Sam

[HOF Hater]

I mean he did downplay it as much as possible and every talking head ran the other way with it

 

[glenwo2]

I mean he did downplay it as much as possible and every talking head ran the other way with it

Because they want him to fail so the "never won a big game" narrative will continue.

(and before you say "He won the 1-seed", let me tell you that the media has long-since moved the goalposts to "Playoff game")

 

[Rat]

Because they want him to fail so the "never won a big game" narrative will continue.

(and before you say "He won the 1-seed", let me tell you that the media has long-since moved the goalposts to "Playoff game")

The goalposts have been the playoffs. Nothing was moved. Fortunately, he doesn't have to wait much longer.

 

[strohmin]

Sam won me over in the second rams game by not folding, closing it out and bringing it home. He'll probably have some ugly turnovers today but that game gave me enough reason to not throw in the towel before the game is over anymore.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

The league takes faking things for the injury report very seriously. I can't imagine Sam is that dumb.

Also, if he's faking to hedge bets with the "story" if he loses, then he's already lost.

Occam's Razor, he's probably actually slightly hurt. Hopefully it doesn't affect him negatively tonight.

The Darnold zealots already have their excuses ready for alllll of 2026 should we lose, though, and they did from the moment that oblique was mentioned. So there's yet another reason to hope like hell that he wins tonight. Go Hawks!

 

[glenwo2]

"Darnold zealots"



Pipe down there, Charizard.

It's almost game-time.

 

[Ozzy]

Sam zealots? My word. This game can't start soon enough.

 

[Rat]

The Darnold zealots already have their excuses ready for alllll of 2026 should we lose, though, and they did from the moment that oblique was mentioned. So there's yet another reason to hope like hell that he wins tonight. Go Hawks!

Yeah, it's just gamesmanship until it's not.

 

[glenwo2]

Sam zealots? My word. This game can't start soon enough.

It's almost like certain people are low-key wanting him to fail just because... "F.U. glen". I mean let's call it like it is. Some of these people are just unbelievable.

But you're right, though.

This game can't start soon enough.

 

[Ad Hawk]

So, what's the narrative on this guy now?

Some may move the goalposts, while others won't. I'll be curious to see who has the courage to come here and say he did not have their backing because of playoff failures.

Was tonight confirmation of his ability, or will people say "I didn't see enough yet"?

 

[glenwo2]

So shall we go for 40 pages since we're facing the Rams AGAIN? lol

 

[Ad Hawk]

So, can Sam win the most important game that gets us to the finale? Does he have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the Rams D and put up a win?

I doubt we'll run the ball quite as well against them as we did SF. Does he have the OT magic from our last matchup?

 

[MontanaHawk05]

So, can Sam win the most important game that gets us to the finale? Does he have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the Rams D and put up a win?

I doubt we'll run the ball quite as well against them as we did SF. Does he have the OT magic from our last matchup?

The Rams defense didn't execute particularly well in our last meeting, and it was saved to the tune of ten points by pure dumb luck against the Bears.

I prefer that scenario to four picks.

 

[hawkfan68]

Rams defense isn't that impressive. Caleb Williams gave that game away with his interceptions. Without the turnovers, the Rams defense can be had. They were very lucky that Caleb has the accuracy of a blind squirrel. Sam plays like he did yesterday, the Seahawks should win.

 

[Dolomight12]

First. Yeah, Geno made some dumb ass plays. But the degree it became an exercise of just flatly blaming every INT or sack on him was rediculous. It was patent 'assumed guilty' before any inquiry.

Again, when I defend Geno I get blasted, so I will post this article again if you think Geno made The o line or offense look bad:

Seahawks 2024 Grade Card: How Did Geno Smith, QBs Perform?

Turnovers withstanding, Geno Smith did a fine job navigating challenging circumstances to remain highly productive for the Seahawks in 2024.

www.si.com

...

