Wyman & Bob: Where Seahawks’ QB battle stands after Smith ‘left the door open’

Geno Smith had a good shot at ending the Seahawks’ quarterback competition on Thursday as Drew Lock was unable to play against the Chicago Bears due to a bout with COVID-19.

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Lock was slated to start on Thursday, but with him out, Smith, who started the first preseason game for Seattle, got the start against the Bears and played the entire first half. Overall, he completed 10 of his 18 passes for 112 yards and led one field goal drive in the Seahawks’ 27-11 loss.

So where does the competition now stand after Smith’s so-so outing? Bob Stelton and Dave Wyman of Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Wyman and Bob discussed that Friday afternoon.

Despite Lock not playing, Stelton thinks he may have actually gained some ground on Thursday with Seattle’s preseason finale in Dallas just a week away.

“It was such a blasé performance at best for (Smith) that you felt like alright, well, maybe Drew could win it, I guess, if he goes out there and really lights it up in the final preseason game,” he said. “I mean, I don’t know how (the Seahawks) feel about it behind the scenes, but it feels like Geno didn’t capture the job. He left the door open.”

Stelton thought Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll after the game didn’t show much confidence in Smith’s play.

“He did OK. We needed to come through, we needed to help a little bit. We need to make the plays around him, too,” Carroll said. ” … He’s running the show well. He’s doing OK. Got of the pocket when he needed to and threw a couple of really good balls that could have been converted.”

“That’s about as close as Pete gets to saying, eh. It’s either that or ‘Hey, he got through it.’ That’s usually what he says,” Stelton said.

Stelton didn’t think Smith’s night was “horrific” in part because he didn’t get much help from his teammates, but he “didn’t think he was good.”

“I thought he was there. I thought he missed some (throws). He got out in front of a couple of guys that were wide open and just missed them,” Stelton said. ” … He just does not inspire a lot. He’s not a guy you feel like ‘OK, man, he’s got this thing nailed down.’ He’s capable. He can take a team down the field and he can win games. I just don’t think he’s gonna win a lot of games.”

Wyman thought Carroll’s postgame description of Smith sounded like how a coach talks about his backup quarterback.

And when it comes to Lock, it’s unclear whether a change of scenery will allow him to thrive as a potential starter.

“This is his fourth year in the league, so he’s kind of past that point where you typically make that transition into ‘OK, I’m a starter, a solid player,'” Wyman, a former NFL linebacker, said. “For me, it was my second year, and sometimes it’s your third year.”

With Lock, Wyman thinks that the Seahawks can offer him more support in terms of coaching and what’s around him than what he had when he was in Denver.

“They’re thinking if you put him in this good situation, you could get the best out of this guy,” he said. “But then he gets COVID and this happens, so we’ll see what happens next week. But yeah, based on Pete’s response (about Smith), I’d be surprised if he’s thinking ‘OK, Geno’s, our starter.'”

Added Stelton, “You kind of know who he is. He’s a guy, again, he’ll win you some games, but not enough. But he’ll win some games. He’s not inept. But he’s not your franchise guy. I don’t think either one of these guys are and I would love to be proven wrong.”

Listen to the full first hour of Friday’s Wyman and Bob at this link or in the player below.

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