Three potentially pivotal narratives for the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1

Narrative No. 2 - Is Seahawks QB Geno Smith really as good as 2022?

Seattle has a bunch of offensive weapons and added receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and running back Zach Charbonnet in the NFL draft and center Evan Brown in free agency. But the Seahawks could have Pro Bowlers at nearly every position and if they do not get good quarterback play then a lot of talent is simply wasted.

I like Geno Smith, and I believe he likely would have been a good QB1 for a couple of years had Russell Wilson not been in Seattle. Smith appears to be a fantastic fit in offensive coordinator Shane Waldron's scheme. One reason Smith can look fairly pedestrian in the preseason and then be electric at times in the regular season is that he knows the offense well enough to not show too much and when to take advantage of the scheme at other times.

Still, statistically speaking Geno Smith was better in the first half of 2022 than he was in the second half. Is this because teams figured Smith out a bit and adjusted accordingly? Smith, for instance, was much better against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 13 of 2022 (28 for 39 passing for 367 yards and 3 touchdowns) than he was in Week 18 (19 of 31 for 213 yards with one touchdown throw but 2 interceptions). Did the Rams learn how to squelch Smith's productivity by the second game?

Maybe Smith was just being forced to do too much in the second half of 2022 as his defense was mostly bad and his top running backs were injured at times. But Smith should be even better in 2023 after having a full year of starting experience in Waldron's system. Week 1 Geno Smith could be indicative of how good he will be over the course of the season, and, in return, how good the offense will be as well.