Is he the leader the team will follow going into the season?
I was surprised that the Seahawks were so quick to forgive Geno Smith for his DUI arrest in Jan. 2022 and his absolute garbage behavior during the arrest and blood draw process. I honestly expected to read the next week that the Hawks had waived him. Example of his behavior:
Geno Smith asked for judgment to be withheld regarding his Monday morning arrest for suspicion of DUI. He apparently did not give his arresting officers the same benefit.
nypost.com
Smith was reportedly driving 96 miles per hour in a 60 mph zone in his Rolls Royce. Police documents said he drove erratically, smelled of booze and told them he drank wine before driving.
Officers allege Smith became belligerent during field sobriety tests and then stopped participating. He was then taken back to the police station.
“I joked with him about how my wife thinks I work too much. Somehow he said that’s because ‘you have a little d–k,'” an officer wrote in documents. “I said, wow, maybe that is the problem, then he said, ‘You have a little d–k, you have little d–k syndrome.'”
The 31-year-old refused both a breathalyzer and a blood test. “I’ll f–k every one of y’all up,” he reportedly told officers before having his arms and legs restrained. “You don’t want to see me out of these cuffs, you don’t want to know what will happen.”
I honestly haven't followed his court case, because it's irrelevant to me. Geno's behavior during the arrest, and his poor judgment to put himself in that situation in the first place are huge red flags
There there is the 2015 incident with the Jets where Smith got sucker-punched by a backup LB (NK Enemkpali) who he owed money to -- $600!! and kept blowing off. The sucker punch broke Geno's jaw and he was out 6 weeks, opening the path for Ryan Fitzpatrick to take the starting QB job and run with it. The $600 mattered to this reserve rookie LB, but was pocket change to Geno. While the sucker punch was a horrible thing, part of me feels like Geno got what he deserved. Why TF did Geno keep stiffing this guy instead of handling business he agreed to? Then Geno mocked him, in a smug superior way. Then he got punched and lost his smugness. This is team leader behavior? Not in my book! Geno flaked on a commitment to a teammate and then mocked him and threw him under the bus. Read about it here...
Tuesday marks the seventh anniversary of the incident between former Jets players Geno Smith and IK Enemkpali; some of those who were there reveal more details.
www.espn.com
To me, Geno's judgment to speed 96 in a 60 zone and act like an ass-clown in his Jan. 2022 interactions with the cops suggest that the tiger hasn't really changed his stripes. When the chips are down, when the pressure is on, it seems the ugly truth about Geno Smith comes out. Geno had late, game-winning drive opportunities vs both the Saints and the Steelers. Both times Geno stumbled, fumbled, made bad decisions and crumbled meekly under pressure.
Is that just who Geno Smith is at this point in his NFL career and life, someone who stumbles, fumbles, and generally makes bad decisions when the pressure is on? Or do people see truly redeeming leadership qualities in Geno, where a team will follow him to hell and back under pressure, because of their strong belief in his leadership, character, and will to win? Did the Hawks make the right call to stand behind Geno and gloss over the DUI, or should they have cut ties with him at that point?
P.S. This is not an argument for or against Drew Lock. For all we know Lock could have worse issues.
www.sportingnews.com
