Lots to take in here, thanks for going through it with me! I hope that the abundance of GIFs were not too problematic for anyone, I may have gotten carried away today.
No Joe it was a great article as usual and even though I’m a bigger fan of Geno than you I really appreciate your fairness. Sunday the gauntlet begins.
I don’t know how anyone can rank the players before they have played at least 1/4 of the season, anyway! It has also puzzled me why the analysts don’t notice when a team makes a fair number of their points when the QB isn’t even on the field! Defense team points should be part of the breakdown and not assumed to be to the credit of the QB.
Complementary football... it was missing almost completely last season.
D: GET OFF THE FIELD on 3rd down (especially 3rd and long).
O: MAKE SOME FIRST DOWNS and keep the opposing D on the field.
MM's Raven's D led in many categories, including takeaways. If the Seahawks D can improve their run D (how could it be worse?), improve on 3rd down and takeways, it will make a HUGE difference. But the O has to do its part as well, by hanging onto the football, keep the chains moving, and (particularly) scoring when they have the opportunity.
We didn't have a running game last year. Most yards gained came after contact, and or when K9 reversed his field. A real running game would be a tremendous improvement and relieve a lot of pressure on Geno.
What is “the future” in the NFL anyway? The average career in the NotForLong is 3 years. Geno—will he be the QB in three years? There may be a universe where that happens but I doubt it. All we know for sure is that Geno is the Week 1 starter.
I am not a Geno hater—I want him to succeed—but I am a Geno skeptic. One stat that stands out for me from 2022 and the Seahawks that had nothing to do with the D: 26th ranked in red zone efficiency.
In the red zone is about “Players, positions, plays” in that order as Dave Wyman would say. And the player most responsible for red zone success is the QB.
Was it all Waldron’s fault? The fact Geno was terrific on scripted drives tells me that is unlikely.
Regardless we shall see what happens—Geno has been set up for success this year. Let’s see what he can do with it.
Mike, 2-minute drills are... 2 minute drills! They are game planned and practiced!
And in the red zone sure the OC makes the play call, but it is (almost) never "run this play regardless of what you see"--the QB has options. That is point I am making.
I think Stacy Rost's article is a good one. Is Geno under-rated? Or is he who his career says he is? We are about to find out if he has a higher ceiling than he has so far demonstrated. I am in the camp of "his career has demonstrated he is average" but I can be convinced otherwise.
I want the Hawks to succeed. How many of the points last season were FG points? Now that FG range is mid-field the QB doesn’t get kudos for getting the offense close enough to share in the glory.
I don’t hate anyone, but I am not a fan of Geno. He doesn’t make up for a lack of fun to watch with a talent that lacks the awe factor. It’s what makes all football fans enjoy Burrow, Purdy, and the high personality QBs. Helps that they are also good players, too.
One of those things is not like the other—Purdy? Purdy is very scheme-dependent (or has been thus far). If you take away one of CMC or Deebo he becomes a very average QB.
Loved the Godfather tie in! And how just kept going and going. I've seen the two good Godfather films many, many times, but recently rewatched both as Mrs Turtleman and I work through the AFI top 100 list. For the first time, I saw Godfather II in closed captions so that we got to read the English translations. At first, I was tempted to look for a copy without it, but it really enhanced my experience when you'd see young poor Vito bring his wife (the Godmother?) a fruit home from the market and she exclaimed, "Oh Vito, what a lovely pear!"
One thing for the Seahawks that would be like the CC version of Godfather 2 would be a Hard Knocks or at least more media coverage from inside the team's facilities. I always assumed Pete wasn't a fan of that, and the closest thing we ever got during his tenure was the Real Rob Report. I realize nobody watches Hard Knocks anymore except me, but I do think that letting fans see the players practice and interact is appreciated by at least fans of that team. Heck, I read every team's Bleacher Report page and subreddit and it helps me form opinions on players. Same with Hard Knocks, even if it's all as highly edited as the Godfather. The most value reading other fan sites gives me as a Seahawks fan occurs when we acquire a player or staff member. The more upset they are about losing him, the better I feel about the acquisition. For example, not one Chiefs (or Giants) fan was remotely bothered by losing Kadarius Toney and Miami fans really wanted them to resign Williams if the $ was going to be that low. It's not much information, since we all tend to overvalue our own, but it's surely more than I had before.
Additional context: Ruiz said that this is a snapshot of today based on prior play. These are not projections for this year. He expects a guy like Rodgers to fall and maybe a guy like Stroud or Love to rise (maybe). This also does not take contracts into play this purely just talent.
