Seahawks’ Geno Smith wants a better ‘poker face’ after losing his cool

RENTON, Wash. — After a delayed run in the third quarter of the Seattle Seahawks’ 31-20 loss on Sunday, Geno Smith threw the ball at a Buffalo Expenses defender, disappointed in what he felt was a late crash that wasn’t called.

Smith received a penalty for taunting, a low point for the Seahawks and their quarterback amid their fourth loss in five games.

“Those are things that couldn’t have happened,” Smith said Thursday. “Obviously, everyone is looking at me, so if I’m upset, they get a little anxious. So I have to have a better poker face and work on it.”

A reflective Smith spent much of his weekly consultation with reporters talking about how he must retain his feelings in the test, then allowing them to get the best of him during an error-filled loss that dropped Seattle to 4-4.

Before the third quarter, the Fox broadcast showed him suffering on the sideline after his exhibition move was ruled an interception. Trailing in the fourth quarter, with Seattle I’m sick 21 times, he gestured in open frustration toward the sideline after a delay-of-game penalty.

The Seahawks were penalized 11 times for 82 yards against Buffalo. They also scored just three points from two first-half trips inside the Expenses’ 3-yard layout, the first of which was thwarted by an ominous snap and the second when center Connor Williams stepped on Smith’s prop at the fourth. . I’m sick.

“I’m really not a big loser,” Smith said. “It sucks. I hate it. I need to, in general, when I look at myself… just continue to cheer the guys up and, if I’m honest, do a better job in the times when we’re down. Those are things I’m getting better at.” constantly. I’m not going to say I’m perfect at it. I’m very emotional when it comes to winning, when it comes to doing the right thing. Sometimes I let my emotions show. Whether that’s good or bad is a personal opinion.

“But I’m trying hard to be myself all the time. So I have to continue to shoot for our team, for our offense, I have to continue to be aggressive, not in a sinister way, but in a great way.” “It’s always an advantageous layout you’ve been given for traveling, however I’ve had to be careful not to make too many mistakes in that department.”

Former coach Pete Carroll, who counted Smith among his favorite players, once called the quarterback a “hot head” in the heat of the moment. Smith, 34, has been described within the organization as someone who lives and dies on every play, sometimes to his detriment.

As was the case with Carroll’s staff, new coach Mike Macdonald and his assistants have worked with Smith to stay calm. Macdonald said during the offseason that the Seahawks challenged the 12-year veteran to take the next step as a leader, which meant being “the epitome of poise” – as the coach called it – in chaotic situations.

Macdonald wants Smith to find the right balance, saying that taking away his competitiveness and fire would be taking away “one of his superpowers as a player.”

“Every year someone gets disappointed, you have to keep it under control and you have to move on,” he said Wednesday. “But we sensed the frustration. They gave us the bop again, keeping… mentally everything ready. Geno is aware of that. I believed for most of the time that he had achieved a wonderful process.”

“We’re going to follow the demonstration that he provides, for our offense and the rest of the team. Give him a chance to take a deep breath and come back and attack. That’s the mentality I want as a football team. When we have adversity, we have to… .to come together and connect in those moments instead of letting emotion or frustration get to us. “We will grow from it.”

Smith, who has thrown for 2,197 yards, 8 touchdowns and a league-high 7 interceptions this season, said his hobby is “a big part of who I am.”

“If it becomes something that you overdo it or it’s a hindrance to your team or you’re damaging it, then that’s a problem,” he said. “But otherwise, be yourself. Guys like when I let my emotions show. I just evaluate myself and say, ‘Hey, I can be better in this area,’ so those are things I’m trying to improve.” “. in.”