Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has been named NFC Offensive Player of The Month for October. This is the first such award for Smith in his tenth year in the league.
ROAD LESS TRAVELED
Smith’s story from number one draft pick to backup quarterback to the starter is a narrative that has become a national story. In fairness, not everyone in Seattle was sold on Smith being the main man behind center. Head coach Pete Carroll named Smith the number one-quarter on day one of training camp. The strategy was to anoint Smith as the starter and see if Drew Lock can outplay Smith. That part of the plan never materialized. After a subpar preseason Smith has outplayed most of the quarterbacks in the NFL.
LEADER OF THE PACK
For the season, Smith leads the NFL in completion percentage (72.7), ranks third in the league and first in the NFC in passer rating (107.2), and is tied for the NFC lead with 13 touchdown passes. The first Seahawk to be named player of the month since Russell Wilson in 2020, Smith is also the second-ranked quarterback in the NFL behind Josh Allen by Pro Football Focus.
While the numbers maybe a surprise to many they are not for Smith who is relishing his opportunity to be a starting quarterback in the NFL
“Being in the NFL, it’s a day to day thing. You gotta be on it every single day. A lot of people wish they were in this position and I’m grateful to have worked myself into this position,” Smith said durng his weekly press conference
“Knowing who I am, I’m very set in who I am, I know exactly who I am and what I can do. And so I’ve never bought into the narratives that have been out there. I didn’t just get this good over the course of one offseason. So I think that’s mostly a narrative and a lot of this stuff is media driven.”
COMMUNICATION AND CHEMISTRY
Smith‘s determination, attention to detail, patience, and communication skills earned him the chance and those traits have had a dramatic impact on his on-field relationship with teammates.
“I would say our communication is night and day from when we first started because a lot of the walk throughs are really a time for us to perfect how we communicate, how we see things. Even at practice when it’s a look or a route, Geno (Smith) and Tyler (Lockett) and me are always talking about how we are going to run the route against this specific DB, but it’s a lot of film study and trust in each other because Geno and Tyler were on the exact same page with minimal communication on that one play and we ran it twice back-to-back. So, just the communication has tremendously changed since Geno was the starting quarterback.”
GENO SMITH QUOTES FROM MEDIA PRESSER
(On what it means to be named NFC Offensive Player of the Month)
“Well, on behalf of myself, Shane Waldron, the offensive line, and our offense, I will gladly accept that. It just means that we have been playing well as an offense and we have to continue that, we have to keep going.”
(On what it means to see two rookies named Player of the Month)
Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen and running back Kenneth Walker were named Rookie Players of Month.
“That’s outstanding, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before. It means that we drafted well, obviously. I think that has been the history here, but also the coaching, it speaks volumes to the coaching, getting those guys ready to play. Then to the individual for going out there and making the plays, taking the coaching, and putting all of those things to use. We have a lot of really good rookies, and they are contributing, all of them are in different ways. It’s really fascinating to see.”
(On what he has learned about Kenneth Walker III)
“As the season has gone along, I’m learning that Kenneth Walker III is a tremendous player, but also a tremendous human being. He studies hard, he works hard, he wants to be coached, he asks the right questions, and I think his career is going to continue to blow up. The sky is the limit for him, he has all of the athletic ability, he’s tough, he can run between the tackles, get outside the tackles, make guys miss, and he’s also a really good pass catcher and pass protector. He will continue to grow and get better, which I think is scary because he is already pretty good.”
(On what Arizona did to slow down the offense in their first matchup against them this season)
“Thinking about that game, they presented us with a bunch of different fronts and situational challenges. I can remember being down in the red zone and it was right before the half, so they were backed up, pretty much playing goal line. We didn’t do great in the red zone that game, so that’s something that we have to improve on. Really, throughout the entire season, we haven’t been great in the red zone, so we have to just keep getting better in the red zone and really finish drives. We have to finish drives with touchdowns, not settling for field goals, and also doing really well on 3rd down.”
