Determining who you are would seem to be a personal journey. Every bloviating motivational speaker out there will tell you that you control who you are, and to never let others tell you your worth. The truth is far more complex. You control your actions, your decisions, your values. Others have more influence in determining how you are perceived. Perception plays a significant role in determining how much you are liked and valued. This is especially tangible when it comes to your professional life. You can self-determine that you are the best engineer in the world, for example, but others will actually decided if you are worthy of being paid like it. Some people bristle at this loss of control, especially when it diverges from their self-image. Engineers have the opportunity to prove themselves by striking out on their own and building a product and business independently. Football players do not have this option. They must convince others of their worth, and they must do so while relying on teammates who can either enhance or diminish their perceived performance. No player may have a greater gap between self-image and the perception of others than Geno Smith.
Mike Sando does an annual article for The Athletic where he surveys 50 coaches and general managers around the NFL to sort quarterbacks into tiers. Tiers are defined as such:
Tier 1: A Tier 1 quarterback can carry his team each week. The team wins because of him. He expertly handles pure-passing situations. He has no real holes in his game.
Tier 2: A Tier 2 quarterback can carry his team sometimes but not as consistently. He can handle pure-passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.
Tier 3: A Tier 3 quarterback is a legitimate starter but needs a heavier running game and/or defensive component to win. A lower-volume dropback passing offense suits him best.
Tier 4: A Tier 4 quarterback could be an unproven player (not enough information for voters to classify) or a veteran who ideally would not start all 17 games.
Sando has sometimes summarized the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 3 as a spectrum of how much a team wins because of the quarterback versus how much they can win with him. Smith has been designated a Tier 3 quarterback in each of his two seasons as the Seahawks starter. Within that tier, Smith was close to the bottom, ranking only ahead of former Seahawk quarterback Russell Wilson, good for 20th overall.
Some might revel at the idea of being considered the 20th-best in the world at anything, let alone a profession as celebrated and well paid as an NFL quarterback. You can be sure Smith takes little pleasure in the ranking. Safety Julian Love revealed as much after the game.
“I’ve never been around a quarterback who has as big of a chip on his shoulder as Geno,” Love said.
Smith hinted at it as well.
“The best quarterbacks always find ways to win,” Smith said. “I want to be regarded in that light, so I just want to continue to be there for my team, do what’s right, make the plays when they come.”
Smith, though, does not write his checks. His current contract matches where the voters in Sando’s article have him ranked, 20th in the NFL at the position. To convince John Schneider and other NFL decision makers to move him up in that list, Smith will need to prove the Seahawks are winning because of him, not just with him.
This game against the Patriots was a rousing opening argument. Smith completed a career-high 33 passes in 44 attempts (75%) for 327 yards and a touchdown. He also led the game-tying and game-winning drive, something no quarterback has done more often over the last year.
More remarkably, Smith’s numbers should have been better. Much better. His receivers were credited with five drops, and that number could have easily been seven depending on your definition of a drop.
As well as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and D.K. Metcalf played in this game, each dropped passes that cost the team big chunks of yards. Smith did not flinch in going back to his playmakers, time and again. Metcalf and Smith-Njigba made key catches on the drives that tied and won the game.
He did this all with a running game that was nonexistent. Zach Charbonnet has yet to prove he can carry the load when asked to be a starter. The offensive line did not make his job easy, creating precious few holes or push.
Smith showed elite pocket presence on multiple throws where his line gave up pressure. Here’s an animated illustration of one of those plays from ESPN’s Seth Walder
The Seahawks defense also was not at its best. New England gashed them on the ground for 185 yards rushing. They surrendered 20 points to a limited Patriots offense that they knew going in absolutely had to run the ball.
Smith rose above it all. More than that, he lifted his team above it all. They won because of him, not with him.
Even as those words are written, there is no doubt that some will read them and disagree. Few minds will be changed nationally when you throw for one touchdown and beat a Patriots team that is not expected to win many games. Some, though, are starting to see the light.
Through two weeks, Smith ranks fourth in ESPN’s Quarterback Rating metric, right behind perennial MVP candidate Josh Allen. He has completed more passes for more yards at a higher rate of completion with fewer interceptions than Patrick Mahomes or Dak Prescott.
The discourse around Smith will remain tinged with skepticism until he and his team force their way into relevance. Unlike new players who start out with the benefit of the doubt or at least a neutral perception, Smith must change minds that are already made up about his worth.
In another fascinating schism between self-image and the perception of others, people tend to see themselves as whoever they are at that moment in their life, their most recent self, while others are more likely to see them as the collection of who they have been over time. Smith played like one of ten best quarterbacks in the game against the Patriots. He will need to sustain that performance to be perceived that way.
