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'I Need You!' Inside Seattle Seahawks Pep Talk from Geno Smith to Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba: VIDEO

'I Need You!' Inside Seattle Seahawks Pep Talk from Geno Smith to Rookie Jaxon Smith-Njigba: VIDEO

Mike Fisher

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Playing quarterback in the NFL? All it is is the toughest job in sports. Among the demands are leadership qualities, but those must be married with talent and execution.

"Leadership, Talent and Execution''? Meet Geno Smith.

The vet QB was a centerpiece in driving the Seattle Seahawks to a 37-27 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 3, and a mic'd-up piece from Geno as he encouraged Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the sideline is quite telling.

Geno and Jaxon - Seahawks
Geno and Jaxon - Seahawks

“Hey, I need you! Need you in the second half! Need you locked in!" Smith said via Inside The NFL. "Alright, look. Whatever happened is on me. It ain’t never on you. You gotta get the ball, so I gotta find you, all right? But I need you to give me your best this second half."

This conversation seems to have come off the heels of a Panthers interception on a ball intended for Smith-Njigba, the talented rookie receiver. 

Did the Smith pep talk suddenly propel the former Ohio State star Smith-Njigba into a gigantic-number performance? It did not, as he finished the game with but one 10-yard catch.

And overall, the numbers aren't there, as Jaxon has recorded just nine catches for 57 yards in three games for the 2-1 Seahawks. Some of that is about game script, some about philosphy (coach Pete Carroll has no reluctance to run the football) and some of it is due to the fact that Seattle's depth chart at receiver starts with D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.

But as Smith-Njigba, just 21 years old, looks forward to helping when the Seahawks face the New York Giants on Monday Night Football ... or in the near future? He's got the positive message from a more-than-just-a-leader Geno Smith firmly planted in his psyche.

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Mike Fisher
MIKE FISHER

Mike Fisher - as a newspaper beat writer and columnist and on radio and TV, where he is an Emmy winner - has covered the NFL since 1983. He is the author of two best-selling books on the NFL.

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