Seahawks 2023 schedule: January
Seaside Joe 1201: Could it be Geno Smith getting revenge against his former team?
As the offseason draws closer to a preseason, I find myself rooting for Geno Smith. I am also not rooting against Drew Lock, but without any sense that either candidate will quell my desires for a rookie quarterback to enter the frame in 2023, the next best motivation is a good story.
Geno Smith becoming a starter eight years after his last assignment as a Week 1 starter is by far the more compelling story to me.
Your answer to “Who is the better story?” may be different than my answer. You might also hold out hope that Smith can game manage the Seahawks to a winning record during his fourth season with the team, or that Lock will make me eat my words about Drew Lock. It was a decade ago that I was exhausted over the amount of words I had to write about why Seattle was not going to start a rookie third round pick over Matt Flynn and obviously he lacked the stature—historically speaking—to ever become an elite quarterback.
Predicting next season is a form of gambling and the house is always bound to win eventually.
If Lock catches up to Geno and wins the job, that’s not a bad story either. If he plays well, then that should wrap up any final chance that Vic Fangio has to ever become a head coach again. But even the fact that Geno Smith is theoretically winning a quarterback competition 84 days before the season—and seven years after “the punch”—is in itself fascinating already.
However, the Seahawks are in the unfortunate situation of being one of those teams where regardless of who wins the job in Week 1, that won’t guarantee he will still be starting in Week 18 or Week 10… or Week 2. We may see Jacob Eason or even Alex McGough starting in Seattle at some point this year.
You can call this competition a neverending story.
Check out previous installments
September
October
November
December
January 1 vs New York Jets
Yes, I’ve got this crazy hunch about the New York Jets this season. I don’t need to be told that picking the Jets to make the playoffs is crazy. It’s crazy that anyone would think that I need to be reminded that it’s crazy. I just hate going with “the house” on every call.
Live a little bit!
I’m excited about the prospect of Zach Wilson, my pick as 2022 breakout star, teaming up with Garrett Wilson.
And entering year two with Elijah Moore.
And I also think that Corey Davis is underrated as the glue that will hold the receiving corps together but it is important that he stays healthy.
But in addition to Garrett Wilson, the Jets also picked cornerback Sauce Gardner and defensive end Jermaine Johnson in the first round, two prospects that were often mocked and linked to Seattle in the draft. New York also selected the other running back—Breece Hall—a player I wrote about before the draft as a way to prepare/caution/anticipate the Seahawks picking one of the two exceptional backs in this class.
Keeping digging through the roster (Quinnen Williams, C.J. Mosley, D.J. Reed, Alijah Vera-Tucker, Mekhi Becton, C.J. Uzomah, John Franklin-Myers, Lamarcus Joyner, Michael Carter, Laken Tomlinson, George Fant, Braxton Berrios, Tevin Coleman, Carl Lawson, Sheldon Rankins, Vinny Curry, Jacob Martin, Quincy Williams, Greg Zuerlein…) and this is not the same Jets that we’ve known for the last 10 years… ending of course with the last days of Rex Ryan around those Geno Smith days.
Which brings me back to the Geno story and the possibility that he could even play spoiler to his old team by January. This is not only a meeting of Geno against the team that drafted him, but Robert Saleh against the head coach that helped him get on the route to becoming a head coach.
For a Jets vs Seahawks game in Week 17, this really couldn’t get any better for fans of either team.
January 8 vs Los Angeles Rams
I wrote about the Rams in the previous installment, as the two teams first meet on December 4. If I had to choose today, I think that I would rank the Packers above the Rams in the NFC, but there is still a reasonable chance that L.A. won’t have anything to play for by Week 18.
Nothing seems to stop the Rams from consistently beating the Seahawks anyway.
If Seattle happens to be in position for a top-five pick going into the last game, to what degree will Seahawks fans even be happy with a win in this game?
I say you should always root to win. It’s possible that will be tested against the Rams again as it was in 2010. It was better that the Seahawks won that finale in 2010. I won’t get too far ahead of myself… even though I’m already talking about 2023.
The Hawks complete a back half that marks them as an improving team that is still often overmatched.
NYJ: The Jets could well be playing for second place in the AFC East. But a cross-country road trip into the December rains of Seattle is a little much for a young club on the rise. Seattle seizes the opportunity to play their best game of the season. (1-0/6-10)
LAR: Whether or not the Rams need this one doesn’t matter as long as they have our number. Which they do. The Hawks put up a fight, though. (1-1/6-11)
So, I have us at six wins but that includes two that I’m skeptical of. Unless Lock *really* comes on, we’re a 3-6 win team. Which doesn’t mean that I’m writing off the season: If we come out of 2022 confident in our tackles and RBs, with a speedy and aggressive defense, and with DK extended, 2023 will shape up as a breakthrough season.
It's been over 50 years since Broadway Joe and the Jets won the Superbowl. Every bad streak has to end eventually. I don't know that this is the year. Maybe that year won't come in our lifetimes. But one has to be impressed by the talent that's accumulated on that roster.
As for Gino being the better story, not in my book. For me, the perfect story would be if Lock morphed into an elite QB and outplayed Russell Wilson through 17 games. How's that for a story? Were that to happen, screw a top five pick. Lock Lock up and let's roll.
Realistically, we're at best a 7 win team. The under-over in my book is 5. I'd not be surprised if we won 2 or 3. And I'm fine with that. I could get very excited about the 2023 draft.