Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab discuss Seattle’s quarterback situation and whether Geno Smith is a long-term or short-term solution. Listen and subscribe to the “Zero Blitz” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you prefer.
Video Transcript
There is one big thing.
Seattle Seahawks.
This is interesting to me, Frank, there are a number of different ways to do this.
The new Seahawks team.
What is your big thing?
Yeah.
My biggest takeaway about the Seahawks is, in a way, obvious.
Which Geno Smith will we get this season?
Two years ago?
He was truly excellent.
Well, what he did two seasons ago was no accident.
He earned that contract from the Seahawks.
He was a very good, accurate and productive quarterback, but he just wasn’t the same last year.
In the old days, if you made a copy of a VVHS tape, the copy might not have been very good and it would give away your age.
That’s exactly what Geno Smith’s 2023 season was like, he wasn’t bad.
He didn’t fall off a cliff so far that you could cut him.
But there was talk of what to do with him.
Will they bring him back?
And it always seemed like they were going to bring him back.
But the fact that there were any doubts shows that he, his play, regressed last year.
Now, was that a whole team thing?
I mean, obviously Pete Carroll was fired for a reason and that team was a disappointment last year.
It wasn’t just Chino.
But once they get Mike McDonald in, who I really like, and I actually love this Seahawks team, I think they have a lot of talent.
It’s the same reason I sat here a year ago and said the Seahawks would be a team that could make the playoffs and compete with the 49ers, they still have some great receivers and some great backs.
They’re really building a team and I think they have a lot of talent defensively that Mike McDonald can bring out, but it doesn’t matter if we have 2023 Geno or 2022 Geno. I think they have a chance to make the playoffs because the team around him is so good.
But at this point, Geno’s career had become strange in many ways.
I don’t know what to expect from him.
So Sam Howell is backing up like he has no intention of saving anything.
You saw him play in Washington last year and try to turn the ball over every time.
So, it’s really Gino’s job to decide whether they live or sink with him, and I believe Gino will get it done.
But let’s be honest, after last season, he’s a total wild card and his play is going to determine the outcome of the entire division race, not just for their season, but for the entire NFC West.
I think your opinion on Geno is really smart and that’s part of why we were preparing for the draft at Yahoo.
I’ve been asking all this time whether the Seahawks are quietly entering the quarterback market.
Now, judging by the state of the board, they probably wouldn’t have entered the quarterback market.
That doesn’t change anything. I truly believe there’s a very good chance the Seahawks will be in the quarterback market next year. And it’s not because Geno isn’t good.
But the question you asked earlier about the Saints is really still reverberating in my head in regards to the Seahawks.
I don’t think a team with that quarterback has Super Bowl potential.
Now, they have some great weapons at wide receiver, they’re really good.
They have a running back group that I really like, and they have a defensive coordinator, but as I’ve said many times on this show, it’s going to take them a few years to learn the system.
Ravens players have talked about his success in Baltimore, but I think the Seahawks have a chance to be a very good team in a few years.
So, in a way, you did something smart as an organization.
There was no need to reach for the quarterback, because the quarterback wasn’t there.
Puccio, please tighten up your defense and get the ball back while telling your opponent where you want them to be.
I think the Seahawks’ chances are actually a year or two away.
So Jeno just hangs on until he can prove he’s back to the person he was a few years ago.
Maybe there will come a wonderful moment when you realize that you can continue like this for a little while longer.
To me, he’s likely going to continue to be who he is, which is fine, but pretty damn good.
You can’t win Super Bowls consistently, right?
So we’ll have to get something better.
II, I liked your question.
This is a question for you in two years’ time.
Do you think Geno Smith will be the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks?
No, no, I can’t.
I, I don’t think so.
At some point, like you said, I think they’re going to want a higher ceiling, but I think he can be good this year and this team can make the playoffs.
So, I’m kind of contradictory.
But I think at some point before the next two years start, they might say they’ll draft a lame duck player like Geno for one season as a bridge to mentor the new young guys.
But yeah, I think G might be good this year.
I think they can make the playoffs, but I don’t think Geno will be their starting quarterback in a few years.