I expect that Geno will overtake Stafford and become the best QB in the NFC (and Dak if that is what you believe) this year.
My favorite aspect of Ruiz is that he is not afraid to step out on a limb and goes against herd mentality. This is his genuine opinion based on all the QBs film. He obviously gets a ton of heat for doing this, but I think he is the only one willing to look at a QBs talent/skill separated from the team. Then he actually ranks them accordingly. People don't like that. This is why you see Geno above the likes of Goff, Hurts, and Purdy. Which seems obvious to me, but most people don't feel comfortable stating it. I give him a ton of credit for be willing to stand in and take the heat.
"Steven Ruiz creates these rankings by first grading each quarterback along each of the six attributes. The overall grade is the result of a weighted average of those ratings. Accuracy and decision-making each account for 25 percent of the grade; arm talent is another 20 percent; and creativity, pocket presence, and timing make up 10 percent apiece."
Wonder if the Seahawks will make Geno an offer he can’t refuse. May the 12s n be with you and Go Seahawks! My forecast the Seahawks defense gets 2 turnovers.
I suspect JS is very clear on the rewards for exceptional play, if only to soften the refusals to Wild Money requests. No ROI games to enrich ownership. Unrealized bonuses can roll over to next year. He will be as generous as the books allow. If the guys come to trust and respect that, we may keep a team of winners around when other teams lose people.
If we go out and fall on our noses on Sunday, Geno won't be leading us back to distinguished efforts in the second half. He will be the one guy who doesn't fall on his face. He doesn't lead, he just does his job and does it like the Journeyman he's become: Very Very Well. Initially, Russ could rally the guys, but eventually they measured him as Not A Team Player, ceasing to see him 'sacrificing' for the Team. He was out to get rich doing Manziel things. Give it to the Hero and let him win, (again). Geno can read a locker room and said "Screw that. That's not me. If we all do our jobs, we will win". All The Crap in the locker room left with Russ. Our guys will respond when he actually does sacrifice his body to get us a first down or a TD. The Man is writing a story and it may well turn out our players today will be remembered as the guys who wrote that story with him. Let's make it one for the Record Books.
Just to reiterate, this article posited that Geno Smith is capable of being an MVP and a Super Bowl winner with the right supporting cast. And if that doesn’t reach someone’s bar for being an acceptable take on how good Geno is, then it’s clear we are at an impasse that doesn’t really need further debate.
I get lost in the comments, guys, but absolutely Geno could find himself an MVP. The Players would hop on that, along with the Nation. He's The Underdog of all underdogs. Given these coaches, the schemes and an expanded confidence grown from preparation, yeah, I can see it. He may have to win a SB to gain it, but I can see him getting us close as being good 'nuf. It's a Story everybody wants to read. This year, Geno Writes Back.
Geno, like many good QB's, is aging like a fine wine. Last year was severely impacted by injuries to the OL. Geno will overperform this year. So says Swami Steve.
Ladies and Germs, football is still a team game, that's why I'm so interested seeing what a good defense can do to help the offense.
No more 9 minute drives by the opponent, leading to points and time or possession inequities. More defensive 3 and outs result in more drives for our offense and more points.
I hope that the terrible red zone failures were the result of unimaginative OC play calls. It should be much better with Grubb.
I noted DK kept stumbling around saying we must "match points" with our opponents, twice correcting himself to imply his focus/the team's focus now has changed to score, score and score more. To win. He'll block, he'll decoy, he'll run. Whatever it takes to get TDs. Give our Tier 2 Bench experience closing out games.
I find a lot of the Seahawks takes, and Geno takes, this preseason are the ultimate in hedges. They predict mediocrity, but the words read like the Seahawks (or Geno) could be surprise powerhouses. It's the perfect hedge. If they do poorly, point at the record you predicted. If they do very well, point at the words you used. You can't really lose with that approach. Not suggesting that's what SSJ is doing, it's just what I read from the various content providers/media outlets. People should feel more comfortable being wrong. I'm wrong all the time, and I enjoy it. I'm good at it.
My fearless take is that if the defense is rated between #12 and #16 by the end of the year, AND, the pressure rate on Geno is somewhere between 30 and 35% or less, the Seahawks will win 11 games. That will require reasonable o-line play, an effective run game, and a defense that adapts to the new scheme relatively quickly......none of which is a given. But I'm hopeful.
