Seahawks have 99 problems but Geno Smith ain't one of them

The hate for Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith is strong. You'd think that he was the last Jedi, and the smattering of haters are the remnants of the Sith. That may be ridiculous hyperbole, but it's not nearly as foolish as the unreasoned and unfounded hatred of Smith.

Heading into Week 8, the Seahawks offensive line was ranked 29th in the NFL by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That was after their best pass-blocking grade of the season against the Falcons, although they earned their second-worst run-blocking grade in the same game (74.4 and 54.9, respectively). They rank 25th in pass protection and 22nd in run-blocking. Their combined ranking is lower since they're so awful at both.

For the fiasco in Week 8, the O-line was graded at 63.7 for passing and 51.6 for the run game. Yes, the line was atrocious against the Bills. You can be sure that they didn't climb the rankings when they performed far below their season average in both categories. So here's a puzzler for you Geno-haters: if the offensive line is terrible - and it is - how is Smith still graded 11th in the league, despite having to overcome one of the absolute worst lines in the NFL?

The Seahawks Geno Smith versus two notable QBs

Let's compare a few quarterbacks, shall we? We'll look at a few key factors for Players A, B, and C, notably the percentage of bad throws, drops, and pressures. I'll add the average air yards per completed pass; that is, the number of yards the ball traveled before it was caught. All data is from pro-football-reference.com, freely available to all. So let's get... you know it's coming....mathy!

It may not be obvious to a few souls out there, so let me explain the categories. A higher bad throw percentage means the quarterback is less accurate. A higher drop percentage means his receivers screwed up more often. The higher pressure means he had a hand in his face, was running for his life, etc, more often. The air yards I already explained. Okay, enough of Football 201, on to the reveal.

Quarterback A is Patrick Mahomes, the perennial darling of the league. C is Lamar Jackson, the two-time NFL MVP and current front-runner for his third. Which leaves Geno Smith as Quarterback B. Please note, haters, that Smith has fewer bad throws than either Mahomes or Jackson.

He has been victimized by drops more than either of his comps. He's been under significantly more pressure than either of the other two. Jackson beats him in average air yards, but considering that Geno is pressured more, is far more accurate, and suffers more drops, I think that's understandable.

Chiefs and Ravens offensive lines versus Seahawks

Now for the real fun. We've established how awful the Seahawks' offensive line is - or, to be accurate, they've established that on the field, week after week. Let's look at the support that Mahomes and Jackson are getting from their O-lines. Spoiler alert, haters - you aren't gonna like it.

The same PFF article that ranked the Hawks as the 29th offensive line placed the Chiefs at third overall. They grade out as 10th in pass-blocking and fourth in run-blocking. Please note you can't just average the two grades to get the overall rating. You may have a team that grades out as excellent in one aspect and terrible in another.

The Raiders are a perfect example. They're 12th in pass protection and 29th in run-blocking. Yet their overall grade is 21st. Anyway, Mahomes benefits from an excellent offensive line.

Meanwhile, the Ravens offensive line ranked ranked ninth overall. They graded even higher than Kansas City in pass-blocking, ranked sixth in the league. They dropped off in the running game, falling to 11th. But that's still a very good O-line, far better than the five guys in front of Geno Smith. Remember this about the pass protection of these teams, haters. Jackson has the sixth-best line, Mahomes the 10th-best line, and Geno Smith plays behind the 25th. But sure, Geno's the problem.

Commanders offensive line last year versus Seahawks

Some of you are still clamoring for Sam Howell to get the nod over Geno. I think the trade for Howell was a terrific move. That does not mean I think he should be starting ahead of Smith, not by a long shot. Howell was sacked an ungodly number of times last year as the Commanders starter. So what did his stats look like? And how good - or bad - was his protection?

Seattle's ranking again is 29th overall and 25th in pass blocking, with a pass grade of 58.9. As a point of reference, the best team, the Colts, graded out at 81.3. The worst, the Saints, were at 43.1. It should be obvious to even the least mathy among you that the Hawks are far closer to the depths of the Saints than the heights of the Colts. Or the Ravens or Chiefs, for that matter.

As for Mr. Howell's compadres of last season, the Commanders were ranked the 15th-best in pass protection in 2023. They graded out at 67.0. If you're curious - and I know you are - the Seahawks ended 2023 ranked 28th in pass blocking with a grade of 52.9. So Howell had much better line play last year than Smith and better than what Smith is getting this season, too.

Other than the 65 sacks he endured last year versus Geno Smith's 31, how did Sam Howell perform in those key measures we checked for Mahomes and Jackson? No need to be coy here, as we can be pretty certain Smith should come out ahead. I'll add Geno's stats for 2023 as well, just in case there was extra solar radiation last year, or whatever weird conspiracy theory the Geno-haters might come up with.

In 2023, Howell was under less pressure than Smith and had fewer drops as well, although both differences are fairly slight. Still, his average air yards were significantly less than Smith's, and we have that gigantic disparity in sacks. There is zero evidence to back the assertion that Howell would perform better than Smith. Allow me to interpret for the Geno haters: that means Howell wouldn't be any better.

The stat that pops out for me here is that Smith is making far fewer bad throws this season than last year. Yet, some 12s insist that he alone is the problem with the Seahawks this year. Forget that he doesn't play on the offensive line. Forget that he isn't fifth in the league in run defense. This team has multiple problems, and they start with the fundamentals of football.

At this point, I'm completely dumbfounded that anyone can believe everything is Geno Smith's fault. The promise of the Week 7 win was a blatant lie. Smith is one of the very few players that's managed to get this team to four wins. I would love for one critic of Smith to just once explain why he's the problem and back it up with something other than "he sucks." That is all your arguments have come to so far. Bring something more to the table than "because I know so." That's the reasoning of a child and a very immature child at that.

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