Fascinating Way Raiders' Geno Smith Stacks Up to Competition

The Las Vegas Raiders have gone from the bottom to the near the top of the league in quarterback play.

How Smith Measures Up

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith is coming off one of the best debuts of any quarterback in Raiders history. Against the Chargers, the Las Vegas need him to pick up where he left off.

Cody Benjamin of CBS Sports recently ranked each of the quarterbacks in the National Football League heading into Week 2. He ranked Smith as the 13th-best quarterback in the league, after his performance on Sunday against the Patriots.

"Pete Carroll may well be an old-school leader, but he sure let his new (old) quarterback air it out to start the year. Smith had a ball while launching it against Mike Vrabel's Patriots to the tune of 362 yards," Benjamin said.

Smith and the Raiders will face a Chargers defense that allowed the ninth-most passing yards in the league in Week 1. However, for the Raiders to take advantage of that, they must find a way to protect Smith better that they did in the first half of Sunday's game against the Patriots.

Smith was sacked and pressured multiple times by the Patriots. Although Chip Kelly and the Raiders' offense adjusted to the pressure, it is almost guaranteed that the Chargers will also try to pressure Smith and Las Vegas' offensive line. They must properly prepare for what is to come.

The Chargers' defense allowed the 11th-most total yards in Week 1 and now face a more explosive Raiders' offense than anyone has seen in many years. This bodes well for Las Vegas heading into Monday night, as Kelly is sure to have a game plan that should work well.

The Raiders have had several disappointing seasons in a row for various reasons. Most of those reasons centered around coaching and personnel. The Raiders addressed both of those needs in a significant way this offseason.

With their two biggest concerns over the past few seasons having been taken care of the Raiders should be expected to be a more competitive team. Sunday's win over the Patriots was proof of this. However, a win against the Chargers would be even more of a statement.

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