Inside the Raiders’ facility in Henderson, Nevada, the defensive film room was unusually quiet.
Pete Carroll stood near the projector, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the screen. On it, two clips looped in sequence — Geno Smith hitting DK Metcalf on a sideline rope, then Kenny Pickett missing an open dig by three yards.

Carroll turned to his players and said evenly:

“See the difference? One guy’s steady, the other’s searching. That’s the league in a nutshell — it rewards rhythm and punishes hesitation.”

Then he pressed play again.

It wasn’t mockery or gloating — it was teaching. Carroll had coached Geno Smith in Seattle, watched him grow from journeyman to Pro Bowler. Now, as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he was preparing his defense to face quarterbacks on opposite ends of the NFL’s most precarious balance beam: belief versus doubt.

II. The Context: Two Journeys, One Lesson

The Raiders’ next two opponents happened to feature two of the league’s most polarizing quarterbacks.
First, Geno Smith and the Seahawks — a veteran reborn under Carroll’s old system, thriving in structure.
Then, Kenny Pickett and the Steelers — a second-year hopeful struggling to find his footing amid schematic confusion and relentless scrutiny.

The juxtaposition wasn’t lost on anyone in the Raiders’ locker room.

“These guys represent two timelines,” said safety Tre’von Moehrig. “One shows what patience can do. The other shows what happens when you lose it.”

To the Raiders, studying both was like studying the NFL’s soul — a reminder that quarterback development is part science, part psychology, and part survival.

III. Geno’s Evolution — a Lesson in Patience

Pete Carroll knows Geno Smith better than anyone outside of Seattle.
When Smith first landed with the Seahawks in 2019, he was a backup, a curiosity, a name the league had largely forgotten.

“He’d been labeled,” Carroll said. “People thought he was done before he ever got a real chance. But Geno never changed how he worked. He bet on time.”

That bet paid off.

Under Carroll’s system — built on play-action rhythm, movement throws, and trust — Smith blossomed.
He led the NFL in completion percentage in 2022, earned a Pro Bowl nod, and revived his career in a way few quarterbacks ever have.

To Carroll, Geno’s resurgence wasn’t about arm strength or athleticism. It was about belief through consistency.

“Quarterbacks don’t become who they are overnight,” Carroll told reporters last week. “You don’t microwave greatness. You slow-cook it.”

The Raiders defense watched hours of film on Smith’s pocket discipline — how he slides instead of panics, how he checks down without fear of ridicule, how he keeps his body language neutral even after hits.

“That’s what separates vets from prospects,” said linebacker Robert Spillane. “He’s calm. And calm kills blitzes.”

IV. The Kenny Pickett Puzzle

Then came the other side of the film session — Kenny Pickett, the promising yet perplexing face of Pittsburgh’s future.

A first-round pick in 2022, Pickett has the tools — decent arm, good mobility, toughness — but the results remain uneven.
Through midseason, his passer rating hovers around league average, and his offense ranks bottom five in red-zone efficiency.

Watching him, Raiders players saw potential and hesitation colliding on every snap.

“You can tell he’s fighting himself,” said defensive end Maxx Crosby. “That’s what happens when a guy wants to be perfect instead of free.”

Carroll nodded when asked about Pickett’s situation.
“Pressure changes everything,” he said. “When a young quarterback doesn’t have continuity — new plays, new voices, constant critique — it’s hard to breathe. Geno went through that too. The difference is, Geno got time.”

That word — time — came up over and over again during the Raiders’ prep week.

V. The Raiders’ Perspective: Development and Doubt

The Raiders’ own quarterback carousel has given them empathy for the process.
From Derek Carr’s exit to Aidan O’Connell’s emergence under Carroll, the team understands how fragile quarterback identity can be.

“Every QB in this league is a product of his environment,” said defensive tackle Bilal Nichols. “You give him protection, trust, and time — he grows. You take those away, he doubts himself.”

Watching film on Smith and Pickett, the Raiders weren’t just game-planning. They were reflecting.

Carroll even made the comparison explicit during a team meeting.
“Don’t forget,” he told them, “this team once gave up on a quarterback too early — and so did a lot of others. Geno’s success is proof that development isn’t linear. But it’s also proof that excuses expire.”

VI. Geno’s DNA: Calm, Command, and Clarity

When the Raiders defense broke down Smith’s tape, what stood out most wasn’t arm talent — it was tempo.

“His internal clock is elite,” said cornerback Nate Hobbs. “He doesn’t let chaos dictate him. That’s rare.”

Smith’s mechanics under pressure — slight pocket shifts, low shoulders, eyes steady — became clinic tape for Raiders defensive backs.
“He never gives you his intentions,” Moehrig said. “That’s a veteran thing.”

The Raiders’ goal against Geno wasn’t confusion — it was disruption.
“You don’t rattle him with blitz,” said defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. “You rattle him by taking away timing. Force him to hold the ball one extra beat. Make him reset. That’s the difference between a completion and a sack.”

That’s how respect works in the NFL: you study greatness to exploit it.

VII. Pickett’s Struggle for Identity

Kenny Pickett’s film, by contrast, drew a different kind of discussion — part empathy, part opportunity.

“Man, he’s got juice,” said Crosby. “He just needs to trust what he sees.”

What the Raiders noticed most was inconsistency in Pittsburgh’s protection and play design.
One play, Pickett has a clean pocket and delivers a dart. Next play, he’s running for his life.

“That’s murder on a young quarterback,” said linebacker Divine Deablo. “You can’t build rhythm when you’re surviving every down.”

Still, the Raiders saw tendencies to exploit — late reads on intermediate routes, a tendency to drift left under pressure, and a predictable first-read focus on slot receivers.

Carroll, who’s built his career on disguising defenses, smiled.
“You don’t blitz to destroy him,” he said. “You blitz to make him decide faster. That’s when inexperience shows.”

VIII. The QB Paradox: Growth vs. Judgment

In a league obsessed with instant results, the stories of Geno Smith and Kenny Pickett illuminate the NFL’s central paradox: everyone wants development — but no one has patience for it.

“Fans see the finished product,” said Carroll. “They forget how messy the process is.”