Schlereth explains Seahawks’ problem leading to Geno’s mistakes

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith leads the NFL with 2,560 passing yards, but that’s not necessarily a good sign with the Hawks sitting at 4-5 on their bye week.

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Smith also leads the league with 342 pass attempts, which signals how often Seattle is playing from behind as well as how offensive line troubles have held back the running game. There’s also the fact that Smith is tied for the most interceptions (11) in the NFL, and his 88.6 passer rating is just 19th among QBs.

One other thing stands out about Smith’s season, which is the fact that he’s been sacked 28 times, which is the fourth most in the NFL. And that’s where NFL on FOX analyst and former Super Bowl-winning offensive lineman Mark Schlereth turned his attention during his weekly conversation with Seattle Sports’ Wyman and Bob on Tuesday.

“(Quarterbacks) get sped up when you get hit a lot,” Schlereth said. “You’re going, ‘I gotta go, I gotta go, I gotta go.’ Your clock speeds up. But when your clock speeds up, your feet speed up.”

Good luck keeping your accuracy on point and making good decisions when that’s happening, as is the case for Seattle with the offensive line both dealing with injuries and struggling in general.

“The timing of the offense is kept at the quarterback’s feet, and when the quarterback’s feet speed up, guess what? He’s off,” Schlereth continued. “You’re not going to be on time with the football. You’re going to be ahead, and so then you get to the point where you’re forcing things because things aren’t coming open on time.”

Even for Smith, who Schlereth clearly has a strong opinion of.

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“Geno’s a very accurate, big-time arm talent, very accurate guy,” he said. “I just think he’s so sped up that he is forcing the ball, he’s early where the receivers aren’t open yet, and so then he’s just making some bad decisions, throwing into the ‘team meetings’ and such. So I think that’s kind of what’s going on with Geno because of the lack of continuity up front and the lack of protection that you they’re they’re giving him.”

Tied into all of this, Schlereth made the point that first-year Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb, who was previously the UW Huskies OC, needs to make an adjustment.

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“Ultimately (teams need) an offensive coordinator that understands what your issues are up front. And I say this all the time – and I don’t know your guys’ coordinator, I know he came from the college game – but you show me a team that gives up seven sacks, I’ll show you a team that has a coordinator that doesn’t understand what the problems are up front,” Schlereth said.

Parting words

The Seahawks began the season 3-0 and at one point had a two-game lead atop the NFC West, but have since lost five of six and find themselves in the cellar of the division.

Schlereth related the state of the Hawks to another NFC West team from a few seasons back.

“I said this a couple of years ago to the then-Arizona Cardinals GM, ‘You guys are so talented that you continue to fool yourself into believing you’re a good football team. And you know what? You’ll score touchdowns at the end of the half and the end of the game to make it a one-score game, and everybody will say, ‘Wow, they’re so close.’ And the truth of the matter is you’re not close because you don’t dominate the line of scrimmage.”

Listen to the full Wyman and Bob conversation with NFL on FOX analyst Mark Schlereth in the podcast at this link or in the player near the top of this post. Catch Schlereth every Tuesday during the football season on Wyman and Bob, which airs weekdays from 2-7 p.m. on Seattle Sports.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• Wyman: How Seahawks’ new LB Jones is making an impact
• Check-In: At 4-5 heading into bye, Seahawks have plenty of work to do
• Seahawks Injury Outlook: When key players could return
• Diamond in the rough? Seahawks practice squad call-up shines
• Why Macdonald feels Seattle Seahawks are ready to turn corner

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