Geno wasn’t good this game

[James in PA]

Anybody who still thinks Geno is the answer just isn't being honest with themselves. He has good physical tools and he throws a pretty ball, but he just doesn't have the head for the game. He is truly a roller coaster. Consistently inconsistent. A modern day Dave Krieg. He is who he is at this point. And at 34 years old, he's not going to change. The longer we stick with him, the longer we're just delaying the inevitable.

 

[Spin Doctor]

He was terrible. He could’ve easily had 5 picks and two fumbles. Two red zone picks alone are beyond bad.

There is zero market for Geno as I said a few weeks ago. His age, attitude, inconsistency etc who’s signing him? Who’s a ln average QB away from winning it all? Making the playoffs? People love to sore his efficiency stats while ignoring how bad he is in the red zone which is where it matters the most.

I’ve been saying it for a long time now, Geno has issues in the red zone.

 

[Geologic]

I don’t think you’re gonna get a lot of geno defenders from this game. But just shitty as a team in general

 

[warden]

Geno is here to hold things together while they build a team. Kind of like Travaris Jackson. Once we put the pieces together the we drastically increase the changes of a possible young player to succeed at that position. Unfortunately we will not get to that point unless JS drastically changes his opinion on interior lineman or is gone

 

[NoGain]

I’ve been saying it for a long time now, Geno has issues in the red zone.

Me too. The closer you get to the endzone the more cramped it gets, the tighter the windows, the faster you have to process and execute. There's a skill to it. It's just not a strength of his. It doesn't help that we haven't been terribly imaginative down there as an offense either.

 

[nanomoz]

No shit?

 

[OrangeGravy]

I think most of Geno's issues are a product of his path to this point. His mistakes generally come trying to do too much. He's naturally always gonna have the mindset that he needs to prove himself and it manifests in turnovers often times. On a roster with an adequate o-line, that urge is much easier to temper. But, with this o-line this season I'm sure he feels like he needs to make things happen. And to be fair, if he doesn't make plays we don't score ever. Unfortunately the balance is all out of whack on O so there is no help coming anytime soon.

Geno was never gonna be here longer than a year or 2 more unless they somehow hit on this roster construction and made a deep run this season. I have a hard time getting worked up over his play given that most starting QBs currently would perform worse on this offense, including Howell. So for me it's meh until or unless every game is like this for him. Averaging a pick per game this season is fine behind this o-line. Anything less and your QB isn't trying to score

 

[Dabhawk]

Geno just isnt clutch and can't overcome adversity. He just folds when things arent going good. I believe he has good decision making with a cushion but man he just gets so flustered when its tough sledding.

I just cannot see him ever winning a hard nosed playoff game...

That being said I think we ride him out the rest of the year and end his career here with dignity as he was extremely serviceable. I do think he would be performing a bit better with a more competent Oline, but we will never know as John Schneider doesnt value Olineman....

 

[Biscanebay12]

I'm not going to say that he played a great game or anything, but this "career backup" argument has to be genuinely the worst one out there.

Players change.

Not Geno.

 

[AROS]

Are we really surprised? Geno is precisely who we know he is. A quarterback who rose from the ashes of afterthought to be reborn as a quarterback who found his ceiling. A really feel good story. Didn’t write back. Comeback Player of the Year (which he refused to attend to accept the award), and now is playing good enough to not be terrible.

What he is, is exactly who we all know he has always been.

Not good enough.

 

[Seahawks8880]

This game was absolutely on Geno. Those who say otherwise is delusional. He cost us alone 13-21 points twice in the red zone and the pick six killed us. All we needed was one of those field goals and if he would have just played average this game wouldn’t have been close.

 

[Seahawks8880]

This game was absolutely on Geno. Those who say otherwise is delusional. It was a 13-21 points turn around twice in the red zone and the pick six killed us. All we needed was one of those field goals and if he would have just played average this game wouldn’t have been close.

 

[knownone]

I am not at all shocked that our fanbase is again flip-flopping on Geno. They won't care that he was once again pressured on 50% of his snaps, that his picks were mostly flukey, or that the offense is asking him to walk on a tightrope every game. That's okay—whatever. Fans are fickle.

Geno will be fine. He's still an outstanding QB. He's still good enough.

 

[Seahawks8880]

I am not at all shocked that our fanbase is again flip-flopping on Geno. They won't care that he was once again pressured on 50% of his snaps, that his picks were mostly flukey, or that the offense is asking him to walk on a tightrope every game. That's okay—whatever. Fans are fickle.

Geno will be fine. He's still an outstanding QB. He's still good enough.

His picks were flukey? Please watch this game again and you’ll see that he should have had 2 more picks right into the defenders hands. There’s hardly a flip flopping fan base when it comes to Geno. We have been critical of Geno all along because he hasn’t done sh** when it comes to big games let alone losing to inferior teams.

