Geno Smith justifying Seahawks faith (and then some) so far: Man on a mission

June 05, 2024

In its first performance of the regular season, the Seahawks’ offense was a tale of two halves, at least on the scoreboard.

Seattle scored on three of its four first-half possessions, and the team was likely a quarterback sneak away from being 4-for-4 in the opening 30 minutes. Then in the second half, the Seahawks had three full possessions and didn’t make it across midfield.

So, what happened?

“Well, we hit everything in the first half,” coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday.

It’s true, quarterback Geno Smith completed 17 of his 18 passes in the first half, the lone incompletion coming on a ball that sailed over the outstretched arms of running back Rashaad Penny. Seattle ran the ball 10 times for 55 yards in the first half, converted 3 of 5 third-down tries and totaled 219 yards of offense. Nearly everything worked.

It is difficult to replicate that sort of effort. But with that in mind, the offense was still underwhelming over the final 30 minutes. In the second half, Smith threw for just 31 yards on 6-of-10 passing and Penny gained just 7 yards on four carries. The Seahawks went 3-of-6 on third down.

“It just wasn’t quite as sharp in the second half,” Carroll said.

The good news for Seattle is that, upon rewatching the film, it’s clear Smith didn’t suddenly become a less effective passer in the second half, as the numbers would suggest. Many of the same throws he hit in the first half were there in the second. Smith’s four incompletions were: a throwaway with pressure coming in the end zone; a ball headed for an open Tyler Lockett that was tipped at the line of scrimmage; a one-hopper into the turf toward a well-covered Dee Eskridge and a third-and-16 heave to tight end Noah Fant that was a broken up by cornerback Ronald Darby.

Despite a significant statistical drop-off between the two halves, Smith, the offense’s most important player, was fairly consistent throughout the game against a talented Broncos defense. Metrics such as Pro Football Focus grades are subjective and to be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s no accident that the site was high on Smith in the preseason and equally impressed with his Week 1 performance. The only quarterback with a higher overall grade was Buffalo’s Josh Allen, and Smith had the highest rushing grade among players at his position.

Smith was excellent at scrambling and using his legs to extend plays to push the ball downfield. As a designated runner, Smith was stuffed on fourth-and-1 from the Denver 7, but he also picked up 3 yards on third-and-2 in the third quarter. As a scrambler, Smith avoided pressure in the pocket on a second-and-16 snap in the third quarter and gained 14 yards, setting up the Seahawks in a manageable third-down situation (which they converted).

Smith was at his best when moving in the pocket while keeping his eyes up for receivers coming open. That’s how he found tight end Will Dissly on a 38-yard touchdown in the first quarter and how he connected with receiver Marquise Goodwin and tight end Colby Parkinson for chunk plays on consecutive snaps in the second quarter.

What a START! @GenoSmith3 improvises to @Will_Diss. Place is electric!

📺: #DENvsSEA on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/54o9fOPBKO pic.twitter.com/kKRPdF44Nl

— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2022

Most of what Smith put on tape bodes well for Seattle’s hopes that the quarterback will continue to be efficient Sunday against another talented, disciplined defensive unit in San Francisco.

“He really played a great game,” Carroll said. “He did exactly like we would hope he would do. You hope he’s going to hit every pass — and he almost did. He was rolling. A little shaky getting started in the second half, but it wasn’t him, it was just stuff that occurred, and we weren’t quite as productive. The third downs showed up a little bit.

“We were great on third downs early in the game, the guys made big catches. DK (Metcalf) had a contribution there and Lock had a couple there, coming through and making plays. It was great.”

Among his peers, Smith ranked 12th in EPA per play and EPA per dropback, according to TruMedia, which basically means he was better than average on a per-play basis at putting his team in position to score points. His completion percentage of 82.1 was second only to Allen, and Smith threw off-target passes at the sixth-lowest rate in the league (7.1 percent).

