#6 Sam Howell

[JayhawkMike]

The truth about Howell will be made evident quickly. It won't be ambiguous.

Depends on if he is given a fair chance to start and play. New coach so maybe.

 

[Torc]

Depends on if he is given a fair chance to start and play. New coach so maybe.

It's a new offense to both QBs. I know they're paying Geno the respect of calling him the starter, but if Howell takes to the new O noticeably better I have to think he'll get the nod.

 

[JayhawkMike]

It's a new offense to both QBs. I know they're paying Geno the respect of calling him the starter, but if Howell takes to the new O noticeably better I have to think he'll get the nod.

I hope so but I can hear people already "But but but Geno Smith was the 11th QB named to the Pro Bowl last year so he has to start" or "But in this small sample of (cherry picked) games he performed great so it has to be him" If PC were here there would be no doubt. Glad he's gone.

 

[Hawkinaz]

It's a new offense to both QBs. I know they're paying Geno the respect of calling him the starter, but if Howell takes to the new O noticeably better I have to think he'll get the nod.

IMO Geno needs to win the spot if it’s a tie I would make Howell the starter there is no sense starting the older guy when he is 10 years older. You would also have a vet as a backup in case of injury

 

[Maelstrom787]

IMO Geno needs to win the spot if it’s a tie I would make Howell the starter there is no sense starting the older guy when he is 10 years older. You would also have a vet as a backup in case of injury

I disagree. I'd default to Geno.

That isn't necessarily out of fandom to Geno so much as it is the belief that Sam really needs to sit for a bit to have the best chance at succeeding. I don't think his future is served best by rushing him into action coming off of last season.

Pete Carroll knew the secret to NFL football. It wasn't necessarily all culture or all defense or all ball control or whatever. It was about making the quarterbacks job as easy as it can be. It's why Russ took off here. It's why Geno took off here.

For Sam, I think we do that by sitting him. Rehabilitating his game. Navigating his deficiencies. Reinforcing his strengths. Dropping him into the catbird's seat when the time comes.

Geno, in the meantime, is at worst a solid navigator with buy-in. He performed at a top-10 level when pressured, and he was pressured a lot. He took a top-10 lowest sack rate while facing a top-5 amount of pressure. I'd trust him more to navigate growing pains in a new offense than I would Howell, whose development could be harmed by any chaos around him currently.

 

[CelticWolf12]

It's a new offense to both QBs. I know they're paying Geno the respect of calling him the starter, but if Howell takes to the new O noticeably better I have to think he'll get the nod.

I think this is THE an important factor the is being WAY overlooked. Geno Smith was good at running a conservative Peteball offense. If I recall, he was HORRIBLE in NY and didn't have anywhere close to the numbers that Sam Howell displayed last season (in a pass happy, no run, dysfunctional, terrible Washington team). Geno had several years to metabolize the Peteball playbook before winning the starting QB job in Seattle. Lets see which QB will be able to process their reads quicker and execute the playbook proficiently in a totally new offense. There is no doubt that Sam Howell has the physical tools to succeed in the NFL (quick release, strong arm and mobility). Who knows if he has the ability from the shoulders up. From my perspective the jury is still out. Being a veteran NFL QB will benefit Geno slightly, but there is absolutely no guarantee that Geno wins the starting QB job here.

Go Hawks!

 

[Maelstrom787]

I think this is THE an important factor the is being WAY overlooked. Geno Smith was good at running a conservative Peteball offense. If I recall, he was HORRIBLE in NY and didn't have anywhere close to the numbers that Sam Howell displayed last season (in a pass happy, no run, dysfunctional, terrible Washington team). Geno had several years to metabolize the Peteball playbook before winning the starting QB job in Seattle. Lets see which QB will be able to process their reads quicker and execute the playbook proficiently in a totally new offense. There is no doubt that Sam Howell has the physical tools to succeed in the NFL (quick release, strong arm and mobility). Who knows if he has the ability from the shoulders up. From my perspective the jury is still out. Being a veteran NFL QB will benefit Geno slightly, but there is absolutely no guarantee that Geno wins the starting QB job here.

Go Hawks!

This doesn't track. Seattle has been one of the pass-happiest teams in the league during Geno's tenure, both in overall pass rate as well as neutral situation passing.

This team hasn't deployed a conservative, run-heavy offense for almost half a decade now.

 

[Jegpeg]

I think this is THE an important factor the is being WAY overlooked. Geno Smith was good at running a conservative Peteball offense. If I recall, he was HORRIBLE in NY and didn't have anywhere close to the numbers that Sam Howell displayed last season (in a pass happy, no run, dysfunctional, terrible Washington team). Geno had several years to metabolize the Peteball playbook before winning the starting QB job in Seattle. Lets see which QB will be able to process their reads quicker and execute the playbook proficiently in a totally new offense. There is no doubt that Sam Howell has the physical tools to succeed in the NFL (quick release, strong arm and mobility). Who knows if he has the ability from the shoulders up. From my perspective the jury is still out. Being a veteran NFL QB will benefit Geno slightly, but there is absolutely no guarantee that Geno wins the starting QB job here.

