New York Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale had some high praise on Thursday for Geno Smith, the former New York Jets and Giants quarterback who is now setting the NFL afire with the surprising NFL West-leading Seattle Seahawks.
“I’ll give you the first name, Kurt Warner,” Martindale said when asked for a comparison to Smith’s ascent. “I don’t know if they’ll make a movie with Geno, but as a football fan and respect for the game, I really respect what he’s done with his game. Besides playing against him, it’s fun to watch the success that he’s had.
“I think he’s worked hard. I think he’s a really good person, and I just love to see the success that he’s having. I just don’t want him to have any on Sunday.”
Smith, since Giant fans last saw him in 2017 as the player who ended Eli Manning’s 210-game starting streak, has been very quiet before this season. He spent a year backing up Philip Rivers with the Chargers before signing a string of one-year deals to back up Russell Wilson in Seattle the past three seasons.
When the Seahawks traded Wilson to Denver this past spring, Smith won the job over Drew Lock and has been forging a very impressive Act II to his career.
Smith has the Seahawks’ offense buzzing. His 73.5 completion percentage through Seattle’s first seven games this season is the fifth-highest completion percentage by a quarterback in a team’s first seven games of a season in NFL history. His 107.7 QB Rating is third in the NFL this season tailing only the league’s two towering superstars, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen.
The Seahawks’ 31.8 points per game average is the highest in the league since Week 3 and their 59 explosive plays on offense are second only to Kansas City this season.
Martindale was asked what has changed about Smith, a player who had shown flashes throughout his nine seasons in the NFL but had never put things completely together.
“I just think it’s a good combination of having a defensive head coach and he’s worked well with (Seahawks offensive coordinator) Shane (Waldron) and talking about how to manage the game, how they’re going to attack each game, and you can see the differences of it from week to week of how they’re going to attack the game,” Martindale said.
Smith has also benefited from the seamless transition the team’s two rookie tackles (Charles Cross, Abraham Lucas) have made plus the breakout performance of rookie running back Kenneth Walker III.
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