Did you know that since week 8, Sam and our offense is ranked 29th in the redzone? With a better o line, better RBs, and a legit OC... We are 29th since defenses figure out how to play Sam. Our TD to INT ration over that span is 1-1 as well. Geno has been labeled A redzone disaster, for one horrid season under Grubb. Waldron was fired by Chicago in large part why? Because he was horrible in the redzone. Grubb? Fired for that and more.

Geno was great in the redzone (in terms of TD / TO) until Grubb. I think something like 32 TDs against maybe 5 iNTs with Waldron.

As far as O line, Geno's worst year in Seattle came last year. Did we all forget that we lost both of our starting Tackles to injury right out of the gate? If Cross and Lucas went down for an extended stretch with Sam at QB and he struggled, it would be expected, 100%.

A quote from Advanced stats:
Geno Smith has faced an NFL-high 93 pressures that were charted as: a) originally "blocked" and b) still became a pressure on the QB within 2.5 seconds. That means the Seahawks are identifying who to block and they instantly can't hold up. All game long.

The ONLY thing that made our offenses over the last few years work was Geno Smith. If you disagree, then what other outstanding aspects of our teams in 2022, 2023 and most of 2024 were carrying us? Our bottom ranked run game? Our bottom ranked O line? Our bottom ranked Defenses? That's an honest, sincere question.

Pressure under 2.5 seconds is not a QB problem.

You don't almost lead the league in accuracy and the ability to get the ball out quickly in Grubb's abomination of an offense unless you know what you are doing. Especially when your pass pro is bottom 5 ( and Genos rating under pressure was top 10 in the league last year and was near that if not better in years prior). So how can you pin the O lines issues on the QB who more often than not, gets the ball out quickly and also Perennially is near the top of the league in accuracy? Was he perfect, hell no. But the amount of hate the dude received without account for the situation around him is remarkable.

I never liked Geno's pouting.

I think he often came across as an entitled, borderline punk. And I didn't like Pete's coddling of him anymore than I like it when Russ was the beneficiary. And that coddling is exactly what landed Geno where he is rather than manning up and realizing the opportunity he had in front of him. His immaturity and lack of judgement landed him in a black hole in Vegas that he may never recover from. And that's too bad, because there were a very very few around the league who even after how predictable and un-NFL Grubb's offense was, thought Geno was anywhere near as bad as some folks on .net claim.

Hella valid

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Why am I NOT surprised that Buscuit Bay can't even come on here and crow up. Very likely he is a Niners fan.
If not, and he STILL refuses to give Sam credit? Total coward. I said what I said.

 

[hox]

So, what's the narrative on this guy now?

Some may move the goalposts, while others won't. I'll be curious to see who has the courage to come here and say he did not have their backing because of playoff failures.

Was tonight confirmation of his ability, or will people say "I didn't see enough yet"?

He has to beat the Rams in the NFC championship now, since the Rams have been his "cryptonite." That's the new and current goal post.

 

[Ad Hawk]

I'm just really curious about how people think, and why they hold out on him still.

He had very few attempts Saturday night, with no INTs. I get it; the more he throws, the higher likelihood of an INT. But without throwing much, he also has very little time to get into a throwing rhythm. Yet he didn't even need that. He just made the throws that he needed to make. That's more than many QBs can do regularly.

I'll bet that even if he beats the Rams, if he throws one INT against an otherwise fantastic game, some here won't give him any props.

Sad. Just Sad.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

He made some grown man throws in that game. YET AGAIN. But...but......stats

 

[thegameq]

I believe we are seeing Sam Darnold come into his own--both as a player and person. From watching him in front of the press/media, I get the vibe that he has insulated himself within this team and is staying in the moment presented before him. This is culture and coaching. The coaching staff knows Sam's strengths and weaknesses. Sam does not need to be Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes on this team. He just needs to play complementary football....and that's okay.

When called upon to make big plays, he obviously can--but there will always be risk/reward. This is not exclusive to Sam Darnold as we have all witnessed this pass weekend.




.......I'll take small forks of crow first to see how it goes down.