Quarterback Geno Smith faced a lot of doubters heading into the Seahawks season opener. He had an epic response after Seattle’s Monday night win.
Listen,12s, I hear you., I hear you. I know it was just one game. I’ve already pointed out that Geno Smith didn’t have the most scintillating second half. But that doesn’t change the fact that he played a very clean game, and helped his team do what Russell Wilson couldn’t do in the season opener: win.
Far too many people, both in the national media and on social media, said that the Seahawks were crazy to trade Wilson. They thought they were even crazier to go with Geno Smith. Every day brought another article about how the Hawks needed to trade for the flavor of the day, whether it was Baker Mayfield, Jimmy Garappolo, or even – shudder – Sam Darnold. The man who waited eight years to start a season opener was written off time and again.
Geno Smith writes his own story
Through it all, the Hawks new starter took it all with good grace and more than a little humor. He constantly said that this wasn’t about him, but about the team. He was more than supportive of Drew Lock when he joined the team and welcomed the competition. After the Seahawks epic win Monday night, Smith proclaimed that it was a team victory, and rightly so.
We knew that Geno has what it takes to win in the NFL. Still, all the doubts had to sting. Smith clapped back to those doubters with a response even more epic than his near-perfect first half versus the Broncos. Yes, we all want to hear you again, Mr. Smith:
Again, I’m not anointing Geno Smith as the next great NFL quarterback. Those 32 yards in the second half worry me, as does the fumble that Charles Cross recovered to save the Hawks. It was absolutely a team win for our boys in Action Green. But for at least one game, one night, Geno wrote his own story.