Gregg Bell | Tacoma News Tribune Seattle Seahawks Insider

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Download the Odyssey app today. Right now we're really excited to spend a few minutes in the Pacific Northwest where the Seahawks have got to be one of the most amazing stories of the first eight weeks of the NFL season. Greg Bell of the Seattle News Tribune.

Can we agree on that? It's the surprise and anyone who tells you they expected it is lying, including Pete Carroll. He didn't expect this and he couldn't have expected Geno Smith to perform this way, this consistently. The trade of Russell Wilson has worked out beyond their wildest dreams.

It really has. And it's not just because Denver's going so poorly, but the competition in the summer to replace Wilson really wasn't a competition. Pete Carroll chose Geno Smith almost from the first day of minicamps in the offseason and that was really it. There wasn't a whole lot for Drew Lock to be able to compete with Pete Carroll out of his mind made up. And Smith has validated that by throwing and making decisions and minimizing mistakes and doing everything he's never done in 10 years in the league.

I mean, as you know, this is a guy who's gone eight years between gigs. He was on benches of four teams for seven seasons before getting this shot to start this year. He's leading the league in completion percentage of 73%, 13 touchdowns to just three interceptions. He's got the fourth best passer rating in the league. He's up there with guys like Josh Allen and Mahomes. Geno Smith is about to turn 32 and hadn't played for seven years. There are a ton of more reasons why the Seahawks are in first place. But the foremost one is Geno Smith not only not just turning it over, everyone thought, okay, he's going to be Pete Carroll's game manager.

He's doing way more than that. And two more touchdown passes for him and he's clearly developed a rapport with these receivers. But I want to go back to the spring in the summer because as you point out, Greg, Pete Carroll never wavered from Geno as his starting quarterback. He kept saying, Geno is the guy. Geno has won whatever competition there actually was.

Geno is our QB one. Why was he so sure so quickly? He said the three games that Smith had to start last fall when Russell Wilson finally got hurt and had the finger surgery, that it really won him over. That he trusted Smith.

It took a couple games of rust and hadn't played in so long. And they lost the Saints and they lost to Pittsburgh with Smith making mistakes late in the game last year. Then they beat Jacksonville at home 31-7, which a lot of teams did last year in Urban Meyers' season. But Carroll said he saw trust, things to trust there of how he could operate within the offense, how DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett specifically reacted and built a rapport with him in those three weeks. And he had it in the back of his mind that when Denver gave the Seahawks that offer, they could not refuse.

And that's really what happened. Pete Carroll did not want to trade Russell Wilson, but when Denver came to the combine to John Schneider, the GM, and said, we're going to give you three players plus four top draft choices and you're going to have four top picks in the next two drafts in the first and second round. And they saw, okay, well, I think I can trust Geno Smith enough to build the team around doing it his way. And he has.

And as I said, this has exceeded his expectations. They didn't think, and I know they didn't think this because they started the season, Amy, throwing the shortest passes in the league. His completions were five, five and a half yards per game in September. And then after they just got boat race down in San Francisco, 27, seven, and they were dinking and dunking and the 49ers ran right over him. After that game, Carroll said, that's it.

No more the dinking dunk. Let's trust Smith to throw the ball down the field. And they can do that now because they have a better offensive line. They signed Austin Blight to be the new center, the former Super Bowl starter with the Rams after years of just decay and negligence center. And they drafted and went all in on two rookies at right and left tackle.

Abe Lucas, the third round pick, first round pick, ninth overall pick. The highest picks Seattle's had in 12 years is Charles Cross, Cross, the left tackle. Amy, those are only the third rookie offensive tackles to start week one of an NFL season of 52 years. Wow.

That's how rare it is. And they went, just like with Smith from day one, Carroll went all in on the rookie tackles from day one. He went all in on Tariq Wolin at cornerback as a fifth round pick from day one of the training camp. And he co-leads the NFL in interceptions right now.

