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Quick Hits: Pete Carroll addresses offensive line, confidence in Geno Smith and more following primetime loss to Dallas Cowboys

Following the Las Vegas Raiders' 33-16 defeat to the Dallas Cowboys, Head Coach Pete Carroll summed up the situation Tuesday morning.

"We played hard in this football game, and guys played tough in the game, and we didn't play well enough," he said.

There were a lot of questions coming out of Monday's showing, primarily around the decision to start Will Putnam at center and move Jordan Meredith back to guard. Other topics included the showing of the passing defense that surrendered four touchdowns in the air and the involvement of young players moving forward.

Read through for what Carroll said Tuesday, as the Silver and Black start to game plan for the Cleveland Browns on a short week.

On rookie guard Caleb Rodgers being inactive:

"He's a young player trying to make it, and he's trying to do the best he can. He's been busting his tail for a long time, but he's still learning. It's because he's a draft pick that you guys are bringing this up. And we think he's going to be a good player, it just hasn't quite got it as far as he needs to at this point. He's trying. He's busting his tail."

On his criteria on determining offensive line rotation:

"First off, everything is based on competition, meaning that we've got to give them a chance and show them. We look at who they're matching up against, how they handle it, from the pass rush competitions that we do, the communications, so we're looking at it. Just like as we evaluate everything, so we try to mix the rotations so that we see guys against the best competition they could have. We use all of that information, and then from there, it's subjective. We make a decision on what we're doing."

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On the possibility that Jordan Meredith continues to start at right guard:

"We banked on the fact that he had a lot of experience in his background there, and so we took a look at him, really. We had a couple extra days, and we took a look at guys to see what we had available. He's a secure player, man. He does things right, and he's strong, and he doesn't get knocked around a whole lot. That came off of last year's film, and he showed that right off the bat. Still a little rusty at guard, and so this is just another week to go ahead and evaluate as well. But we did kind of bank on that he has background there, and he could make that switch, and we could count on him. ... And so, we're kind of in the mode still again, and we will be this week again."

On his confidence in Geno Smith:

"I thought Geno played really well for the most part last night, and he was under pressure the entire time in the drop back game. He had to move. It wasn't perfect, he did jam a ball in there on the interception that got tipped that he could have checked it down. We're really trying to take advantage of the checkdowns and get the ball to Ashton [Jeanty] as much as we could. ... But I continue to really believe in him. I have no hesitation in telling you that. He's an incredible player, and he's busting his tail, and he's working really hard at it. He has not backed off one step throughout the process, and so we're counting on that he's going to keep working it, and he'll come through for us."

On rookie receivers Jack Bech and Dont'e Thornton Jr. seeing more snaps:

"If you notice, we played a lot of tight ends. We played a lot of 12 and 13 personnel, and that takes away from the receivers. And so, that's why we even went to four receivers in the game plan this week. We were able to do that. It just cuts in on their opportunities is what happens. So, they've got to make the most of the ones they get."

On defensive back play against the Cowboys:

"We didn't tackle 3 [George Pickens] very well at all. We didn't tackle the guy. He ran through us, and he made us miss. He broke tackles. He was more aggressive running with the football than I thought he was, and we'd seen some good highlights from him, but we didn't think that it would happen to us, but he did it."

On Aidan O'Connell potentially being activated from injured reserve:

"He's been practicing a lot with us. He's getting his good work. We've got to go talk about it, figure that one out, because the time is coming. We've been getting him some work against the ones and all that to bring him along as fast as we can. He's had quite a bit of practice opportunity to get going, so he's done all right with it, too."

View the best photos from the Raiders' Week 11 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys at Allegiant Stadium.

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