Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith might be the best metric in the league today to tell whether a fan truly knows ball, or if they're just a casual. Admittedly, Smith didn't make a great first impression on NFL fans. When he was playing for the Jets from 2013-2014 Geno was inaccurate (below 60% both years), turnover-prone (34 interceptions vs. 25 touchdowns) and not a winner, going 11-18 as a starter.
Eventually Smith was benched and he spent the next seven years backing up better (or at least more popular) quarterbacks, such as Eli Manning, Philip Rivers and Russell Wilson.
That's probably all the average fan knows about Smith if they haven't taken the time to actually watch a Seahawks game over the last two years. That former reputation is now entirely unfounded, because at the start of the 2022 campaign it became clear that Smith had outgrown his former identity by leaps and bounds.
These days Smith is aggressive but smart, arguably the most-accurate quarterback in the league, definitely one of the most clutch and last season only one guy was better at avoiding sacks, extending plays and delivering the ball.
This 84-second highlight reel of Geno throwing on the run is great example of just how far his game has come. Watch and just try to walk away unimpressed.
84 seconds of Geno Smith avoiding sacks and making plays pic.twitter.com/hN3eypM8Dv
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) July 2, 2024
If new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb can get Smith and the rest of Seattle's offense producing in the red zone in a way that Shane Waldron couldn't, we may even end up seeing Smith get an All-Pro vote or two.