I know that for a lot of people on the East Coast, that the United States kind of on the US ends at the Hudson River and that Brian Davos probably going to win the coach of the year for what he's doing with the Giants. But what Pete Carroll's been doing out here in South Alaska has been remarkable. Oh gosh, I've been saying for years, Pete Carroll could coach a water ball to a pair of socks. He can get the most out of his guys.

And even when they don't have the talent, that's what's so impressive is that somehow they all buy in. So Greg, just to clarify before we move on and talk more about the scheme and what the Seahawks are doing, you're telling me that Pete Carroll and John Schneider were not looking to move Russell Wilson, but this was an offer they felt like they couldn't pass up. Well, Pete Carroll was the last one to go. John Schneider had made his mind up. He could do this and that the contract impending contract at the end of 2023 at $50 million a year. The Seahawks, Schneider was not keen on that, but it took Pete Carroll, the last one to be convinced and he was convinced when the Denver gave him that offer and it blew him away.

So I'm not saying that they didn't want to do it, but it became a viable option once Pete Carroll saw what the Broncos were offering. And certainly there have been contributions from guys like Noah Fant, as well as Shelby Harris, who made a huge play today. Harris was great today, yeah.

Greg Bell is with us here after hours on CBS Sports Radio, covers the Seahawks and this unbelievable first half for the News Tribune. So overall, you mentioned Gino Spitz, but there are certainly other factors. The offensive line is better. How are you seeing this team come together as the only squad with a winning record in the NFC West, which is crazy all by itself?

That's true. The 49ers are 4-4, the defending Super Bowl Champs are 3-4, Arizona is 3-5. The run game and offensive line has changed the offense. Gino Smith's job is so much better because he has time to throw and he has time to throw because defenses have to honor the run. When Rashad Penny went down with a season-ending knee injury in the first half at New Orleans, it looked like Pete Carroll's plans were shot. Kenneth Walker, their second-round pick, had really not played up to that point, Amy, because he didn't know that he had messed up a couple plays in the back for going the wrong way, he didn't know the playbook as well as he should have because he was set back for a month from August to early September with the hernia issue. And then he wasn't a great passbocker because they never asked him to do that at Michigan State when he was romping all over everybody. But then he was forced into that role.

There was no more of easing him in. He had to be the RB1 once Rashad Penny went down. And that happened in the second half of the New Orleans game and he went 64 yards for a touchdown. Now he's had five touchdowns in the three and a half games since Penny got hurt. His lateral quickness, Amy, is they haven't had that out here since Kurt Warner and that is lofty praise in Seattle.

And that's 30 years ago. That's the last back I've seen out here who runs that quickly with lateral cuts that make guys miss. The game before this, the Chargers, he was facing unblocked the Chargers in the backfield and at least on a half dozen plays turned negative plays in those five, six, ten yard games because of his lateral quickness. The touchdown today in the Giants that sealed the game was a lateral move on the linebacker in the open field. He compensates for guys being not blocked for how lateral quick he is. So Pete Carroll can play the way he wanted to with Rashad Penny, the way he was going to before Chris Carson was forced to retire with the next surgery. Kenneth Walker is quicker than both of them laterally.

Wow. And it's a new challenge for defenses that are trying to play Pete Carroll's run to have a back who's that laterally quick. Tyler Lockett's a long time Seahawks and certainly beloved there. He's a captain and he's the story within the story on Sunday. He has the fumble that leads to the easy Saquon Barkley touchdown, allows the Giants to tie the game early and then later has that touchdown pass hit him in the face mask.

It goes through his hands. He's distraught on the sidelines. Everybody from Gino to Pete Carroll to others or over there talking to him.

So of course they're going to go back to him. He hauls in that 33 yarder in the fourth quarter. What did Tyler have to say about this game and the ups and downs of it all?

He said he had to breathe. It was shocking because we've never seen that. It is so rare for him to drop a pass, let alone a touchdown pass off his face mask. And as you said, it was the second touchdown he'd really lost because he had given away the one, the Giants and the two yard line. He also had a third touchdown. He didn't get a second foot down in bounds in the first half on another pass by Smith. He always makes those plays.

