After Sunday’s decisive 37-23 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, someone asked quarterback Geno Smith about being on a “Prove The Doubters Wrong” tour.
In actuality, Smith might have to share the top bill on that junket.
It wasn’t that long ago when it appeared that the Pete Carroll-John Schneider magic, responsible for so much Seahawks prosperity, had run its course.
The Seahawks’ brain trust had been forced, for complex reasons that left many questioning their acumen, to trade franchise quarterback Russell Wilson, seemingly leaving a gaping hole at the most vital position in sports.
Best case, the Seahawks would have to endure a painful rebuilding campaign that had no guarantee of success, partially due to poor drafts that had failed to replenish the departed talent from the Super Bowl glory days. And many wondered if the 71-year-old coach and his joined-at-the-hip general manager had the stomach to endure such a grind.
Look at Carroll and Schneider now. Much of their never-wavering optimism, which once seemed like whistling past the graveyard, has been justified (so far). The immediate future of the Seahawks, far from the dire predictions for 2022, is brighter than anyone could have imagined on that March day when Wilson was sent to the Denver Broncos.
This is not to suggest Carroll and Schneider have gotten the last laugh, because they might not be laughing in a month. The potential loss of game-changing receiver DK Metcalf is daunting, even though the initial report Monday was positive. The schedule is difficult. The improvements might prove to be illusory.
But they certainly deserve the current laugh — or at least a broad smile.
The Wilson trade has proved to be a stroke of absolute genius, so beneficial to the Seahawks and so crippling to the Broncos that it could alter the course of both franchises in divergent fashion.
Whether Carroll and Schneider saw the decline of Wilson coming, or if the deal was made more for financial and chemistry reasons and they just lucked out on jettisoning Wilson at the right time, is beside the point. The bottom line is that the influx of talent received in that deal, and the emergence of Smith as a top-tier quarterback, have vindicated their decision-making in that transaction.
Using many high picks from the Wilson trade — with more to come next year — the Seahawks executed a draft reminiscent of the ones early in the Carroll-Schneider regime that set them up for a Super Bowl title (and nearly a second one). As Times reporter Bob Condotta detailed last week, the Seahawks have six rookies in key roles this year from the 2022 draft — left tackle Charles Cross, right tackle Abraham Lucas, running back Kenneth Walker III, right cornerback Tariq Woolen, outside linebacker Boye Mafe and nickel cornerback Coby Bryant. Many of them look like fixtures, if not stars.
It would have been largely for naught, of course, if the Seahawks didn’t solidify the quarterback position. Carroll saw something in Smith that few others did, and he’s been rewarded for that faith. Smith has sustained his excellence for nearly half the season, to the point it’s getting harder, if not impossible, to write it off as a merely a fluky hot streak.
“There are no restrictions on Geno,” Carroll told reporters Sunday after another solid outing by Smith. “He can do whatever we can think of. He’s different than he was. You can put a label on somebody for what he was, and then you miss the whole chance to understand this guy.
“This guy is a different guy. He’s experienced. He’s physically fit. He’s having a blast. He’s living in an elevation of poise with the way that he’s handling it. It’s perfect. It’s perfect for the moment. We’re thrilled to see it happen, and it couldn’t happen to a better guy.”
Early in the season, it appeared that the defense would be the undoing of the Seahawks, as has been the case in recent years. They ranked at or near the bottom of the league in virtually every defensive category. Carroll had fired his defensive coordinator, Ken Norton Jr., after last season, but Norton’s replacement, Clint Hurtt, struggled in a similar fashion as opponents racked up yardage.
But that has turned the past two weeks as the Seahawks stymied two high-priced quarterbacks, Kyler Murray and Justin Herbert, in victories. Players credit a change in philosophy that allows them to attack rather than read and react. Young players are feeling more comfortable by the week, and the unit’s confidence is growing.
“We didn’t go where everybody was saying we were going,” Carroll said of their defensive revival. “We just went where we had a real clear vision of what we could build, and we stayed with it. We had to tweak some stuff. We had to change some things that we were doing to fit the people and their strengths. The players embraced it. There is no looking back now. We’re going to keep going, and we’re going to keep getting better and learn how to play with each other.”
The Seahawks sit in first place in the NFC West, an almost unfathomable outcome when the season started. If the defensive improvement is real, the Seahawks will remain a legitimate contender for a playoff spot that few believed possible after the Wilson trade. Even with the loss of safety Jamal Adams, running back Rashaad Penny and possibly Metcalf for an undetermined amount of time.
Carroll was, very conspicuously, one of the most bullish optimists from the outset. That’s the essence of his nature, of course. But to date, he and Schneider have been proven right in most of their calculations. Fewer are questioning their acumen. It might even be time to start booking the tour.