Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll Praises 'Real Deal' QB Geno Smith

Following another efficient performance against the Giants for Geno Smith, Pete Carroll had plenty of praise.

An MVP candidate at quarterback has come out of the gates strong for the Seattle Seahawks, leading them to a 5-3 record and first place in the NFC West. That itself is a story Seahawks fans have seen several times before but this time the one writing the story is an unexpected author. 

Geno Smith, in the midst of a career resurgence with the Seahawks, has put the doubters to bed through eight games. Against the New York Giants on Sunday he completed 23-of-34 passes for an efficient 212 yards and two touchdowns in the 27-13 win. 

Smith turned it on the fourth quarter especially, leading two touchdown drives to put the Giants away for good. The first drive, which gave Seattle a 20-13 lead, Smith went a perfect 5-for-5 for 75 yards and capped it off with a 33-yard touchdown to Tyler Lockett.

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, who stood behind Smith throughout the offseason, had plenty of praise for his quarterback following Seattle's third straight win. 

“He's the real deal, "Carroll said. "This is the real -- we're seeing, there's no mystery he's going to run out of gas or something. It's not like that." 

"He knows exactly what he's doing and he shows you week in and week out, throw after throw, after throw. There's nothing for us to hold him but in the highest of expectations really."

Through eight games Smith has thrown for 1,924 yards and 13 touchdowns with only three interceptions while completing an impressive 72.7 percent of his passes. As Carroll said, he is indeed the real deal.

Of course, Smith could drop off over the final nine games and falter down the stretch, but it feels like that's been said since before Week 1. At this point, the evidence is clear, and that he is an MVP candidate for Seattle and has the Seahawks en route to a playoff berth in spite of the potential rebuild. 

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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