DK let it out that the first Team Meeting with Grubb, it was announced the focus this year will be on the Run (DK got angry at that, then). "If we need to carry 10 O-Linemen, we will", Grubb said. Well, we're carrying 12...
Exactly. This is why I like reading sports betting content.
Content providers success really has very little to do with being right or wrong. It is just about eyeballs. Not to mention they are dramatically overworked. They have to have some sort of an opinion on everything which tends to lead to an opinion on nothing or just going with the herd in the end.
Sports bettors success is based on being right more than wrong so they actually care about being right. Moreover, they don't need an opinion on everything just on the things they believe they have an edge in
Lots to take in here, thanks for going through it with me! I hope that the abundance of GIFs were not too problematic for anyone, I may have gotten carried away today.
Yeah, I'm tired of movies and TV and music references to the extreme. Stick to football. And cut the other bullshit.
Maybe a little but I kinda like it, do some of it myself but nowhere near as broad as you are. Not to disagree with Steve here but was kinda cool
Stick to you. If it means movie gifs. Do the movie gifs. Some headers may help readability so people can skim.
I love the movie references, especially the classics. 🎥
No Joe it was a great article as usual and even though I’m a bigger fan of Geno than you I really appreciate your fairness. Sunday the gauntlet begins.
Go Hawks!!
Summary:
We’ve got what we’ve got. Only time will tell what, exactly, that is.
I don’t know how anyone can rank the players before they have played at least 1/4 of the season, anyway! It has also puzzled me why the analysts don’t notice when a team makes a fair number of their points when the QB isn’t even on the field! Defense team points should be part of the breakdown and not assumed to be to the credit of the QB.
https://x.com/theStevenRuiz/status/1831331695397917032
Ruiz clarified that the rankings are based on the past not the future.
I'm with you on quantifying 'Points by Defense', Roz. My bet is we shall see them contribute every game this year.
There were some games that dominated even with Wilson. One important game that included the punt kicker throwing the winning TD!
Complementary football... it was missing almost completely last season.
D: GET OFF THE FIELD on 3rd down (especially 3rd and long).
O: MAKE SOME FIRST DOWNS and keep the opposing D on the field.
MM's Raven's D led in many categories, including takeaways. If the Seahawks D can improve their run D (how could it be worse?), improve on 3rd down and takeways, it will make a HUGE difference. But the O has to do its part as well, by hanging onto the football, keep the chains moving, and (particularly) scoring when they have the opportunity.
We didn't have a running game last year. Most yards gained came after contact, and or when K9 reversed his field. A real running game would be a tremendous improvement and relieve a lot of pressure on Geno.
(How can it be worse?)
Doug, Doug, Doug...
It can always get worse.
😂😂🤨😫😔
Yes it invites trouble when you say it can’t be worse!!
Omg what a great article. And this… THIS is GOLD:
“Daniel Jones is a $40 million quarterback”
[screenshot intercepted]
What is “the future” in the NFL anyway? The average career in the NotForLong is 3 years. Geno—will he be the QB in three years? There may be a universe where that happens but I doubt it. All we know for sure is that Geno is the Week 1 starter.
I am not a Geno hater—I want him to succeed—but I am a Geno skeptic. One stat that stands out for me from 2022 and the Seahawks that had nothing to do with the D: 26th ranked in red zone efficiency.
In the red zone is about “Players, positions, plays” in that order as Dave Wyman would say. And the player most responsible for red zone success is the QB.
Was it all Waldron’s fault? The fact Geno was terrific on scripted drives tells me that is unlikely.
Regardless we shall see what happens—Geno has been set up for success this year. Let’s see what he can do with it.
"Was it all Waldron’s fault? The fact Geno was terrific on scripted drives tells me that is unlikely."
Geno Smith led the league in Game Winning Drives in 2023.
All that means is the D was giving up leads, if we are being honest. A rate stat like red zone efficiency is a much better indicator.
Redzone plays are play calls from the OC.
2-minute drill are play calls from the QB
It doesn't get more unscripted than the 2-minute drill.
Mike, 2-minute drills are... 2 minute drills! They are game planned and practiced!
And in the red zone sure the OC makes the play call, but it is (almost) never "run this play regardless of what you see"--the QB has options. That is point I am making.
