I dont think Pete sees either Lock or Smith as a liability.
You have to understand the type of leadership and culture philosophies that he subscribes to. There are books written on the way the guy has built the team. His method is one that transcends sport.
Pete believes in harnessing the intangible strengths within a person that are there, but held beneath mental or emotional restrictions. It's not a pipe dream belief in potential, it's a real ability to create an environment where that potential is unlocked and a person can flourish. Pete runs a football team, and a hot bed for the development of emotional intelligence and strength. He believes that if you can get that right, the individual is better and as a group, the team is stronger.
Some leaders, like those in Denver, look at Lock, they see the raw data, maybe understand that on top of his mediocre plays, he's emotionally bent, and cast him aside for an easier, more traditional path where the measurables and numbers look good. Pete asks why, studies the reason for failure, and decides whether he has the tools to make a guy like Lock work. Will it? Who knows. But if it doesn't, he still has a guy in Geno who can man the cotrols and in maybe then QBing a team that can manage riliable success, unlocks his own confidence, builds experience, and becomes better than he's ever been.
It's a reasonable, one season gamble.
You always hear from players past and present, that the Hawks do things differently , and save for Earl and Sherm for a period, players who have come through here speak incredibly highly of the 'program'. It's not lip service. It's the exact same type of respect and admiration employees feel in the real world for corporations or office cultures that provide them a platform to be themselves, be heard and excel.
That doesn't mean it slways works. But the gamble in Seattle, under Pete has been about expanding the metrics and standards for evaluation beyond the typical NFL measure. And it's worked more often than it hasn't and goes well beyond just winning a football game.
He sees something in Geno and Lock that, in his opinion, is as solid a gamble as going with a rookie this year, or BM, a player who right off the bat, from an emotional intelligence perspective, looks to have a ton of work to do to be close to reaching and successfully bringing into the 'culture' fold in seattle.