Seahawks fans roll their eyes as NFL delivers Pete Carroll cakewalk schedule

The NFL loves it some former Seattle Seahawks this offseason. Brian Schottenheimer got his first chance to be a head coach, and he will do that with the Dallas Cowboys. Pete Carroll was hired as the head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders, and quarterback Geno Smith and wide receiver DK Metcalf got paid after being traded from Seattle.

That list can also include schedule-makers giving the Raiders, who added Carroll and Smith this offseason, a bit of a break with when and where they will play. For instance, Las Vegas travels the fewest miles of any AFC West team. Carroll and Smith were used to the opposite with Seattle.

The Raiders also have only one set of back-to-back road games. The Seahawks have two, and both come in the second half of the season. Las Vegas also faces a difficult start to the season when it plays the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Commanders in the first couple of weeks, but then the Raiders play the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, and Tennessee Titans.

Former Seahawks Pete Carroll and Geno Smith catch a scheduling break with the Raiders

Maybe Smith and Carroll will trip out of the gate while the rest of the team gets used to them, but they should right themselves fairly quickly. Carroll will make Las Vegas better, and Smith is the best quarterback the Raiders will have had in a while, but the schedule layout will help, too.

Even Las Vegas's bye week is perfect. It comes in Week 8, when the Raiders can rest and reexamine how things have gone in the first half-season under their new head coach. Because of that, the Raiders should be even better in the second half.

This is true even though the opponents' difficulty increases. Las Vegas should have been able to build up enough wins to make a postseason run, even with some expected late-season losses. If this happens, it will be the second time that Geno Smith has made the postseason with Pete Carroll.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are lucky not to travel for any international games, but one of the presumed four prime-time games has been diminished. Their Week 9 matchup against the Washington Commanders will not only be shown on ESPN+ instead of the normal family of ESPN networks.

Maybe the NFL doesn't love the Seahawks as much without Pete Carroll. The league certainly seems to like the Raiders suddenly. There might only be one apparent reason.