“I’m talking to America, here.”
So said NFL referee Alex Kemp, who was officiating yesterday’s game between the Seahawks and Lions when Geno Smith interrupted him to complain about the call he’d just made. The moment went viral right away:
Two straight weeks, Seahawks’ QB Geno Smith has been involved in the sound byte of the week.
Last week, he had Aaron Donald coming at him; this week, it was an official. pic.twitter.com/yJLHGRO8YG
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 18, 2023
While it’s funny, it’s also worth pointing out that Smith had a very legitimate gripe and the call Kemp made was horrendous.
Here’s a clip of the play in question.
Seahawks Geno Smith got an intentional grounding in this play on what appears to be a miscommunication, but threw in the direction of Tyler Lockett.
To put in context, Aaron Rodgers would’ve been given a pass inference call in this same situation. pic.twitter.com/tyI459H64Y
— Dr. Lös Real Polyamorous Tantric Sex Guru (@LosRealAli) September 17, 2023
Obviously Smith did not intentionally throw the ball to an area where there were no receivers. Clearly this was an accidental miscommunication with Tyler Lockett, as everyone watching the game could tell.
While this was a dumb call that went the Lions’ way, the Seahawks got more than their fair share of bad calls in their favor this week – including a missed holding call on Smith’s game-winning touchdown pass to Lockett.
More Seahawks Wire stories
NFL Power Rankings going into Week 3