Pete Carroll reveals Geno Smith leading quarterback competition over Drew Lock
Pete Carroll is leading the Seattle Seahawks into another new era, one that will be led by either Geno Smith or Drew Lock — at least at the onset.
Speaking with reporters as the season approaches, Carroll provided some insight into the team’s quarterback competition.
“They keep doing stuff every day, and they’re making plays,” Carroll said of Smith and Drew Lock, per Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. “They both make plays every day. I’m watching to see how it swings; if it goes heavy one way, heavy the other way. The guys are doing a nice job.
“We’re working hard to match up the reps with the guys that play up in front, and the receivers, we’re working to get that done, and that’ll happen, and you’ll see how it happens again tomorrow, how the reps are handed out, just so that we can make it a really even competition.”
However, Carroll revealed some somewhat surprising news — Smith, the former West Virginia star and NFL journeyman — is leading the team’s competition.
“Geno continues to be on top, he’s ahead, he’s been in the lead for all the obvious reasons, and he’s holding onto it and doing a really good job of battling,” added Carrol. “Both guys are communicating beautifully, they’re learning well, we don’t have any issues with anything we’re trying to do. There are no issues here where we have to ‘Oh, we can’t quite do this or that with this guy or that guy,’ it isn’t like that. They’re very talented arm-wise, and the ability to throw the ball down the field is there.
“So, let the games begin. Getting out there, now we’re in the middle of it, and we’ll see what happens. It’s a really big day tomorrow. It’ll be a really big day tomorrow.”
Pete Carroll on Geno Smith: ‘He’s just doing things right’
Furthermore, Carroll continued to elaborate on why Smith has the early edge of the former Denver Broncos quarterback in Lock.
“He’s just doing things right,” Carroll said. “He handles the system, he’s making the checks at the line of scrimmage, he’s able to control the protections and working with [center] Austin [Blythe], those guys are hitting it really well, and he’s just really talented. He’s made great throws every day. I’m still looking for them to really come in, and really own it, and put days together where they don’t have any negative plays, the plays that they wish they had back.
“So, in a sense, there’s been openings for both guys by not having the complete day, getting everything done, and finishing the day close to perfect.”
However, the competition is far from over — Carroll outlined how Lock can make up ground on Smith moving forward.
“Just stay out there,” Carroll said. “He just needs to stay out there and show us how he’s going to make his decisions when the big opportunities come. He’s made a ton of plays already. He’s made a ton of good throws, he really runs well, he’s elusive, he has a really quick trigger, his ability to release the football shows up, he has a lot of talent now.
“So we just need reps. We need turns, we just need to see more situations to really find any reason to see a difference between the guys. There’s just not enough stuff yet.”