I think Stacy Rost's article is a good one. Is Geno under-rated? Or is he who his career says he is? We are about to find out if he has a higher ceiling than he has so far demonstrated. I am in the camp of "his career has demonstrated he is average" but I can be convinced otherwise.
https://sports.mynorthwest.com/1782559/seattle-seahawks-geno-smith-stacy-rost-quarterback/
People don't talk about this enough. Russ was clutch, but the numbers show Geno can also be clutch.
I want the Hawks to succeed. How many of the points last season were FG points? Now that FG range is mid-field the QB doesn’t get kudos for getting the offense close enough to share in the glory.
I don’t hate anyone, but I am not a fan of Geno. He doesn’t make up for a lack of fun to watch with a talent that lacks the awe factor. It’s what makes all football fans enjoy Burrow, Purdy, and the high personality QBs. Helps that they are also good players, too.
One of those things is not like the other—Purdy? Purdy is very scheme-dependent (or has been thus far). If you take away one of CMC or Deebo he becomes a very average QB.
🤣🤣 the way I watch it is.
He is very very good at executing Shanny’s scheme, no doubt. 😊
I don’t cheer for other teams—those I only watch for pure entertainment 🤣😁
That is the way I feel about soccer. But football? LAUNDRY MAN! It is everything... lol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=we-L7w1K5Zo
🤣🤣🤣
Loved the Godfather tie in! And how just kept going and going. I've seen the two good Godfather films many, many times, but recently rewatched both as Mrs Turtleman and I work through the AFI top 100 list. For the first time, I saw Godfather II in closed captions so that we got to read the English translations. At first, I was tempted to look for a copy without it, but it really enhanced my experience when you'd see young poor Vito bring his wife (the Godmother?) a fruit home from the market and she exclaimed, "Oh Vito, what a lovely pear!"
One thing for the Seahawks that would be like the CC version of Godfather 2 would be a Hard Knocks or at least more media coverage from inside the team's facilities. I always assumed Pete wasn't a fan of that, and the closest thing we ever got during his tenure was the Real Rob Report. I realize nobody watches Hard Knocks anymore except me, but I do think that letting fans see the players practice and interact is appreciated by at least fans of that team. Heck, I read every team's Bleacher Report page and subreddit and it helps me form opinions on players. Same with Hard Knocks, even if it's all as highly edited as the Godfather. The most value reading other fan sites gives me as a Seahawks fan occurs when we acquire a player or staff member. The more upset they are about losing him, the better I feel about the acquisition. For example, not one Chiefs (or Giants) fan was remotely bothered by losing Kadarius Toney and Miami fans really wanted them to resign Williams if the $ was going to be that low. It's not much information, since we all tend to overvalue our own, but it's surely more than I had before.
I thought Ruiz had an excellent article:
https://nflrankings.theringer.com/qb-rankings
Additional context: Ruiz said that this is a snapshot of today based on prior play. These are not projections for this year. He expects a guy like Rodgers to fall and maybe a guy like Stroud or Love to rise (maybe). This also does not take contracts into play this purely just talent.
https://x.com/theStevenRuiz/status/1831331695397917032
I expect that Geno will overtake Stafford and become the best QB in the NFC (and Dak if that is what you believe) this year.
My favorite aspect of Ruiz is that he is not afraid to step out on a limb and goes against herd mentality. This is his genuine opinion based on all the QBs film. He obviously gets a ton of heat for doing this, but I think he is the only one willing to look at a QBs talent/skill separated from the team. Then he actually ranks them accordingly. People don't like that. This is why you see Geno above the likes of Goff, Hurts, and Purdy. Which seems obvious to me, but most people don't feel comfortable stating it. I give him a ton of credit for be willing to stand in and take the heat.
Methodology for rankings from website:
"Steven Ruiz creates these rankings by first grading each quarterback along each of the six attributes. The overall grade is the result of a weighted average of those ratings. Accuracy and decision-making each account for 25 percent of the grade; arm talent is another 20 percent; and creativity, pocket presence, and timing make up 10 percent apiece."
Wonder if the Seahawks will make Geno an offer he can’t refuse. May the 12s n be with you and Go Seahawks! My forecast the Seahawks defense gets 2 turnovers.
I suspect JS is very clear on the rewards for exceptional play, if only to soften the refusals to Wild Money requests. No ROI games to enrich ownership. Unrealized bonuses can roll over to next year. He will be as generous as the books allow. If the guys come to trust and respect that, we may keep a team of winners around when other teams lose people.
