Pete Carroll: Don’t blame Geno Smith for Seahawks’ 34-point loss. But the turnovers...
When he decided Geno Smith was his man to replace Russell Wilson last year, Pete Carroll had one overriding reason: He knew he could trust Smith to take care of the ball.
That was particularly compared to whom the coach has said he sees as more of a “gunslinger,” Seattle backup Drew Lock.
And that’s what Smith did for most of last season. In his first 12 games after seven years as an NFL backup, he had a total six interceptions, one every other game. He had zero games with two turnovers. He finished with 30 touchdowns passing, one rushing score, 11 interceptions and four lost fumbles.
Smith with more than twice as many touchdowns (31) as turnovers (15) was the formula for Seattle making the playoffs. Smith made his first career postseason start and his first Pro Bowl.
Sunday in Baltimore, last year felt like eons ago for him, for Carroll and for all Seahawks.
Smith committed his seventh and eighth turnovers in the last four games — yes, that’s way more than one every two games. Seattle got annihilated by the AFC North-leading Ravens, 37-3.
He got sacked four times, all in the first half. Baltimore batted down three of his passes at the line of scrimmage. When he didn’t get hit by the league’s best pass rush, he thought he was going to.
“You know, it sucks,” Smith said. “We were looking forward to this match-up...
“Obviously, we made a ton of mistakes and there are a lot of things we need to correct. But you know, as I always say, I put those things right at my own feet and I look at myself in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better to help my guys?’
“I’m never going to shy away from it and I’m going to keep on working.”
Coach Pete Carroll emphasized this loss was so complete — tied for the second-largest margin of defeat of the coach’s 14 seasons leading the team — it was not all on Smith. And he’s right. That’s how non-competitive the Seahawks (5-3) were. So much so, they and and everyone else are re-assessing how close to really good they may be.
It was noticeable Carroll left Smith in and Lock on the sidelines for all of this 34-point loss.
It easier to deflect questions about changing at that position when you don’t change.
“We have to convert on third downs, which is everybody,” Carroll said. “We got rushed today pretty good. They rushed us and mixed their stuff really well. It was hard, like they’ve been on everybody.
“We just have to find out ways to make first downs. I think we were 1-for-12 on third down (they were). You can’t play offense like that and expect anything. It’s as hard as it gets.”
Asked how Smith played, Carroll said: “I don’t think this is about Geno, at all. I think this is about our football team, not answering the bell here. We couldn’t get it done. We came in here to slug it out, and they did a better job than we did with all of this. When they’re rushing the passer, that’s not Geno. This is not on one guy.”
But the coach did say he was concerned with what he’s always concerned with: not taking care of the ball.
Asked about Smith’s eight turnovers in four games, “I’m concerned about that. The one, on the fumble, that’s a pass-rush deal. The interception, he threw it up, and the guy who’s been making all the interceptions (Geno Stone) made another one.
“But that’s not the direction for us to be going. Up until this game, it took us to first place, whatever the heck we’ve been doing. We didn’t play like a first place team today. With those kind of turnovers, it’s really hard to win.”
Geno Smith’s turnovers
Smith threw an interception Sunday on which Tyler Lockett slowed his route as if expected a short pass. Lockett instead watched Smith’s pass soar long past him to where a Raven was the only man near the ball.
Lockett called that “a miscommunication.” Smith had one of those with rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the previous game that should have been an interception and return for a touchdown by Cleveland. That was a game Smith and the Seahawks rallied to win off the defense forcing a turnover late.
“I just think it was miscommunication on both of our parts,” Lockett said Sunday. “My part, I could have done better, but it was just miscommunication.”
Should the pass been shorter, to where he slowed?
“No,” Lockett said. “No, it was just miscommunication on the play.”
Smith said: “Bad pass. It was on me.”
Smith lost a fumble by not seeing or sensing free-blitzing Ravens linebacker Kyle Van Now hitting him from behind. That was one of his four sacks in the first half. It came after cornerback Tre Brown had given Seattle’s offense the ball on Baltimore’s side of the field by forcing a Ravens fumble. It was 14-3 game then.
Smith’s fumble cost the Seahawks a chance to make it 14-6 or 14-10. Baltimore converted his turnover into a field goal and led 17-3 at halftime.
Game, essentially, over.
“Yeah, you know, when the defense gives you those opportunities, and you kind of have a chance to steal some momentum right there, you’ve got to capitalize. We didn’t,” Smith said. “We turned the ball right back over. We gave them points.
“Again, that’s one of the mistakes I’m talking about. And we’ve got to be better in these situations.”
Give Smith credit for owning all his turnovers, sometimes when they aren’t his fault.
It’s not the accountability but the results that must change.
The NFL leader in completion percentage lawn-darted multiple throws in front the feet of Lockett and other open receivers, as he has for much of the past month. Two more of Smith’s passes could have been interceptions Sunday. One went off both hands of Baltimore safety Kyle Hamilton near Seattle’s own goal line. Hamilton was closely defending tight end Noah Fant late in the third quarter. Smith threw that pass behind Fant on a third and 16.
Smith completed just 13 of 28 passes for 157 yards. It was his first start with a completion rate below 50% in nine years. On Oct. 26, 2014, in his second NFL season, with the Jets, he went 2 for 8 with three interceptions and got benched in the first quarter against Buffalo.
Smith’s passer rating Sunday at Baltimore was 49.3. That’s his lowest in a start since, again, his second NFL season. He had a 35.7 rating Dec. 1, 2014, against Miami. He lost his Jets job for good at the end of that season.
Asked what happened, in general, to the offense Sunday, Lockett said: “I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know.”
Two injuries
Running back and special-teams mainstay DeeJay Dallas left the game in the third quarter. A team doctor walked him from the field directly to the locker room. He has a shoulder injury.
“He hurt his shoulder. I don’t know how bad, but he hurt his shoulder,” Carroll said.
With Seattle playing reserves on defense late in the blowout, rookie linebacker Derick Hall limped off the field with 2:50 left. Yet Carroll said it was a re-injured shoulder. That’s the issue the second-round draft choice from Auburn had in the preseason.
Hall has been part of a rotation of first-string edge rushers with the primary defense, and has been playing well.
This story was originally published November 5, 2023 at 6:41 PM.