He's Mr. Trodag Swag as his former teammate Nate Burleson would call it. It was really a stunning game from him. But having said that, I even remarked in the press box, I might even put it on Twitter, I think it did, that you just knew from Lockett's eight year career that he was going to come back with a big play at the end of the game. That's the way he is. And it's the way Seattle, the play callers trust him no matter who the quarterback is. Now it's, you know, Smith trust him.

Russell Wilson always trusted him. He's such a great innate sense route runner. And on the touchdown pass, it was a, he saw Jackson the cornerback sitting, he's basically squatting on a 10 yard in route. It was first and 10 heading into the red zone. He saw Jackson 10 yards off of him. He figured he was going to squat on the in route. That was a called route 10 yards at the sticks. So he motioned to Smith for a double move. He's going to stop at 10 yards and then take off past Jackson when Jackson sits. And that's exactly what happened. Touchdown game over. On the sidelines, what they had told him, Amy, Carol came over and said, he told him, you're the best receiver I've ever seen. Oh. And Quandary Diggs is a great friend of his going back to when they were boyhood childhood friends, they grabbed him in the back and said, stay great.

You're always great. And that's exactly what DK Metcalf, by the way, walked up to him and said, what'd you have for breakfast this morning? To get his mind off. That's an old wide receiver trick. This team is really fun right now. They have a lot of outspoken, outgoing guys who are just having a really good time. And as you mentioned, they're all turned over and most of them are really young.

Tyler Lockett is one of the oldest guys on the team at 30, 32 years old. You mentioned a couple of times that these were not Pete Carroll's expectations to be five and three at this point. Clearly, the division hasn't played out the way a lot of people expected with the three teams going to the playoffs last year, two of them ending up in the NFC Championship. What were Carol's expectations to start the year? His hopes and dreams for this season. Well, he thought they could get to the playoffs, Amy. I'm not saying he didn't think they could be five and three, but you're right. I know he didn't think the Rams were going to be where they are right now. He thought the 49ers and the Rams would be running out and five and three would probably be good enough for maybe third place halfway through the season.

And here they are in first. So no doubt that has helped Seattle. What he didn't expect was Geno Smith's excellence. He thought Smith could win by not turning the ball over. And that's ultimately why he kept choosing him over Drew Lock. He was afraid. He kept saying Drew Lock had a huge high upside, but that he was afraid of it. He called him a gunslinger.

He was afraid of the potential mistakes he could make. And as long as Smith wasn't making mistakes, he was going to be the starter. But no way, no way did he say, well, Smith will eight weeks into the season, he'll lead the league in passing percentage, 73 percent. And he'll have plus 10 touchdowns interceptions and he'll be fourth in the league and pass rating up there with Mahomes, Josh Allen.

No. And that's what I mean by this season has exceeded it. The other thing that has exceeded his expectations, certainly different than September, is the defense. They were just getting boat raced by teams, especially in the run game. They were 32nd and they would have been 33rd if there were 33 teams in the league against the run. And then they just changed their 3-4 to be more attacking. Usually a 3-4 is a gap scheme.

You have to read and react. Run fits are crucial. They weren't doing that early in the season. The front three, four, five, six guys, including the linebackers, weren't in the right places. They were out of assignments, missing gaps. So after the New Orleans game, when they got run up by Camara and Taysom Hill, they started attacking more. And they said be less reactive. Don't worry so much about gap responsibility.

Beat your guy and go find the ball. And so now teams are expecting a more 3-4 gap control defense. And what they're getting is almost a bare front with centers and guards covered and guys shooting gaps and going into the backfield. They really have changed run defense the last three weeks. And that really has changed the entire defense. It's forced guys like Daniel Jones today to be in obvious passing situations, which is why they got five sacks of him. It has really transformed them defensively to be able to stop the run and force teams into throwing and getting sacks and pressure on quarterbacks. Well, in Saquon Barkley, a season low 53 yards despite 20 attempts, so they were committed to stopping the run.

