How Geno Smith’s patient checkdowns steady Seahawks’ passing game for bigger plays late
For most of his NFL career, patiently taking what they were giving wasn’t working out for Geno Smith.
The league was giving him seven years of one-year contracts and dead-end jobs. He was a seldom-used backup quarterback for four teams.
But now? His patience is, yes, a virtue. Taking what they are giving is winning Smith games. And awards.
Last week — as he did much of last season when he set four Seahawks records for passing, was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time and made the first postseason start of his 10-year career — Smith threw checkdowns underneath opponents’ pass coverage. The ol’ “take what the defense gives you” partly explains why he led the NFL with a Seahawks-record completion rate of 69.8% in 2002.
Then with last weekend’s game at Detroit on the line late, Smith connected on deep strikes that sent Seattle over the Lions in overtime and into Sunday’s game against Carolina (0-2) at Lumen Field at 1-1.
Smith completed 32 of 41 passes for 328 yards with two touchdown throws to Tyler Lockett. He became the first Seahawks quarterback with at least 325 yards passing, two TD throws and a completion rate of 75% in a game.
He was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week by vote of fans league-wide. FedEx will make a $2,000 donation in Smith’s name to a Historically Black College or University, to be applied towards needs-based scholarships to deserving HBCU students.
Nearly half of Smith’s completions were checkdowns in front of Detroit’s coverage of Lockett and DK Metcalf running down the field.
Smith said it’s a continuation of defenses playing two safeties deep to try to take away big plays deep to Lockett and Metcalf.
“I think for the majority of the time, the last two years we’ve seen nothing but two-high shells,” Smith said Thursday. “And we can expect that, with the talent we have at wide receiver and the type of tight ends that we have in the passing game. That’s something that we’re expecting.”
They expected it again in Detroit last weekend.
Geno Smith checking down
Smith checked the ball down to underneath receivers twice in his first four passes of the Detroit game. That got Seattle from its own 25 to the Lions 17-yard line. The 12-play drive ended with a 1-yard touchdown run by Kenneth Walker and an early lead for Seattle.
Smith’s first three throws of a 2-minute drill, eight of his first 15 passes in the first half (not counting throwaways) and 14 of 26 targets of receivers into the fourth quarter were underneath Detroit’s coverage.
“That’s always our game plan. I’m never going to try and force the ball,” Smith said. “Just always trying to make the right read and go to the right guy with the ball. For the most part, that works out for us.
“I’ve got to always be on top of that and make sure the ball is spreading out based on what the coverage gives us. At any given play, it could be any guy.”
Nine different Seahawks caught a pass against Detroit. Seven receivers caught multiple passes from Smith.
“There were a couple times in that game where maybe we had some shots called down the field and they had a good pressure called or they had something schematically on defense that prevented us from getting down the field, and Geno did a great job,” offensive coordinator Shane Waldron said. “(He) took (running back Zach) Charbonnet on a checkdown on one of those.
“Taking the backs or taking the underneath route when it wasn’t there kept us out of some of those third-and-extra longs or second-and-longs. ...If the deep stuff wasn’t there, he was able to get the ball out, get some completions and keep those positive plays rolling.”
Seattle’s play-caller says the 32-year-old QB has “that good understanding of, ‘Hey, here’s the call that came in the headset. I know the intent of the play. But I also know if it doesn’t get the perfect look or there’s something that goes a little bit off schedule right away not to wait on it, not to wait on something downfield when you know you can get the ball out.’
“And then play the next-play mentality.”
Setting up decisive throws late
With the Lions wary of Smith’s underneath passes late in the game, Seattle’s QB threw deeper into and over coverage on nine of his final 10 passes. His most important throws of the overtime were not checkdowns but down the field: 17 yards to tight end Noah Fant to begin the game-winning drive, 16 yards to Metcalf to the Detroit 38 to covert a third and 6, and 21 yards to tight end Colby Parkinson to get Seattle into the red zone.
The Seahawks then won the game on Smith’s 6-yard throw to the right sideline to Lockett. Lockett confused the Lions’ defensive backs outside right by crossing in front of teammate Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s inside slant route.
“I thought Geno played exactly like he’s been playing, like we counted on him coming out of last season,” coach Pete Carroll said.
In Seattle’s face-plant of an opener Sept. 10, a 30-13 loss at home against the Los Angeles Rams, Smith threw checkdowns on just two of his first 12 throws. That didn’t set up anything for Seattle’s offense in the second half. It had zero points and just 12 total yards after halftime against L.A., and nine of those yards came on a meaningless run by Charbonnet on the game’s final play.
“I don’t think he got off to a great start in the first game,” Carroll said of his quarterback against the Rams.
“But he was everything we wanted him to be (against the Lions).”
This story was originally published September 22, 2023 at 6:48 AM.
