The excitement of our quarterback room seems very apparent to me as a fan. Touting Geno Smith does not rely on throwing dirt on RW or even making that contrast of skills. Geno has impressed me very much by removing two of my doubts about his makeup as a QB. I bought into the labeling of Geno as a "dink and dunk" QB who would hurt the opportunities of DK and Tyler to continue to terrorize our opponents secondary. Geno actually was the best in the NFL in the Deep Pass (according to Next Generation Stats). As the season progressed it became apparent that Geno has the tools to excell using the entire field and range of throws.
In his first season as a starter in Seattle, the fourth-year Seahawk led the NFL with a 69.8 completion percentage and set franchise records in completions (399) and yards (4,282). He led the league with ten games in which he had a passer rating of 100-plus.
The second area of concern I had was his "rep" for throwing picks. As a QB who throws into tight windows the opportunity for throwing actual picks as well as many "just missed" picks are going to be part of any high performing NFL QB.
According to Player Profiler, Smith was third in “Money Throws” last season, which are passes requiring exceptional skill or athleticism as well as critical throws executed in clutch moments. He was third in Deep Ball Accuracy Rating and fourth in True Completion Percentage.
His support was outstanding with Tyler Lockett/DK Metcalf/Noah Fant/Ken Walker III all playing major roles as play makers...and a young developing line with rookie bookend tackles in Charles Cross/Abraham Lucas and a pair of young guards in Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes.
The "surprises" Geno showed were a blend of moxy and athleticism complementing his ability to recognize coverage and find his "Go To" mismatch. Experience and devotion to taking care of his body are strong reasons to not expect regression...he's not a "developing" rookie nor a "flash" back up QB for a few games...he's the real deal.
Even if we only maintained the same support players from 2022 he could still project well for 2023...but we added greater depth in our RB room which narrows the drop off when Walker gets "nicked" and needs a few plays off. As a team we "toyed" with throwing to K-9 with some good "flash" results...Zack Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh offer even more expansion of RB flat/curl...even slot routes with McIntosh.
Even more telling for feeding Geno more targets is the drafting of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a WR3. His only "knock" is lacking elite speed to "threaten" a defenses structure (ie taking off the top). DK and Tyler have that "threat" covered...but JSN doesn't need elite speed to get "chunk" plays and YAC (Yards after catch) in bunches...due to precise routes and cuts into and out of his routes with excellent body control (hips) which defenders rely on as keys in "man" coverage...no wasted motion. Speed is great with precision... but lacking precision the speed doesn't shake your better NFL corners. JSN explodes into and out of his cuts creating space that makes him so "QB friendly". No team can assign their best man coverage corner on JSN while allowing DK and Tyler to run wild...LB/safeties/nickel corners offer a consistent mismatch for Geno and JSN to explore.
Smith-Njiba is coming into an offensive scheme that was ranked ninth in the NFL for points scored per game (23.9) and will be learning off Pro Bowl receivers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
In his first season as a starter in Seattle, the fourth-year Seahawk led the NFL with a 69.8 completion percentage and set franchise records in completions (399) and yards (4,282). He led the league with ten games in which he had a passer rating of 100-plus.
The second area of concern I had was his "rep" for throwing picks. As a QB who throws into tight windows the opportunity for throwing actual picks as well as many "just missed" picks are going to be part of any high performing NFL QB.
According to Player Profiler, Smith was third in “Money Throws” last season, which are passes requiring exceptional skill or athleticism as well as critical throws executed in clutch moments. He was third in Deep Ball Accuracy Rating and fourth in True Completion Percentage.
His support was outstanding with Tyler Lockett/DK Metcalf/Noah Fant/Ken Walker III all playing major roles as play makers...and a young developing line with rookie bookend tackles in Charles Cross/Abraham Lucas and a pair of young guards in Damien Lewis and Phil Haynes.
The "surprises" Geno showed were a blend of moxy and athleticism complementing his ability to recognize coverage and find his "Go To" mismatch. Experience and devotion to taking care of his body are strong reasons to not expect regression...he's not a "developing" rookie nor a "flash" back up QB for a few games...he's the real deal.
Even if we only maintained the same support players from 2022 he could still project well for 2023...but we added greater depth in our RB room which narrows the drop off when Walker gets "nicked" and needs a few plays off. As a team we "toyed" with throwing to K-9 with some good "flash" results...Zack Charbonnet and Kenny McIntosh offer even more expansion of RB flat/curl...even slot routes with McIntosh.
Even more telling for feeding Geno more targets is the drafting of Jaxon Smith-Njigba as a WR3. His only "knock" is lacking elite speed to "threaten" a defenses structure (ie taking off the top). DK and Tyler have that "threat" covered...but JSN doesn't need elite speed to get "chunk" plays and YAC (Yards after catch) in bunches...due to precise routes and cuts into and out of his routes with excellent body control (hips) which defenders rely on as keys in "man" coverage...no wasted motion. Speed is great with precision... but lacking precision the speed doesn't shake your better NFL corners. JSN explodes into and out of his cuts creating space that makes him so "QB friendly". No team can assign their best man coverage corner on JSN while allowing DK and Tyler to run wild...LB/safeties/nickel corners offer a consistent mismatch for Geno and JSN to explore.
Smith-Njiba is coming into an offensive scheme that was ranked ninth in the NFL for points scored per game (23.9) and will be learning off Pro Bowl receivers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