He's been so good to this point in the season. Greg Bell covers the Seahawks for the news tribune is with us from Seattle here on CBS Sports Radio. Can't even imagine how many miles Pete Carroll logs marching up and down the sidelines during a game.

I know that one moment where he accidentally ran into the official and the official flagged him for it. And he's like, no, but he's always moving like he's got some place to go. It's unbelievable the energy that man has. The air monarchs probably have a hole in them.

It probably has seven or eight different pairs. He ran. Amy probably didn't see on television in the first half today. He ran all the way to the 10 yard line. Late in the first half. And it looked like he was about to call timeout, but he let the play go. I think it might've been a fourth down or third down play. It was a giant fourth down play.

Now I remember it. And he ran all the way to the 10 yard line. We thought, oh, he's about to call timeout. And he didn't call timeout. It made me think he just ran down there to run down there to get some of his energy up.

He chomps gum like his jaw is going to fall off. He's like that at practice. When they do, a special teams practice is Amy at the beginning of every practice. He runs from the kickoff point all the way to the end zone. 70, 65 yards. And then he waits for a kick or so. And then he goes from that goal line to the opposite goal line 100 yards. And he'll do this from training camp through the end of the season.

10, 15 times a day at 71 years old. He was in doing the bag drills with the team the other day. Jumping over the bag.

They do bag drills to start every practice. He's jumping over the bag, shuffling with his offensive lineman. He has been noticeably more animated and energetic this season. I think the challenge has invigorated him. And I definitely, after his comments today, after I asked him about, is this been beyond maybe your expectations? He really is loving shoving it up the doubters and shutting them up.

He really, he even mentioned today, for all of you who said the football had passed me by and I run too much. We don't know what we're doing out here. You're full of crap. That was his quote. We're just fine. He said, we're just fine out here.

Don't worry about us. And he is reveling in being doubted and cast aside as Passe and leather helmet era. And here he is with a brand new quarterback, a brand new defense. He's completely changed his system. He's been around a 4-3 cover three since Richard Nixon was the president.

And now he changes to a 3-4 this season. And they're in first place. Yeah, it's early. They've still got nine games left.

But man, he is reveling in how it's going so far privately and now today publicly. And does the team love it? They do. And you talk to players who have played at Seattle and gone to other places, players who come to Seattle from other places. They all talk about the player first environment, the free throw shooting contest, the team meetings, the Will Ferrell and Snoop Dogg and Drake visits to practices and the blaring music. I mean, the walls shake. Our media room is right next to the team meeting room. And every time there's a team meeting, the computer shakes off the table. My laptop just bounces off the table. My kids don't play music that loud.

They're teenagers. I couldn't even get an interview done immediately after the game today. There was techno music playing so loud.

I thought it was at a rave. I actually had to just walk outside and go to the press conference room because it became useless. I mean, it's all because they're winning.

It's not like that when there isn't a course. But yeah, this season has been extra fun for them because they all knew what the expectations were and they all knew they've been written off. You can find Greg on Twitter at gbellseattle. He covers these Hawks and crazy Pete Carroll.

It's a good kind of crazy. For the Seattle News Tribune, it's great to catch up with you. I mean, I feel like we're going to have to put your number on speed dial if the Seahawks keep doing this. So thank you for a few minutes. Thanks, Amy. It's great to talk to you again.

Have a good one. Football season is here. The new Odyssey app lets you stay connected to your NFL team, your station, your shows. Follow your favorite stations and come back again and again. Get real time updates on everything you care about.

Miss your show? Jump back to their awesome re-wide feature. The Odyssey app is NFL football. Live and on demand. Wherever you are, whenever you want. And do we mention it's all free?

Download the Odyssey app today. Throughout the 60s and 70s. Is there something really absurd that skews you out? Getting a paper cut on my eyeball. A fear you can't shake. I'm going to leak ocular fluid on my cheeks. I'm going to go into my mouth and I will perish.