Go Hawks!

The game is very different form when Geno was a jet and a lot of Sam's numbers are because the commanders were so pass happy. Taking the number of attempts out of it, in his first two seasons Geno's pass completion of 58% was worse than Sam's 63% but his yards per attempt (6.9) was better than Sam's 6.4.

The Jets team at the time was probably than last season's commanders but the rules today protect the offence more than in the past.

I agree there are stil a lot of unknowns how either QB will play with a changed team and a new playbook. Geno is the expected starter but the final decision is still to be made. Wilson was drafted as an expected back-up or even 3rd stringer but in pre-season outshone the more established QBs and won the starting spot from week 1, the same could happen to Howell.

 

[SweepSanFran]

WOW, a lot to think about with Sam and a great thread. Lot of great opinions and stats to back them up. My thought on this is that with Washington you have a new owner and coaching staff and typically they don't keep someone else's guy around if they aren't Rodgers Brady or Mahomes. I think Washington had the second pick and Daniels had a huge amount of hype coming out of college (deserved or not). They had Kinsbury as the OC and Daniels game fits his philosophy better than Sam. Washington wanted a fresh start at QB and they got the best offer they could for Sam. With no back-up in Seattle, JS went out and got what I would guess is what MM asked for, a veteran QB to back up Geno. Although Sam is young he would be considered a veteran with how much he has played and can push Geno for the starting job. I don't think you can take much from his play last year because he had a new OC that was trying to show everyone he shouldn't have been passed over for a head coaching job and the pass heavy offense was not a great game plan for a QB that didn't have the experience to navigate the amount of pressure he was going to see in that type of offense. With a new staff in Seattle and a new system its not unconceivable that Sam could win the job but highly unlikely. Sam gets an opportunity to rejuvenate his career and sit behind a great teammate in Geno who went through the same type situation and can mentor Sam. Geno is getting long in the tooth in his career and the possibility for injuries are becoming greater, I think we have a very good back up and with time can become the starter and who knows can be our QBoTF. No one really knows how this will work out but I think JS made a decision that gives us the opportunity to to have very good options for the Hawks future. I am excited for our future as Hawks fans with all the "NEW" we have in the organization from top to bottom, having Sam is just a small piece to a huge puzzle that hopefully gets us back on top. There are so many moving parts to our success this season I don't see him being the biggest factor to our success.

 

[toffee]

For Sam, I think we do that by sitting him. Rehabilitating his game. Navigating his deficiencies. Reinforcing his strengths. Dropping him into the catbird's seat when the time comes.

Walsh sat Montana for a season.

 

[Ruminator]

WOW, a lot to think about...

If you want folks to read your posts, please, hit a couple of returns every slight shift in thought/focal point. You'd be amazed how much more inviting that makes things to read.

 

[Bear-Hawk]

This doesn't track. Seattle has been one of the pass-happiest teams in the league during Geno's tenure, both in overall pass rate as well as neutral situation passing.

This team hasn't deployed a conservative, run-heavy offense for almost half a decade now.

For 2023, Seahawks were right in the middle in passing attempts per game.

 

[Ostatehawk]

I hope so but I can hear people already "But but but Geno Smith was the 11th QB named to the Pro Bowl last year so he has to start" or "But in this small sample of (cherry picked) games he performed great so it has to be him" If PC were here there would be no doubt. Glad he's gone.

If we were still in the Pete era I would say Geno starting was a mortal lock. But with new leadership......I think we get the whoever elevates the team/performs best.

This is the way.

 

[SweepSanFran]

Sorry for the long run-on paragraph. I will do better in the future. Hope you read it would love to hear your thoughts Ruminator. Thanks.

 

[Seahawker]

Sorry for the long run-on paragraph. I will do better in the future. Hope you read it would love to hear your thoughts Ruminator. Thanks.

Nice previous post SSF.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

I would like a proper competition just to see what we have. We know what we have in Geno good and bad. I'm still fascinated in Grubb. Not just with the Penix stuff. He made Jake Haener who didn't look great at UW and was a bit of a turnover machine into a serviceable QB at Fresno St who got drafted. May he can limit Howells turnovers which is his biggest knock?

 

[Maelstrom787]

For 2023, Seahawks were right in the middle in passing attempts per game.

Yes, but the percentage of snaps that were pass plays was 5th highest in the league, which is a more accurate indicator of their overall "pass happiness."

 

[Torc]

I would like a proper competition just to see what we have. We know what we have in Geno good and bad. I'm still fascinated in Grubb. Not just with the Penix stuff. He made Jake Haener who didn't look great at UW and was a bit of a turnover machine into a serviceable QB at Fresno St who got drafted. May he can limit Howells turnovers which is his biggest knock?

I think Howell throws less INTs when he has a running game. Last year teams were able to tee off on the Commanders, both with the pass rush and DBs not needing to pay much attention to the RBs.

 

[Hipflexor]

I’m not seeing what yall do with Howell.

Maybe people want the hope of a long term solution or something idk.

 

[SweepSanFran]

What do you have if not hope?