(On if he feels like he is in contention for NFL Comeback Player of the Year)
“I just think it’s me having a chance to play now. The attention and all of that stuff, I’m not really feeling it. I have just focused on what I am doing inside of this building. I think it’s more so people just seeing me play. I haven’t played in a bunch of years, outside of preseason, and I think people are now getting a chance to see me play in this offense with these types of players. It’s more so of just all of us doing well more than just myself.”
(On if he thinks about how this season can affect his future)
“I don’t really live my life like that. I am always focused on what I have to do today and tomorrow. Those things will come. Time will tell, time will tell with all of that, but for me, I just have to stay focused on what I am doing in here. That’s working hard, leading this team, and going out there and competing to get wins.”
(On what kept him focused during the seven years in which he was a backup quarterback)
“I mean, being in the NFL. It’s a day-to-day thing, you have to be on every single day. A lot of people wish they were in this position, and I’m grateful to have worked my way into this position. Also, knowing who I am, I am very set in who I am. I know exactly who I am and what
I can do, so I never bought into the narrative that was out there. I just didn’t get this good over the course of one offseason, so I think that was mostly the narrative and a lot of this stuff is media driven. When it comes down to me, people from where I’m from know who I am, West Virginia, I just got inducted into the College Hall of Fame, so people in college football know who I am, and the New York Jets, Giants, Chargers, and Seattle. People have continued to let me know to keep working hard and things will happen for me, so that’s what I did.”
(On how his relationship with Pete Carroll evolved over his time with the Seahawks)
“My relationship with Pete (Carroll) has been the same, which is awesome. He has always been the same guy. I think Pete does a tremendous job of coaching every guy on the team. He has a relationship with every single guy, no matter who it is, every guy in the building really. I think that’s what makes him such a special coach, he knows the importance of relationships. He makes sure that you feel seen and feel heard. That’s the sign of a great leader.”
(On what Will Dissly’s contribution on special teams says about him) “I think Will (Dissly)
, I don’t know if this is the right word, but he’s one of the unsung heroes of the team. The things that he does from a leadership standpoint to the way he blocks in the run game, he’s very unselfish and willing to pass protect as well, and then when he goes out there as a receiver, he can run all of the routes, make all of the catches, and present matchups that are favorable for our offense. To see him run down on kickoff and punt, and be a part of the special teams, that’s who he is, that’s what he does. He’s a team first guy and is a leader. He is willing to do what it takes to win.”
(On what he likes about the three tight end formation)
“I think having those guys, three really good tight ends, it gives us a lot of versatility. We are able to line up in multiple packages. They are all good, they can all be starters in this league. They do a great job of collectively working together. I think overall, each one of those guys are unique in their own way, and they all bring an added dimension to the offense, which is that we have power and speed when you talk about those guys. They can all run and catch, but they are also really good blockers. I’m not a defensive coordinator, but I would imagine that it presents some challenges when you have to figure out what the package is versus the looks and the play.”
(On what lessons he learned in the last game against the Cardinals) “
Starting with me, just getting the ball out in rhythm and on time. Making sure I’m not holding the ball too long back there, making fast and decisive reads, and getting the ball out of my hands. Also, just finishing drives, finishing in the red zone, being better on 3rd down, and overall, whatever it takes to win. Obviously, I felt like I could have played better in that game, so just improving on the things from that game and seeing if we can get better in this one.”
(On what he likes about this offense in particular)
“I think it’s a bunch of different things. It’s a great question. I think it starts with our offensive coordinator and our offensive staff. They do a great job in putting us in positions to be successful. They study hard and work hard all week and have been coming up with great game plans. When you talk about the offensive line up front, protection, communication, the way we are running the ball and pass protecting, all those things make my job a lot easier; having weapons on the outside, having running backs in the backfield who are dynamic, it just makes life easier. You just go out there and do your job. You don’t have to force things because those guys will make enough big plays in the game.
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