Seahawks fans are not pleased with hearing of Geno Smith's start on Friday

Seaside Joe 1268, 8/25/22: Did Pete Carroll let it slip that Marquise Goodwin has made the team?

The Seattle Seahawks will start Geno Smith at quarterback against the Dallas Cowboys on Friday, with Drew Lock playing most (if not all) of the snaps after that. I would be surprised to not see Jacob Eason playing the fourth quarter because so little can be learned from Lock making throws and decisions against the Cowboys’ practice squad hopefuls, but Lock did finish out the second half against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pete Carroll knows he wants to see “a lot” of him.

There’s really not much more that Seaside Joe wants to write about the quarterback competition. That’s just a fair lead intro paragraph to a Thursday newsletter, moments after Carroll met with the media and reiterated the same talking points because reporters keep asking him the same questions.

Geno will start. Lock will come in next. So many are taking this week’s comments and choice to start Geno as the “final nail” for Lock (I believe this is the fifth or sixth “final nail” for Lock) even though that flies in the face of logic. Pete could just say it’s over. He consistently appears desperate for that to not be the case.

Geno and the offense have combined their efforts to play poorly through two preseason first halves. Remarkably there are Seahawks fans who have the exact opposite take on Geno’s efforts in 2021 and the 2022 preseason, seeing the lack of points as “not Geno’s fault” and that’s fine, one thing I’ve learned is that you can’t really convince people to change their minds at a certain point.

They’ll just double down.

However, I’ve also learned that Twitter distorts reality and while it seems like there are many shades to Seattle’s quarterback competition, the replies to tweets about Pete’s comments on Geno are very one-sided: Seahawks fans DO NOT WANT TO SEE IT.

Gregg Bell @gbellseattle

Pete Carroll says Geno Smith will start at quarterback tomorrow night at Dallas for the third consecutive and final preseason game. Says Drew Lock will play “a lot.” Again: will Lock get to play with the 1s tomorrow?

Pete told the media again on Thursday that Geno will start and that he’s been “in the lead to start” the entire time. The reactions to Gregg Bell’s tweet on the matter were universal in their distaste for hearing there will be more Geno.

Gregg followed up with another tweet about Geno being “number-one guy the whole time. He’s held onto it” and the responses were even harsher, to say the least.

Gregg Bell @gbellseattle

Pete Carroll on Geno Smith vs Drew Lock: “Geno has been the number-one guy the whole time. He’s held onto it.” Smith will start again tomorrow night at Dallas. Carroll says that’s important that he starts again in the preseason finale @thenewstribune

That does not tell me that most Seahawks fans are rooting for Drew Lock. It tells me that Seahawks fans were expecting Pete “Always Compete” Carroll to give every quarterback a chance to start and right now they don’t feel like that’s been the case. I am still quite confident that it is the case and that unless Lock has been super disappointing behind closed doors, the Seahawks want to see him outplay Geno Smith (as he did against Pittsburgh) on Friday.

And sure enough, while there’s been a lot of noise made over “reps with the 1s in practice,” Pete Carroll says that really doesn’t matter and the two quarterbacks have been splitting those reps all week.

Gregg Bell @gbellseattle

Pete Carroll says he's not concerned Drew Lock needs game reps with C Austin Blythe and Seahawks' starting offensive line. Says Lock's gotten enough with OL1 in practices. Lock, Smith have alternated w/ the 1s all week. "Blythe makes it easy on him. He's in total command."

It’s obvious how rare it is for Seahawks fans to be in the position of a quarterback competition based on the attention given to “reps with the 1s” in a practice setting. How many quarterbacks have had good-to-great seasons after spending all of training camp and preaseason as a backup?

40? 60? 25,000? I know the number is high. That, I know.

I’ve also been accused of having some personal bias against Geno Smith. That’s a manipulation tactic, it’s disingenuous, and it’s someone else’s way of driving the conversation in any other direction besides the facts I’ve laid out.

Earlier this summer I wrote that Geno Smith would be a very cool story and I’d be interested to see how that plays out. There are no personal feelings involved here. The evidence points to Lock making more sense than Geno and I presented the evidence. I have no personal stake in it. If the evidence was stronger that Lock would be a GOOD quarterback, I would make a strong case for Lock to start based on being good.

I haven’t done that either.

One of these two quarterbacks will start against the Broncos in Week 1. There’s a non-zero chance that the other quarterback will start against the 49ers in Week 2. Let’s not lose our minds over either.

Pete Carroll said a handful of other interesting things on Thursday. Before I lay out those talking points, please consider subscribing for the FREE daily Seahawks newsletter or upgrading for premium bonus content, of which more is coming today.

Dee Eskridge will make his debut on Friday

Bob Condotta @bcondotta

Pete Carroll says Artie Burns and Dee Eskridge will play Friday at Dallas.

The Seahawks haven’t sounded overly impressed with any of their receivers other than the two obvious ones.

Bob Condotta @bcondotta

Carrol says Marquise Goodwin shows of be ready for regular season opener, which I guess puts him on the 53. So, Metcalf, Lockett, Eskridge, Goodwin and one other?

Pete Carroll gave words of praise for Marquise Goodwin, potentially even hinting that Goodwin’s going to be on the 53, but an Eskridge breakout would have a monumental impact on the offense. Now and in the future.

John Boyle @johnpboyle

Pete Carroll said Dee Eskridge will get work in the return game tomorrow. #Seahawks

Rashaad Penny has COVID, is out Friday

Not that he would have played, but Penny will sit this one out. The Seahawks are hopeful to have Penny, Ken Walker III by Week 1. I think Penny’s all but assured of that, while Walker likely doesn’t return until later in September.

John Boyle @johnpboyle

Pete Carroll said Rashaad Penny has COVID-19 and will miss Friday's game. Very minor symptoms and should be back with the team soon. #Seahawks

Pete is confident that Travis Homer can be more than just a third-down back. The team signed running back Ronnie Rivers on Wednesday as a camp body who could get some carries on Friday because of a lack of options.

Gregg Bell @gbellseattle

Pete Carroll: "No problem" giving bulked up usual 3rd-down back Travis Homer early-down carries in real games. Seahawks may have to. Ken Walker remains out after a hernia procedure. Rashaad Penny coming back from COVID. "He's the best he's been right now," Carroll says of Homer.

Sidney Jones IV out, Artie Burns is back

Dugar, Michael-Shawn @MikeDugar

Sidney Jones (concussion) won’t play against against Dallas, Pete says. So the outside CBs tomorrow will be Artie Burns, Michael Jackson, Tariq Woolen and John Reid

The wild card at cornerback on the final 53-man roster is John Reid. Seattle’s in a tight spot because their veterans all keep getting hurt, their rookies are so untested, and even Mike Jackson could start against the Broncos. Artie Burns is probable to be a starter in Week 1 given his familiarity with the defense, but I think this may be the hardest position to predict for Week 1, even more so than quarterback.

L.J. Collier is a game-time decision, maybe soon to be cut

Bob Condotta @bcondotta

Marquise Goodwin and Sidney Jones won’t play tomorrow, Pete Carroll says. LJ Collier is a gametime decision. Which as I wrote today says a lot about Collier’s spot on the team.

Bob Condotta is writing about L.J. Collier like he’s in his final days with the Seahawks and that Myles Adams has taken that job from him. Which no Seahawks fans will be upset about.

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