Seahawks wide receiver Metcalf was asked to describe in one word the type of year quarterback Geno Smith is having, he answered phenomenal then changed to MVP Caliber.
When you are performing at the top of your game and ranked as one of the best players in the league you get to change your mind and set the rules.
ASCENDING UP THE CHARTS
A driven, committed, and sometimes funny player Metcalf is having another chart-climbing year and having fun while doing it. Maturation shows up once a player is aware of who and what he is. After leading the team with 75 catches and 12 touchdowns 4th best in the NFL Metcalf picked up where he left off this season. Metcalf leads the team with 67 receptions with 798 yards and has 5 touchdowns. Fellow receiver Tyler Lockett has him beat in the total yards category with 836 and touchdowns with 7 to Metcalf’s 5. A common dominator to the Seahawk’s passing game has been Geno Smith’s MVP-caliber play.
SMITH HAVING AN MVP-CALIBER YEAR
The question of are you surprised at Geno Smith‘s success this year is proposed to Metcalf on a weekly basis and the answer to the question is consistent. No
“Yeah, y’all asked the question, ‘How does it feel to watch Geno (Smith) and see Geno?’ He’s a quarterback in the NFL, so there’s no drop-off. Whether it’s a two-minute drive or the opening drive, Geno is going to be Geno, so, nothing’s changed since the first day he got the starting job. He’s still going to do his job to the best of his ability, and he’s still going play his butt off every snap, so nothing’s changed about Geno. Geno’s still going to ball, and there’s going to be a slump or some adversity that he hits during the season sometime, but he’s going to bounce back from it. Geno’s going to be amazing every game that he plays, so I’m not worried about it.”
GIVE CREDIT TO LOCKETT
In addition to Smith’s phonemical year ( the other word Metcalf used to describe Smith’s year), Metcalf gave credit and props to Lockett who is having another outstanding year and taught him how to run routes.
“How to run routes and not let a DB dictate how I should run a route. Sanjay (Lal) always uses the, ‘We’re the puppet master and they’re the puppet,’ and Tyler (Lockett) does that to the best of his ability, and better than probably anybody I’ve ever seen with my own eyes. He runs routes like the DB’s not there, and nine times out of 10, the DB is going to fall if Tyler gets a full head of steam and gets to shaking his head like that. The DB is in trouble.”
When asked further to describe what exactly separates Lockett from the other receivers in the league Metcalf pointed to Lockett’s ability to continually get open despite being double-teamed.
“Last year when no matter what happened, if he was being double teamed, because there was a lot of plays where he was being double teamed and he still got open, beating two defenders. Just going back, you never see it on the field, all you see is the amazing catch. But the next day when we come in here and watch film, my jaw drops sometimes how he gets so open when there are four eyes on him at a time. Last year he did that on occasion. It’s still translating over to today. So, he knows his body, he knows himself, he knows how to run routes. That’s just him knowing himself.”
The growth of Metcalf now in his fourth year with the team is palpable. The drive, hunger, and determination are all there and accompanied by a professional and humble demeanor. When asked if this is the best he and Lockett have played Metcalf was quick to head praise to OC Sean Waldron, Geno Smith, and the process of believing in the process.
“I give a lot of respect to Shane (Waldron), how he’s distributing the ball, how he coaches Geno (Smith) up, and Geno just orchestrates Shane’s plan throughout the week like he made it himself. I would give Shane a lot of credit for that and how he distributes the ball and as much film as he watches, and all of our offensive coaches putting their input in. It takes a lot of trust, and I believe we have that. It took a lot of trust to get to this point for me to trust Geno, for Shane to trust me and Tyler (Lockett). What it boils down to is just trust and believe in the system.”
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