Raiders mailbag: Were expectations too high for team this season?

The Raiders have lost four straight heading into their game with the Titans on Sunday at Allegiant Stadium.

Fans have plenty of questions about the skid.

Here is a sampling of what arrived in this week’s mailbag:

Robert Yamane (@bobbytsunami07): Considering the team got a new general manager, head coach, offensive coordinator, quarterback, a rookie running back and new pieces on both sides, were the expectations we have just too high? Do you think it will just take time for this all to (jell), or are there other things going on?

Vincent Bonsignore: It’s hard to say.

It felt like the Raiders could get eight or nine wins this season if everything went right for them. But plenty has gone wrong through five games.

Two of the team’s best offensive players in tight end Brock Bowers and left tackle Kolton Miller have missed time with injuries. And the Raiders have been poor in key areas. Their minus-6 turnover margin is the second-worst in the NFL. They’re also scoring touchdowns on 35.7 percent of their trips to the red zone, which ranks last in the league.

The Raiders have been downright bad on special teams as well. They gave up a punt return touchdown in Week 3 to the Commanders, had a potential game-winning field goal blocked in Week 4 against the Bears and had a punt blocked Week 5 against the Colts.

The team is simply not talented enough to overcome these kinds of mistakes. The Raiders have plenty of time left in the season to get things cleaned up, but these self-inflicted wounds are a large reason why the team has disappointed thus far.

Andrew (@RaiderAndrew): Do you think there is any chance that (coach) Pete Carroll is gone after this year? I don’t see us winning more than four games this year. Before the start of the season, I thought that they’d give him at least two years, but if we go 4-13, I would understand if they decided to fire him.

Bonsignore: The Raiders can’t continue to cycle through coaches. Burning through guys — Carroll is their third coach since the start of the 2022 season — keeps setting them back.

If Carroll goes 4-13 this year, that says more about the roster than the Super Bowl winner’s acumen.

Bill_in_the_704 (@bill_in_the_704): Is there another team in the NFL that would continue to start a QB with nine interceptions?

Bonsignore: It depends on the player’s track record.

Geno Smith, who leads the NFL with nine picks, has a history with Carroll. Smith made the Pro Bowl twice under Carroll in Seattle, so the coach knows what his quarterback is capable of.

Smith is going to get the benefit of the doubt for now. There’s no sense Carroll is itching to pull the plug.

Billy Butcher’s Beard (@jz53232621): Is a quarterback change in our future if things keep going the way they’re currently going?

Bonsignore: If Smith keeps turning the ball over the way he has — he has multiple interceptions in three of the team’s five games — the Raiders will have no choice at some point. But a switch to backup Kenny Pickett is not imminent.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.