
The offensive line hasn’t been great at pass blocking for former Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith, but that isn’t the worst part of the unit’s game. They can’t run block at all, which is why Ashton Jeanty isn’t having much success. And that could be due to the changes the Raiders staff made to the offensive line. The right guys aren’t playing.
“We want to see JPJ [Jackson Powers-Johnson] come back to action and get back involved,” Raiders head coach Pete Carroll said. “In all phases of it, we have to get off the football better and make more of the running game. There’s not enough happening there to act on the play pass game, and we’re just not getting enough.
“So, we just got to keep working it. We got the guys we got, and we need to keep developing and keep building on it. We’re working at the right guard spot. Our young guys, they’ll get their turn sometime, but they’re not ready yet. So, we have what we have, and we’ve got to make our guys do better, and we’ve got to fit it together better than we have.”
The Raiders’ offensive line has much deeper issues at hand
Jackson Powers-Johnson didn’t start the game against the Washington Commanders last week, despite being healthy and recovered from his concussion. Carroll noted that the decision between him and Cappa came down to the continuity and that the Raiders were on a short week. But Cappa is not very good. The former Cincinnati Bengals guard led the league in blown blocks with 40 and led the league in pressures allowed last season.
Last year, JPJ was one of the best young centers in the league. He had his rookie moments, but by the end of the season, he had some moments where he was pancaking defenders on running plays at the second level. His move to center last season is when he started to take over, rather than when he was playing guard.
This offseason, the Raiders decided to move him away from center and put him in a position battle at the guard spot. JPJ may be the second-best offensive lineman on the team, and yet, the Raiders have something weird going on with him. Yes, he was hurt, but he recovered, and there is no reason why he shouldn’t have started.
By the end of last season, the Raiders’ offensive line started to put things together. So, why would Carroll’s son, Brennan Carroll, mess all of that up as the offensive line coach? Something’s going on with the offensive line, and it’s truly affecting the entire offense. Yes, the unit isn’t perfect, but they are making it even harder on themselves by playing the wrong players.
When your defense, offense, and special teams are bad, it’s hard to beat anyone. Add that into the fact that the offensive line is atrocious and winning football games looks impossible, despite the fact that they’ve already won one against the New England Patriots.
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