NFL
The Geno Smith Revenge Tour Will Lead the Seattle Seahawks to the Playoffs
Miles Ruder is a sports writer and columnist whose passion for football and the NFL dates back as far as his memory, whether expressed through countless fantasy football championships — the product of constant supervision of his teams — or time spent learning coverages, techniques, and schemes through real-time and game-film viewing. Though Miles' expertise extends to all forms of NFL coverage, he's partial to the Carolina Panthers and never minds when players from Ohio State wind up wearing black, blue, and silver. Starting with his coverage at the Niner Times, UNC Charlotte's student newspaper, at which he was awarded Assistant Editor of the Year, he has put his NFL knowledge on display for many outlets, including Pro Football Focus and FanSided's Cat Crave. Miles is always up for a conversation about tennis, UFC, or the Cincinnati Reds, but football remains his biggest passion.
Get to know Miles Ruder betterPublished06 Nov 2022
The Seattle Seahawks are easily the most surprising team of the 2022 NFL season. They’re 5-3 and are on top of the NFC West division, ahead of the reigning Super Bowl champs and last year’s NFC runner-up.
After trading away its franchise quarterback Russell Wilson for a boatload of picks, a lot of people expected Seattle to go into full rebuild mode and start preparing for the future.
But head coach Pete Carroll had other plans, as he already had another talented quarterback on the roster in Geno Smith. The signal-caller has proven to be more than capable of commanding a dominant offense.
Smith has been a backup for seven years and has waited patiently for his time to become a starter in the NFL again. Once that opportunity came to be this season, he took it and ran with it.
Geno Smith’s revenge tour is going exactly as planned
Smith’s first eight games as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback have been nothing short of remarkable. He’s completing a league-high 72.7% of his passes and has the fourth-highest passer rating in the league (107.2) behind Tua Tagovailoa, Patrick Mahomes, and Jalen Hurts.
The completion rate is what stands out the most. Smith’s ability to remain poised in the pocket or while improvising and make highlight-reel throws has been the biggest revelation. He’s been on target on 80.6% of his passes, the third-highest in the NFL, while also having the lowest bad-throw rate at 8.3%. His accuracy has helped him capitalize on the big plays and limit turnovers. His 13-3 TD-INT ratio is also among the best in the league.
As well as being near the top in several quarterback categories, he was named the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Month in October after leading the Seahawks to a 4-1 record and commanding an offensive scoring 32.6 points per game.
Smith is also in the Comeback Player of the Year race, where he boasts the second-best odds by FanDuel only behind New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. He has also earned an 88.4 offensive grade, the second-highest behind Josh Allen, according to Pro Football Focus.
At the start of the year, it wasn’t clear if Smith was simply going to be a game manager and let the rushing attack and defense make plays. However, he’s been the guy all season, and the Seahawks will only go as far as he goes.
Like Smith said, they wrote him off, but he didn’t write back. Now, the Seahawks might have to write him a bigger check.
Smith is Making the Most of His One-Year Contract
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Considering the fact that Smith was in a quarterback battle this offseason with Drew Lock, who was a part of the return package for Wilson, it’s an astonishing turnaround. Smith has proven to be the correct choice and has warranted all the praise Carroll gave him leading into the season.
Beyond that, Smith signed a one-year, $3.5 million contract this offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent in 2023. Given what he has shown this season, he could receive a massive pay raise to remain in Seattle or with another organization.
Regardless, the signal-caller has the Seahawks winning, and that’s all he can focus on. They only have a one-game lead in the division currently but have the sixth-easiest schedule for the rest of the season, with their opponents having a combined 30-38 record. Seattle is on track to return to the playoffs thanks to Smith and, at this point, the club has the potential to make a deep run.
These next two months will define what the Seahawks and their quarterback are all about. But if the first eight games of the season were any inclination, Seattle should be excited about what the rest of the season has to offer, and Smith’s hot streak shouldn’t be considered a fluke because he is playing like a top quarterback right now.
Have thoughts on this topic? Keep the conversation rolling in our comments section below.
