'He's Got Thick Skin': Geno Smith Remains Unflappable Under Center For Seahawks

Geno Smith has been far from perfect running the Seahawks' new offense, but the quarterback has earned Ryan Grubb's trust with his mental toughness.

Nov 24, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) passes the ball over Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker (3) during the second half at Lumen Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images / Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

RENTON, Wash. - Loving the game of football from a young age thanks to the influence of his grandmother, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith quickly developed an affinity for Brett Favre, who became his childhood hero racking up MVP awards with the Green Bay Packers.

Growing up in southern Florida, Smith derived great pleasure from seeing how much the sport meant to Favre, who starred on Monday Night Football for the Packers on the day after his father passed in 2003 and played through numerous injuries while starting 297 consecutive games. With both being born on October 10, he viewed the iron man as his "spirit animal," aiming to model his game after the legendary signal caller.

"I just love the way he plays. I love his style," Smith explained prior to Wednesday's practice. "I think about a guy who played a game a day after his father passed. It's probably something I would do. We just love playing football and if he was hurt, still goes out there, he's going to leave it all on the line."

Now in his 12th NFL season, for better or for worse, Favre's influence can easily be seen in how Smith plays the quarterback position. Confident in his arm, sometimes to his own detriment, he's willing to take shots downfield believing he can thread the needle through multiple defenders. That has led to some bad interceptions over the course of this year, including telegraphing a pick to Cardinals cornerback Garrett Williams in the red zone in last week's win at Lumen Field.

But while Smith has thrown his share of interceptions aiming to make plays for the Seahawks, he also has mastered the art of short-term memory under center, consistently bouncing back and amending for those mistakes by coming through in clutch moments. In back-to-back wins over NFC West foes, he orchestrated game-clinching drives behind both his arm and legs, running for a game-winning 13-yard touchdown in Santa Clara and completing multiple third down throws to set up Jason Myers for a field goal last Sunday to lock up a huge win over Arizona.

Such resiliency and resolve were hallmarks for Favre's immense success and while the two players aren't carbon copies of one another, it's clear that Smith's idol left an imprint on him beyond simply trusting his arm, as he has developed the mental fortitude to quickly forget about miscues. As offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb termed it, he's developed "thick skin" from the adversity has has dealt with throughout his career, meaning he can never be counted out late in a game regardless of his prior play leading up to that point.

"What would Brett do? Keep slinging. That's the way we play the game," Smith said. "I never tried to be reckless. I'm always trying to make the right decision, but I do believe in myself. I believe in my arm, I believe in my process. I always talk to you guys about and at times bad things happen. That's the way this game goes, but you can't let that affect you if you really are who you say you are, then you just go and play the next play."

Now with a bust in Canton, it can be hard to believe that Favre led the NFL in interceptions three different seasons and was picked off 336 times in his illustrious career, the most by a quarterback in NFL history. On the flip side, however, he led 43 game-winning drives in 20 seasons, many times overcoming his own mistakes to put his team on his back and will them to victory.

Given Favre's reputation for being careless at times with the football, a reporter asked Grubb if Smith's admiration for Favre's gunslinging mentality scared him, but the first-year play caller scoffed at the notion. Saying the veteran quarterback always critiques plays he could have done better on even after Seattle wins games, he admires how Smith always sticks to his process regardless of the final outcome while pursuing constant improvement and growth.

"I know that there's some obvious things there that Geno has had some tough moments this season, but I just keep believing in the preparation that he puts in every day that he continues to see those things, and he knows the things that he has to improve on and get better and play his best game," Grubb responded. "I think that that's still out there for him. I know it is. Geno does too, and I think he's going to continue to work on those decision-making in those critical moments."

With six games left to play, Smith's stat line has been underwhelming in some regards so far for the Seahawks, as he has thrown only 12 touchdown passes and a league-high 12 interceptions. However, he ranks among league leaders with over 3,000 passing yards and a 69 percent completion rate, and as Favre consistently did, he has played at his best at the end of games, already leading two game-winning drives this season after engineering five of them a year ago.

Moving into the final home stretch with an NFC West title up for grabs, Grubb believes Smith's best football remains in front of him operating the Seahawks offense. While he will continue to harp on cutting down turnovers, particularly in the red zone, he's also not going to hamstring his talented quarterback by pulling the reins back on his playmaking style.

Seeing far more positives than negatives with his ability to put the team on his back in crucial situations, Grubb holds the utmost trust in Smith making the right decisions when the game is on the line. Just as Favre did throughout his decorated career, he's hopeful the veteran gunslinger will reward that faith by continuing to lead Seattle to wins in the final month of the season.

"I think any quarterback over time has to be able to get back on the horse so to speak and get ready to make the next throw. I think the play in the present mentality for an NFL quarterback is absolutely imperative. So for Geno, over time he's built those things up and knows that how tight NFL football games are every week and that you've always got a chance, and I think he's done a good job of learning how to move on from those. Far before I got here, just his understanding of the next throw and knowing that your most important play is the next one, he has a good grasp of that."

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