If we go out and fall on our noses on Sunday, Geno won't be leading us back to distinguished efforts in the second half. He will be the one guy who doesn't fall on his face. He doesn't lead, he just does his job and does it like the Journeyman he's become: Very Very Well. Initially, Russ could rally the guys, but eventually they measured him as Not A Team Player, ceasing to see him 'sacrificing' for the Team. He was out to get rich doing Manziel things. Give it to the Hero and let him win, (again). Geno can read a locker room and said "Screw that. That's not me. If we all do our jobs, we will win". All The Crap in the locker room left with Russ. Our guys will respond when he actually does sacrifice his body to get us a first down or a TD. The Man is writing a story and it may well turn out our players today will be remembered as the guys who wrote that story with him. Let's make it one for the Record Books.
That's kind of an optimistic appraisal, but I'm all for it. Go Geno! Go 'Hawks!
“What was that cop’s name again?”
McClusky, played by Sterling Hayden.
https://youtu.be/N1KvgtEnABY?si=Jj12kEKSauN7Gp9U
As General Jack Ripper.
Just to reiterate, this article posited that Geno Smith is capable of being an MVP and a Super Bowl winner with the right supporting cast. And if that doesn’t reach someone’s bar for being an acceptable take on how good Geno is, then it’s clear we are at an impasse that doesn’t really need further debate.
Geno winning the MVP would sure be nice.
That would also imply the Hawks likely win the division and are the 1 or 2 seed with probably 13+ wins on the year. Would be one heckova ride.
Article navigated a touchy but fun subject well.
Just so pumped to see what actually happens on Sunday.
"then it’s clear we are at an impasse that doesn’t really need further debate."
No it's not. Don't be a goofball.
We need a goofballs podcast reunion
I get lost in the comments, guys, but absolutely Geno could find himself an MVP. The Players would hop on that, along with the Nation. He's The Underdog of all underdogs. Given these coaches, the schemes and an expanded confidence grown from preparation, yeah, I can see it. He may have to win a SB to gain it, but I can see him getting us close as being good 'nuf. It's a Story everybody wants to read. This year, Geno Writes Back.
Geno, like many good QB's, is aging like a fine wine. Last year was severely impacted by injuries to the OL. Geno will overperform this year. So says Swami Steve.
Ladies and Germs, football is still a team game, that's why I'm so interested seeing what a good defense can do to help the offense.
No more 9 minute drives by the opponent, leading to points and time or possession inequities. More defensive 3 and outs result in more drives for our offense and more points.
I hope that the terrible red zone failures were the result of unimaginative OC play calls. It should be much better with Grubb.
We will know soon.
I noted DK kept stumbling around saying we must "match points" with our opponents, twice correcting himself to imply his focus/the team's focus now has changed to score, score and score more. To win. He'll block, he'll decoy, he'll run. Whatever it takes to get TDs. Give our Tier 2 Bench experience closing out games.
I've never seen the Godfather, but this article was a lot of fun! I might just have to go finally watch the movie!
I won't though.
Just don't watch it for the first time with some Godfather-super-fan; they'll just be super annoying.
This is why I subscribe to Mare Giuseppe.
I find a lot of the Seahawks takes, and Geno takes, this preseason are the ultimate in hedges. They predict mediocrity, but the words read like the Seahawks (or Geno) could be surprise powerhouses. It's the perfect hedge. If they do poorly, point at the record you predicted. If they do very well, point at the words you used. You can't really lose with that approach. Not suggesting that's what SSJ is doing, it's just what I read from the various content providers/media outlets. People should feel more comfortable being wrong. I'm wrong all the time, and I enjoy it. I'm good at it.
My fearless take is that if the defense is rated between #12 and #16 by the end of the year, AND, the pressure rate on Geno is somewhere between 30 and 35% or less, the Seahawks will win 11 games. That will require reasonable o-line play, an effective run game, and a defense that adapts to the new scheme relatively quickly......none of which is a given. But I'm hopeful.
DK let it out that the first Team Meeting with Grubb, it was announced the focus this year will be on the Run (DK got angry at that, then). "If we need to carry 10 O-Linemen, we will", Grubb said. Well, we're carrying 12...
Exactly. This is why I like reading sports betting content.
Content providers success really has very little to do with being right or wrong. It is just about eyeballs. Not to mention they are dramatically overworked. They have to have some sort of an opinion on everything which tends to lead to an opinion on nothing or just going with the herd in the end.
Sports bettors success is based on being right more than wrong so they actually care about being right. Moreover, they don't need an opinion on everything just on the things they believe they have an edge in