Geno Smith played with the confidence of someone who had been a 10-year starter in the NFL when the quarterback was with the Seattle Seahawks. This was great, but odd. Smith had been a long-time backup before becoming QB1 in 2022 after the team traded Russell Wilson.
Smith always had good arm talent, able to throw the ball at any point on the field with accuracy and velocity. What got Smith into trouble many times was not his physical talent, but his mental inconsistency. One Las Vegas Raiders reporter seems to be learning that now.
Levi Edwards of the official Raiders site was answering questions in his online mailbag recently, and one fan asked, "What's Geno (Smith) looking like?"
Raiders reporter finds out what Seahawks fans already knew about Geno Smith
Edwards' answer likely echoes what many Seahawks fans found from Smith's play as the reporter wrote, "His biggest attribute I've noticed is his ability to place a ball only where his intended target can reach it. And for better or worse, he's confident enough in his arm to make the throw in double coverage. Sometimes, it's resulted in an interception. But often, he's split the safety and complete a big gain or a would-be touchdown."
That is a perfect way to describe how Smith played for the Seahawks, right? He definitely helped create a bunch of splash plays and loads of memories, even though he was only the starter for three seasons before asking to be traded. (Seattle dealt Smith to the Raiders this offseason.)
The issue was that while Smith could make any throw, there were throws he shouldn't have made, especially in the red zone. He led the league in red zone picks in 2024, many of which left Seattle fans baffled about why he even attempted to throw the pass.
The problems were sometimes not even related to double coverage, but Smith seemingly either had the arrogance to toss the ball to a receiver who was nowhere near open, or the quarterback did not see the defender. Either way, his decision to throw the ball was a poor one.
Smith did finish with 22 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions last year (third-most in the league, though his interception percentage was only tied for 12th), but four of the TD passes came in the meaningless Week 18 game. Before that, he had an 18-15 TD-INT ratio, and that's bad.
Worse, his meltdown against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9 when Smith had three touchdown throws but three crippling interceptions caused the team to lose an otherwise winnable game. The quarterback threw two red zone picks, one of which was returned 103 yards for a touchdown.
Had Seattle won that game, they would have finished the season on a 7-2 run and finished one game better than the Rams in the NFC West standings, and would have made the playoffs.
Raiders reporters and fans will learn what Seahawks fans already knew: Geno Smith can give an explosive and exciting play, but the quarterback can also take away a potential victory with some boneheaded decisions.