Macdonald stacks second win
Eight men have coached the Seahawks before Mike Macdonald. Some of those men were responsible for getting Seattle their first win, their first playoff berth, the first Super Bowl appearance, their first Lombardi Trophy. None of those men began their Seahawks careers with victories in each of their first two games. Macdonald became the first when Jason Myers squeezed his kick through the uprights in overtime.
The biggest reason for the glittering record is the opponents Seattle has faced. Nobody will mistake Denver or New England for juggernaut contenders. That said, there are plenty of other teams who have not take care of their business in the first two weeks.
The 49ers lost to Sam Darnold and the Vikings. The Rams got crushed in Arizona and have yet to win a game. Dallas got crushed by the Saints. Detroit lost to the Bucs.
This Patriots team was well coached and played tough. They will give a lot of teams trouble this season. Their defense suffocated Joe Burrow and a Bengals offense that went into Arrowhead and moved the ball pretty well against a great Chiefs defense. The offense is bruising, with two running backs who break tackles nearly every carry and a quarterback who does not turn the ball over.
They are the tortoise. Well armored. Plodding. Tough to crush.
Macdonald could not have been happy that his team knew exactly what New England wanted to do on offense and were still mostly unable to stop them. The run defense took a big step back.
Brissett also made life hard by evading pass rushers and repeatedly finding his tight ends, especially in the first half.
Leonard Williams compared Brissett to Ben Rothlisberger in his post-game press conference and said the defensive linemen got together at halftime and told each other to keep their legs running when they make contact with Brissett as if he was a ball carrier instead of a quarterback.
It worked. They sacked him twice and held him to just 32 yards passing in the second half.
One of those sacks was the first (half) sack of Byron Murphy’s career. With time running out, and the Patriots driving for either a dagger touchdown or a pivotal field goal that would put them up by seven points, Murphy bull rushed his man and combined with Williams to bring down Brissett. The third down play not only forced a fourth down, but made for a longer field goal attempt.
Love mentioned after the game that he knew the kicker for the Patriots and that the longer field goal was going to mean a lower trajectory for the kick. He told Jake Bobo to switch spots with him just before the snap and knifed into the backfield to get a hand on the kick.
That opened the door for Smith to lead the team down for what became the tie.
The game felt uglier than the stats would indicate on defense. Most of that is due to the rushing yards and the pile of missed tackles.
Patriots receivers were a non-factor, finishing with just 19 yards on 3 receptions.
The Seahawks defense has held opponents to 4.0 yards per play, second-best in the NFL. Interestingly, the team on top, Tennessee, has one of Macdonald’s disciples coaching their defense.
Between the sticky coverage and the emerging pass rush, this group has the potential to be one of the best pass defenses in the NFL.
There was less energy on that side of the ball, though, to start the game. Love acknowledged the slow start saying the 10AM start may have played a role.
Macdonald and his coaches did just enough to eke out the win. Ryan Grubb, in particular, called a great game through the air.
It is not easy to win any game in the NFL. Winning on the road, in a 10AM start, against a team that does not turn the ball over or miss tackles is especially challenging. Macdonald became the first Seahawks coach since Mike Holmgren in 1999 to win his first 10AM road game as a Seahawks coach.
He did it while missing his starting right tackle, his backup right tackle, his starting running back, his starting outside linebacker, and after losing one of his starting inside linebackers.
Who knows if Uchenna Nwosu would have made a difference defending the run in this game, but there is some historical evidence to suggest he would.
Stone Forsythe did an admirable job filling in at right tackle. Charles Cross seemed to have another strong game, as did Connor Williams, at least in pass protection. Laken Tomlinson had a rough start but seemed to steady. Anthony Bradford had multiple bone-headed penalties that cost his team.
Christian Haynes got his first action, subbing for Bradford on what became a 70-yard touchdown drive. The coaches will watch the tape and decide whether Haynes should be getting a higher percentage of snaps.
Jay Harbaugh and his special teams were as good in this game as they were bad in the first one. Myers made all his kicks, and the team needed every one.
Dee Williams had a 23-yard punt return that setup a field goal drive just before halftime to put Seattle up 17-13. He also had maybe the most underrated play of the game when he held onto the football after Nehemiah Pritchett collided with him on the Patriots punt in overtime. It was a difficult catch under pressure. Had he dropped it, the Patriots would have just needed to recover and kick a field goal to win. Huge bounce back game for the undrafted rookie returner.
Michael Dickson flipped the field multiple times, averaging almost 54 yards per punt with good coverage on most.
When it was all over, the Seahawks found themselves alone in first place atop the NFC West, with a wounded Miami team headed to Seattle next. It is normal for a team with a new coach and a new scheme to take some time to acclimate. The Seahawks have new coaches and new schemes on both sides of the ball, but have managed to stack two wins together even when facing a lot of adversity. Macdonald looked eager to use the film from this game to help correct some errors. There is new standard being set for this Seahawks team. The men inside that locker room feel it, even if perception elsewhere has yet to catch up.