 

[knownone]

His picks were flukey? Please watch this game again and you’ll see that he should have had 2 more picks right into the defenders hands. There’s hardly a flip flopping fan base when it comes to Geno. We have been critical of Geno all along because he hasn’t done sh** when it comes to big games let alone losing to inferior teams.

Okay. People in this very thread have flip-flopped on Geno this season. That's just reality.

Yes. His picks were flukey. The pass you mentioned at the end of the game was probably his worst throw. That's the only one where I wondered what he was doing trying to thread that needle. The first pick bounced off JSN's hands. The second pick, he probably held on to the ball too long, but it wasn't a process error. His elbow got hit on a throwaway (fun fact: Jerrell had a catastrophic failure on that play). The third pick is an anticipation throw where he's got a guy in his face, and his tight end is being held.

If people want to blame Geno, that's fine. I thought he showed a lot of grit, bouncing back and putting his team in a position to win.

 

[FrodosFinger]

As good as he plays at times I feel like his turnovers nullify that, especially the goal line pick 6….then suddenly he goes to the sidelines, snorts some coke and throws 2 touchdown dots. It’s either feast or famine with Smith. Let’s free Sam Howell and ride his ass to the playoffs

 

[pittpnthrs]

I'm not going to say that he played a great game or anything, but this "career backup" argument has to be genuinely the worst one out there.

Players change.

Sometimes they don't. Geno is who I thought he was. It's all in the mindset. When the system breaks down, he does too.

 

[SonicHawk]

Okay. People in this very thread have flip-flopped on Geno this season. That's just reality.

Yes. His picks were flukey. The pass you mentioned at the end of the game was probably his worst throw. That's the only one where I wondered what he was doing trying to thread that needle. The first pick bounced off JSN's hands. The second pick, he probably held on to the ball too long, but it wasn't a process error. His elbow got hit on a throwaway (fun fact: Jerrell had a catastrophic failure on that play). The third pick is an anticipation throw where he's got a guy in his face, and his tight end is being held.

If people want to blame Geno, that's fine. I thought he showed a lot of grit, bouncing back and putting his team in a position to win.

I think people have an expectation that the QB be elite every game -- but those are extremely difficult to come by. It's not that I think Geno is the best QB, I just think he's the best QB we can have. I argued for Geno over Levis and Richardson in the drafts, where have they gotten their teams? The price to pay for moving up in the 2024 draft would have been detrimental to building this team. I mean, maybe you could have gotten Nix, JJ, or maybe Penix? Nix looks like a potential below average game manager, JJ unfortunately is out, Penix would have been fun. Murphy looks like a solid NFL player though and we didn't have to empty our coffers for him.

This team is lacking in talent in so many different positions, if we had Geno level players everywhere we'd be running away with this trash division.

You get rid of Geno after this year and in 2026, we're drafting top 5 getting our QBOTF.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Not much else to say. Geno is what he is, average. And can't make it happen in the clutch. No matter how many excuses people make for him.

 

[Maelstrom787]

Sometimes they don't. Geno is who I thought he was. It's all in the mindset. When the system breaks down, he does too.

I have a few points in response, but I want to note that I understand your viewpoint and cannot say that its false.

Firstly, I think the majority of quarterbacks are the same way with respect to breaking down in chaos. I don't think a single quarterback in the league currently actually excels when the system breaks down. In fact, I think the best quarterbacks are so system-dependent that they define their own style of system. Brady, Manning, etc. all became synonymous with the systems they excelled in and therefore facilitated.

Sure, some quarterbacks are better outside of play structure than Geno, especially those adept at an improv-style of play like Mahomes. But to me, that's stylistic, and again, a lot the best quarterbacks of all time were kinda the same way. The Bradys and Mannings of the world also didn't do well with the improv stuff. Not to compare Geno to Brady, which some will accuse me of. It's a little like saying every girl is either a Marilyn (Monroe) or a Jackie (Kennedy). Just talking about archetypes, not making a comparison.

Secondly, I think Geno Smith's crumbling is usually a little bit overstated. I think people have it in their head that he's going to crumble under pressure and they try to fit any adversity he faces into that "he's folding under the pressure" box.

I don't think Geno did fold, though. I think he made some stupid mistakes under duress, but I think he responsed. I don't think he broke.

I think Geno has more mental fortitude than he's credited for. I think he's proven it a bunch by winning us games that he could've lost us in crucial final drives.

Geno had a bad, bad day yesterday. I don't think it changes my perception of the past 2 years of which I saw a competent quarterback with a natural arm, an insane story, and a team who responded well to him.

This type of thing was always going to happen at some point. He hasn't been protected at all and faced instant-pressure more than any quarterback in the league last week yet again. I'm not saying that absolves him of the responsibility for his mistakes, but I don't think it's especially possible for a quarterback to be consistent in these circumstances.

Of course, most won't read this due to its length and will insult my intelligence and objectivity without reading the points I've made, so that's discouraging. I appreciate you though, @pittpnthrs - you give me proper consideration despite the disagreements.