The Seattle Seahawks made a lot of correct moves this past offseason. None of those moves was more important, and hasn't worked out better, than Seattle signing quarterback Sam Darnold in free agency after trading Geno Smith.
Instead, the Las Vegas Raiders ended up with Smith, and he has led the offense to extreme inefficiency behind a bad offensive line. The quarterback has also likely helped create a situation where former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is one-and-done in Vegas.
But Levi Dombro of Just Blog Baby said perfectly what one of the biggest issues with Smith's game is, and it will be familiar to Seahawks fans because Smith did the same thing in Seattle for three seasons. That led to many mistakes.
"It's hard to pile onto a guy when he's injured, but Smith earned a spot on this list with his play through three quarters. He tallied just 116 yards and a touchdown while also taking three sacks, in large part because he simply refused to get rid of the ball quickly after the opening drive," wrote Dombro.
Former Seahawks QB Geno Smith under fire as Raiders doomed for terrible record
Bingo. For more than a decade, Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks had the same tendency. Russell Wilson and Geno Smith both had the arm talent to create explosive plays that altered the outcome of games. They also attempted to make those plays happen more often than they should have, which led to the quarterbacks holding on to the ball too long and taking bad sacks.
One glaring positive about Sam Darnold's game compared to Smith's is that he doesn't take nearly as many bad sacks. Seattle's current quarterback can make some bad decisions on throws, but he doesn't normally hurt his team by taking losses that force 3rd-and-longs or pushing a team out of field goal range.
Of course, the worst part of the Raiders and Smith situation for Seattle Seahawks fans is the likely downfall of Pete Carroll. Carroll was the best coach in Seattle football history, and he deserves a better ending than being stuck with a bad Las Vegas team.
Maybe that is partly his fault because he helped bring in a lot of former Seattle players who haven't worked out well. Still, many of the issues with the roster existed before Carroll was hired this past offseason by the Raiders. Las Vegas, as Carroll has done, just bought into Geno Smith too much.
Pete Carroll will have a legacy of being well-liked with the Seahawks. Geno Smith? Not so much. He raised his middle finger to 12s when Las Vegas met Seattle in the preseason. Seahawks fans can laugh at how the season has gone for Smith, while shedding a tear for Carroll.