Seahawks Need Better Play From This Player To Discover Potential

The Seattle Seahawks have used a strong passing game to propel a 5-2 start and take the lead in the NFC West eight weeks into the 2023 season, essentially continuing where they left off offensively from the previous year.

Despite many injuries along the offensive line, Seattle is averaging 24 points per game right now, which is on pace with their output from a year ago, even if they are barely outside the top-10 in terms of points per game. They are also sixth in the NFL for first downs per play and fifth in terms of points per play, which is a minor improvement over their 2022 ranks in both categories.

The Seahawks offensive is still very good, but in the first seven games, they have displayed a lot of flaws, and overall, the team has underperformed. They settle for field goals and lose out on points far too frequently, ranking 19th in red zone touchdown rate in addition to ranking 23rd in third down conversion rate, albeit with a tiny increase over last season.

The main cause of Seattle’s offensive inconsistency is quarterback Geno Smith. While the veteran signal caller has shown flashes of brilliance this season and still has a strong overall stat line, he hasn’t performed up to his own high expectations thus far.

Smith, who recently signed a three-year extension in March, was named Comeback Player of the Year and was selected for his first Pro Bowl. He is among the top 15 quarterbacks in terms of completion percentage (67.6 percent), yards per attempt (7.3), and passer rating (91.1). He has continued to be one of the NFL’s best deep ball passers, according to Pro Football Focus, finishing in the top 10 for passer rating, big-time throws, and yards per attempt on passes that travel at least 20 yards through the air.

Smith’s five percent completion percentage beyond expectation, which ranks third among qualified quarterbacks, according to NFL Next Gen Stats, indicates that he has been among the league’s finest passers when it comes to making tough throws.

But Smith has clearly regressed from his breakout season following his takeover of Russell Wilson in the previous campaign. He only has nine passing touchdowns in Seattle’s first seven games compared to six interceptions, but being fourth in the league in passing touchdowns. Because of this, his interception percentage increased to 2.7 percent this season from 1.9 percent in 2022, and many of his picks have come at the worst times.

The Seahawks had a huge offensive slowdown for two and a half quarters after leading three straight scoring drives to start Sunday’s victory over the Browns. They failed to score on any of their next seven efforts.

Struggling with accuracy and making a few ill-advised decisions, Smith completed only nine out of 20 pass attempts during those possessions and threw a pair of interceptions, including a costly pick by cornerback Martin Emerson late in the first half in Browns territory that may have wiped points off the scoreboard.

Smith stated, “I was just throwing it in rhythm,” following the match. “Guy made a play and did a fantastic job undermining it. I might be able to lead them closer to the sideline and get the ball out quicker.”

When Smith attempted to find tight end Noah Fant in the middle of the field on a third down pass later in the third quarter, defensive tackle Maurice Hurst tip-tipped the pass in the air, dropping back into zone, and made an incredible interception. After Cleveland committed a turnover, they tied the score at 17 all with a field goal. Additionally, he came dangerously close to throwing a pick six seconds later when out-breaking receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was stopped.

In response to a question about Smith’s performance on Monday, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll acknowledged his error on Hurst’s interception and the lack of big plays in the middle quarters that allowed the offense to be ground against a formidable Browns team, but he also praised his quarterback for persevering through hardship to toss the game-winning touchdown to Smith-Njigba in the final minute of regulation.

He performed admirably at the start and finish, but we weren’t as tidy in the middle. What we failed to accomplish was to generate the same kind of explosive plays with advantageous field positions as we did during the first quarter and on the winning drive. Being a great defensive player makes it difficult to play the entire field. They haven’t likely had many instances where someone has run 80 or 75 yards past them. Carroll answered, “That’s what we did.” “I believe Geno had a successful football game. He completed it. He made a mistake during a play when the player tipped the ball up, and he missed it. Stuff is going to happen. We need to do better around him. I love that he won the game.”

Smith thought he played a pretty good game against the Browns, save for the two throws that led to fumbles and the near-pick when he and Smith-Njigba weren’t in sync. He did perform like a top-five quarterback in moments against one of the finest defenses in the NFL, going eight for twelve for 136 yards and a touchdown on the opening three drives and finishing the game four for five for 52 yards and a touchdown.

However, Smith hasn’t been able to go through four quarters without making significant errors, as has been the case the entire season. He threw two poor interceptions in a Week 6 loss to the Bengals, one of which telegraphed a ball to Smith-Njigba in the red zone that cost the team at least a field goal. His other interception resulted in a field goal for Cincinnati, putting the home team up four. This was crucial because it prevented Seattle from punting the ball in on its final possession.

Even in a Week 7 victory over Arizona, Smith was picked again in the red zone, forcing Jake Bobo to throw under stress, missing the intended target by a wide margin in the end zone. Seattle managed to pull off victories against Cleveland on Sunday and in that previous case.

“It’s challenging. The NFL is it,” Smith remarked. “It won’t ever be simple. Although one or two errors can cost you a game, we actually solved the problem today.

If there is a bright spot right now, it’s that the Seahawks have scored enough points to win five of their first seven games and put themselves in a position to qualify for the postseason for the second consecutive year. Smith’s erratic play and their ground game’s patchy performance can also be attributed in part to the offensive line’s perpetual game of musical chairs.

But Smith needs to get back to where he was for the majority of the 2022 season if Seattle is to contend for an NFC West crown and possibly make a deep playoff run in January. Let’s start with reducing turnovers. His 4.1 percent turnover-worthy throw percentage ranks 27th out of 31 qualified quarterbacks, according to Pro Football Focus. He needs to learn to be less aggressive when passing into small windows and make better judgments with the ball.

This is particularly evident in the red zone, as Smith has completed only 42.5% of his pass attempts and threw the two aforementioned picks. Only Kirk Cousins, according to Pro Football Reference, has thrown more interceptions inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. The only two signal callers with at least 29 red zone throwing attempts who have completed a lower percentage of throws are Derek Carr and Matthew Stafford.

Smith’s most obvious area for growth, in terms of passing depth, is the intermediate passing game. His difficulties are not new; according to PFF charting, he has thrown three interceptions and recorded a league-worst 13.5 percent turnover worthy play rate on throws between 10 and 19 yards. Despite throwing 13 touchdowns in 2022, he had the lowest turnover worthy play rate in the league, with six of those interceptions coming on these plays.

Smith is confident the Seahawks can be among the best teams in the NFC, and based on their record, they are already close to being in that conversation. Smith is surrounded by weapons like Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Smith-Njigba, and Fant, as well as an offensive line that plays well despite injuries. But the offense needs him to be better than competent or acceptable if they are to compete for a division title, so he has to play smarter, cleaner football going ahead.

I’ve been working on improving my ability to avoid making mistakes because they can be harmful to us. Our crew seems like such a resilient group. In every situation, we manage to prevail. If I perform to the best of my ability and standards, I think the possibilities are endless. If we perform well, we’re among the top football teams.”