Seahawks say ‘we need to help Geno Smith.’ What’s that look like to Smith? QB answers
His coach, his play caller and his Seahawks teammates are saying the same thing: We need to help Geno Smith.
What, to Smith, does that help look like, after his eight turnovers in four games?
For the first time Thursday, Smith varied from the “it’s on me” full responsibility he’s been taking for the many issues with turnovers, third downs and the Seahawks offense.
Indeed, it’s not all on Smith.
When asked what “helping Geno” would look like for him, beginning Sunday when Seattle (5-3) hosts the Washington Commanders (4-5) at Lumen Field (1:25 p.m., channel 13), the quarterback said: “I think, all 11 just playing together, playing together, executing. Each man doing his job to the best of his ability, winning his match-up — and then me going out there and being myself.”
Smith, coach Pete Carroll and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron continue to spend many hours in meetings and on the practice field working on third-down plays. Seattle went 1 for 12 trying to convert third downs in a 37-3 loss at Baltimore last weekend. The Seahawks coaches and players say that’s why they didn’t run the ball nearly enough to help Smith his play-action passes, which in theory would have made Baltimore’s pass rush play Seattle more honestly last weekend.
For the season, the Seahawks are 30th in the NFL converting on just 31.9% of third downs.
Without converting third downs, they say, the Seahawks can’t use the run portion of each game plan. Seattle running backs Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet have combined for just 13 carries in each of the last two games. Walker had just six carries in 29 plays in the first half at Baltimore.
That, in turn, means defenses such as the Ravens’ can tee off on pressuring Smith with single-mindedness and no regard for defending the run. Baltimore sacked Smith four times in the first half and batted down three passes at the line of scrimmage. That plus Smith’s lost fumble on a sack from behind and his interception on third down overthrowing Tyler Lockett are nine negative plays. Get rid of half of those and the Seahawks’ offense is at least competitive in Baltimore.
Smith sees those plays as fixable mistakes.
Geno Smith’s third downs
He began his weekly press conference Thursday at team headquarters detailing the initial third downs of the Baltimore game.
“One of the key things we always talk about is third downs,” Smith said. “If you look at all 12, you look at the first one: Great play call. They went cover zero (safety blitz with no safety in the field’s middle). Got the ball out. Jaxon (Smith-Njigba) just bobbles it. That’s a human error. Things like that happen.”
Smith-Njigba, the team’s rookie first-round pick at wide receiver, ran a quick out route on third and 4 on the game’s first possession. Smith’s pass was onto both his hands. But Smith-Njigba juggled it as he ran into the sideline boundary. Incomplete and a momentum-stopping punt.
“Ball gets tipped on the second one,” Smith said.
Seattle’s second third down came 6 minutes into the game, another third and 4. Lockett was open for the first down. But Ravens defensive end Jadevon Clowney stopped his pass rush, jumped at the line over right tackle Stone Forsythe and batted down Smith’s pass. Another incomplete pass, another failed conversion.
On Seattle’s third third down, Smith connected on the sideline to Lockett for the team’s only conversion against the Ravens. The fourth third down was a third and 11. Smith got sacked.
The fifth third down, another third and 4, was when Smith and Lockett didn’t communicate together on a changed play call against a blitz. Smith threw long. Lockett ran a shorter route. The ball went to Ravens safety Geno Stone for an interception.
“Couple things happened on third and fourth one,” Smith said Thursday.
“I’ve got to fix it. Can’t have any more turnovers. I look forward to it.”
The sixth third down was a third and 14. Waldron called basically a surrender play, a bubble screen to Smith-Njigba to get the ball out quickly. It gained 5 yards. Michael Dickson punted again.
The seventh third down was a third and 11 in a 2-minute drill. Smith threw incomplete to Metcalf short. Jason Myers kicked a field goal on the next play for Seattle’s only points.
The eighth third down of the first half, after Tre Brown forced an interception the Seahawks recovered at the Ravens 43-yard line, was a third and 21 following a sack by Baltimore’s Kyle Van Noy. Van Noy sped around left tackle Charles Cross and knocked the ball out of Smith’s hand on that third down for a lost fumble. That cost Seattle its only chance to get back into a 14-3 game.
Baltimore kicked a field goal off that turnover. It was 17-3 instead of 14-6 or 14-10, and the game was over.
The sacks are a reminder the Seahawks were starting their seventh offensive line combination in eight games last weekend. They haven’t had their starting five play together since the first game, Sept. 10 against the Rams — the day Smith and his offense got booed off their home field in a 30-13 loss.
And they won’t this weekend. Right tackle Abe Lucas remains on injured reserve.
Smith isn’t using the offensive line being in flux as an excuse.
“Like I say all the time, if we execute better, just the small things then we are talking about conversions and not failed attempts,” Smith said.
“Just looking at each one of those plays individually, I just feel like we all have a part in it and we all could have done a lot better.
“Overall, we are working to fix those things. That’s an issue that’s been hurting us all year. But we’ve got a lot more games to play. That’s the positive part about it. We’ve got a lot more chances to go out there and really improve on it.”
Break down in communication
On the interception at Baltimore, Smith took the blame after the game: “Bad pass. It was on me.”
Lockett called it “a miscommunication.”
It was.
Lockett was outside left. The ball was on the right hash mark. When Smith saw another Ravens blitz he changed the play. That change needs to get relayed from inside to outside across the formation.
Tight end Noah Fant was on a wing left, the receiver closest to Smith changing the play amid Baltimore’s noise. Rookie Jake Bobo was the receiver in the left slot, between Lockett and Smith and to the left of Fant. The rookie didn’t turn outside to Lockett to communicate the play change.
Just before the snap, Lockett was outside left with both arms extended. He was turned back into the formation, toward Smith and Bobo. Lockett gave the body language that he didn’t get the changed play call.
Center Evan Brown then snapped the ball. Bobo and Lockett ran routes to similar areas, nowhere near where Smith threw the ball to Stone for the interception.
It was one of Bobo’s mere nine snaps last weekend.
Carroll referenced this communication relay system Monday upon the Seahawks’ return home from Baltimore. It was in response to a question about possible communication issues from Lockett and wide receiver DK Metcalf missing midweek practices while playing through hamstring and hip/rib injuries, respectively, the last month.
“We need the continuity (at practices), because it’s very intricate work. We need to make sure we help our young guys, help us communicate, too,” Carroll said. “We’re asking a lot of them to play as much as they are. It’s transferring of the information sometimes and realizing that you need to help the guy outside of you, as well. Also, the older guys that have been around help the younger guys and make sure that they’re double-checking so that we’re doing a good job. We slipped a little bit on a couple of situations.
“But it certainly helps us when we’re all out there together. It just helps, that’s why we practice.”
So among Smith’s eight turnovers in four games, it’s not actually all on Smith.
But that’s the nature of playing — and being paid — as a franchise quarterback in the NFL. He has the ball in his hands every play. He gets an inordinate amount of praise when his team wins, and typically an inordinate amount of blame when it doesn’t.
“I think the issue is just overall execution,” Smith said. “I don’t think you can look at one thing or the other say it’s just that. I think it’s, overall, getting the job done. ...
“It doesn’t really matter. It’s about getting the job done and going out there and executing on third downs and making sure we pick up those first downs so we can continue those drives and score points.”
This story was originally published November 9, 2023 at 2:53 PM.
