The AFC West has two of the best quarterbacks in the entire sport as the Kansas City Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes and the LA Chargers have Justin Herbert. The Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders don't have the same luck, as their starters are Russell Wilson and Jimmy Garoppolo, respectively.
Jimmy G is the new face on the block and in typical Raiders fan fashion, he has been spun as an improvement over Derek Carr. Chargers fans know that this is not the case and if anything, Jimmy G is a worse version of Carr. Both are on the mediocre plane of quarterbacks with Carr being on the better side of that plane.
The Raiders going from Carr to Garoppolo made them an easier team for the Chargers to get through in the AFC West. And even though Jimmy G has the pedigree, it looks like Vegas might be even easier to get through this season as the team's new QB is already struggling in training camp.
Don’t sound the alarms but go ahead and locate them.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) August 5, 2023
Jimmy 1 for 7 with 3 dropped picks in scrimmage to close out practice. https://t.co/fClthomz7E
Jimmy Garoppolo's struggles in Raiders training camp is proving Chargers fans right
Granted, there have been some better moments for Jimmy G during camp and any Raiders fan reading this would likely point that out. But quarterbacks are supposed to have good moments during camp! This is a practice after all and if a quarterback cannot deliver in 11-on-11s during practice how is that supposed to translate to the game?
It would be one thing if Garoppolo had the previous results that someone like Mahomes or Herbert has. When those two elite quarterbacks have a bad practice it can get swept under the rug as we have seen plenty of evidence that they are elite. That evidence has never been there for Jimmy G.
Vegas is already going to have one of the worst pass defenses in the sport, even with Maxx Crosby being an elite pass rusher. The Raiders are going to have to score points to beat teams in 2023 and that is not going to happen much with Jimmy G under center, especially if Josh Jacobs decides he wants to hold out for more money.
And as a result, the Chargers may end up having two fairly easy wins on the schedule against the Raiders. Anything can happen in the NFL, especially in a divisional game, but it is hard not to like the Chargers' chances.