Those who wanted the Seahawks to replace Geno Smith: A word, please

Geno Smith is more than a game manager

Yup, I was lazy and just put those stats in alphabetical order the first time, too. Now, let’s dive a little deeper. That zero-point-eight percent figure for drops on Geno’s throws is not a typo. Neither is the abysmal 44.2 percent rate of Jimmy’s on-target throws.

Yes, Tyler Lockett and Will Dissly definitely help Geno’s terrific drop rate. But it certainly helps that more than four out of every five passes are right where they’re supposed to be. Those are pretty much ultimate game manager numbers, right?

Here’s the thing: Smith is much more than that. Another note of interest – Smith is gaining nearly double the yardage on his scrambles as his rivals. Take a look at the stats on QB pressures. In raw numbers, Russell Wilson has been pressured 44 times compared to Smith’s 31. Wasn’t the whole problem with the DangeRuss one getting pressured so often that the offensive line was bad? Looks like he took that aspect of his game to Denver.

I didn’t set out to prove that Geno Smith is playing better than his predecessor in Seattle – although he clearly is so far this season. No, the point is that Mayfield and Garopollo have shown they wouldn’t have been any better than Smith. Sure, the season is early. We’re only 23.53 percent through the season – by the way, thanks NFL, for hating easy calculations. But so far, number 7 is looking pretty sharp.

We may not have expected this level of play from Geno Smith, but he certainly did. When asked if he’d exceeded his expectations this season, Smith sounded like a quarterback in command. In his post-game press conference after the Seahawks wild win over the Lions, Smith replied, “No, I can play better. Definitely not exceeding my expectations. I can play a lot better.” I’m pretty confident that Smith is a better answer than any of those supposedly great alternatives.