Geno Smith has surprising observation about new Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb

Much of the discussion about why the Seattle Seahawks could be better in 2024 is because of the new defensive direction from new head coach Mike Macdonald. Macdonald will be calling the defensive plays, and his system is the one that Seattle will use, of course. The Seahawks are definitely going to look differently defensively and most 12s are happy with that.

Of course, the success of the defense will depend on the execution by the players of Macdonald's scheme. Macdonald's former team, the Baltimore Ravens, proved the system works, but does Seattle have the talent to make the design reach maximum efficiency? A little improvement by the defense could be enough for Seattle to get back to the playoffs.

For the Seahawks to be a true threat in the NFC, however, the offense needs to get better. Seattle's offense has not been bad the last couple of years since Geno Smith took over as QB1. In 2023, the offense was ninth in yards per play at 5.5. In 2022, the offense was seventh at 5.7. The main problem was the play-calling on third down by former offensive coordinator Shane Waldron where Seattle ranked 20th and 23rd, respectively, in conversions the last two years.

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith a big fan of new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb

Smith believes that the offense's issues will be fixed by new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. Grubb has never been an OC in the NFL, but the Xs and Os of a system, especially, an offensive system, should translate well from college to the NFL. Unless a college team is running the wishbone, the same plays should be productive at the professional level.

More importantly, Grubb will bring a new perspective to both the Seahawks and teams trying to defend Seattle. Grubb was fantastically successful in college, especially at the University of Washington, and one of the reasons is his ability to adjust to opposing defenses as well as disguise his plays.

Smith recently told the Jim Rome Show that Grubb has plays that Smith "has never seen before." This probably means opposing defensive coordinators have never seen them either, which would make Seattle's defense more difficult to play against.

Smith's words aren't meaningless, either. He is a 12-year veteran, but one who has played in many different systems. If anyone has seen a play before then that person is probably Smith. Now, just as the defensive players have to put Macdonald's scheme to best use, Smith and the offense need to do the same for Grubb's design.

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