The Seahawks beat the Lions in a 48-45 shootout at Ford Field in Detroit.
To best describe my feelings about this win and this team, I’ll borrow from the words and wisdom of Ram Dass: “Be Here Now.”
The Seahawks offense continues to improve, and Geno Smith continues to defy expectations. Of course, the skeptics and naysayers are out in full force. They note that Smith and the offense were up against a terrible Lions defense. They say that Geno has yet to sustain this level of play and that he does not rise to the occasion in clutch scenarios. In my mind, however, these sentiments just point to unknowns more than absolutes.
To the stats geeks, Geno’s tell a compelling story. He’s completing 77.3% of his passes, with a passer rating of 108. He’s passed for 1037 yards in four weeks and thrown six touchdowns. From the vista of this simple fan, he plays the whole field and utilizes the variety of weapons at his disposal, his manages the game well and moves the ball down the field with a steady cadence and consistently converts on third downs. (Back to stats for a moment- the Seahawks are presently second in the league for conversion on third downs, sitting at 55.32%. The Buffalo Bills are first at 55.77%.) I thoroughly enjoy watching Geno play, which is not what I envisioned for this season. And even more, I find that Geno does not make me as nervous as Russell Wilson used to. For lack of a better word, Geno feels more reliable. Again, this is not exactly how I thought I’d feel towards a quarterback who had spent much of his career as a backup.
It is impossible to say where this is all leading, especially given the abysmal play of the Seahawks defense. We just have to take each game, good or bad, as it comes to us. This is why the wisdom of Ram Dass rings so true. All we can know about this team lives in the present moment. We can’t look ahead for any promise of victory. We can’t look at the past for any clues to define this iteration of the Seahawks. We just have the here and now. And I’m okay with that.
In this week’s Real Hawk Talk podcast, Brian Nemhasuer said, “One of my favorite things in sports, in general, is when the narrative doesn’t match reality. And it takes humanity so long to catch up to what’s really happening.” He continued, “This offense is significantly better…significantly better… than anyone gives it credit for, even most of the people in the Seahawks fan base.” Brian is right, at least for now. And for now, I will thoroughly enjoy this moment.