According to RBSDM.com, Smith ranked second in completion percentage above expectation, which considers additional factors beyond whether the pass was merely completed. Smith didn’t attack much down the field, averaging just 6.96 yards per attempt (19th) and 5.14 air yards per attempt, which ranked 29th in the league, ahead of only Minnesota’s Kirk Cousins, the Jets’ Joe Flacco and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts, according to TruMedia.

Relative to the rest of the league in Week 1, Smith was better than most at operating within the structure of the offense and placing the ball where it needed to be based on the coverage. Then when it was time to complete a difficult pass, Smith made the necessary throw and had some help from his receivers. That, in essence, is what Seattle wants from its quarterback.

“Geno did really well taking care of the football, making the right reads and just keeping his confidence up throughout the whole game which bled to the other players on offense, and defense, and special teams,” Metcalf said Wednesday.

Smith and offense ending up on the wrong end of a second-half shutout ultimately came down to three plays.

The first is Metcalf’s fumble on the team’s first drive of the third quarter. After making a strong catch to move the sticks on third-and-10, Metcalf caught a quick pass in the flat from Smith, sidestepped a defensive back and worked upfield before he was stripped by outside linebacker Randy Gregory near midfield. Had Metcalf held on to the ball, Seattle likely would have marched into Denver territory and put itself in position to add to the lead.

The second impact play was a second-and-8 from the Denver 44-yard line in the fourth quarter with 13:52 remaining. Smith went to throw an out route to Lockett and was sacked by outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. Smith fumbled the ball into the hands of left tackle Charles Cross. Instead of potentially moving the chains on the throw to Lockett, Seattle faced third-and-16. Smith had time in the pocket but double-clutched before launching the ball toward Fant near the Denver sideline.

The third notable moment was a third-and-6 from the 34-yard line with 4:54 left to play. Seattle came out in 11 personnel (one tight end, one running back) with Metcalf, Lockett, Dissly and Goodwin as the pass catchers. In that three-receiver set, Goodwin, Dissly and Metcalf lined up to Smith’s left while Lockett was alone on the right. Metcalf cleared the first-down marker and broke his route inside, but linebacker Jonas Griffith sat underneath the throwing lane, with safety Kareem Jackson helping over the top. Lockett was covered on the outside, and a checkdown to running back Travis Homer would have been short of the sticks. Smith held the ball and took a sack.

Those three moments were backbreakers. On paper, the two plays in the backfield go down as sacks allowed by Seattle’s rookie left tackle. But part of Seattle’s offensive game plan is to help the two rookie tackles. Sometimes that means getting the ball out quickly. Other times, like on those two sacks, it means having better movement in the pocket. Had Smith done the latter on third-and-6, he may have been able to fit the ball in to Metcalf or move the chains with his legs.

“Geno needed to step up in the pocket, and we got sacked a couple times where we got push on Charles’ side over there,” Carroll said. “Those were big plays in the drives because we were really good on third down early, and we lost a couple (opportunities) there, and that was the difference.”

The only other legitimate cause for concern as it pertains to Smith and the passing offense ahead of the team’s NFC West opener against the 49ers is the lack of explosive plays within the structure of the original play. Of Seattle’s five completions of at least 16 yards, only two were executed as designed: Parkinson’s 25-yard touchdown in the second quarter and Lockett’s 17-yard third-down catch in the first.

Explosive plays often lead to points, and Seattle’s offense can’t rely on the defense to hold teams to 16 points every week. Smith and the rest of the offense have to manufacture chunk plays to avoid relying on missed field goals and goal-line fumbles to win games. But based on the poise and accuracy Smith showcased Monday, there’s reason to believe they’ll have some better fortune in that department this weekend.

“Geno is a man on a mission,” running back DeeJay Dallas said Wednesday. “He’s proven himself this whole camp, it just showed on Monday night. He put the ball where it needed to be, he didn’t make bad decisions. He had one fluke turnover, but Geno is doing all the right stuff. I got complete confidence in him. He’ll take us to where we want to go.”

(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

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