There needs to be no query that the Seattle Seahawks ought to begin Drew Lock over Geno Smith this … [+] season. (Picture by Justin Berl/Getty Photos)
Getty Photos
Merely put, the Seattle Seahawks ought to begin Drew Lock over Geno Smith coming into the 2022 season.
Regardless of lacking the Seahawks’ second preseason sport versus the Chicago Bears — a sport through which Lock was because of begin earlier than testing optimistic for COVID-19 — Lock’s inventory rose within the quarterback competitors because of Smith’s abysmal efficiency.
Advertisement
In Seattle’s ugly 27-11 loss to Chicago, Smith led zero scoring drives — Jason Myers missed a 47-yard discipline purpose — and went 10-of-18 for 112 yards and no touchdowns.
Sure, it’s true that it was one preseason sport. Nevertheless it additionally adopted the preseason opener through which Lock outperformed Smith simply after the previous had outplayed the latter in a mock scrimmage sport.
It’s clear that head coach Pete Carroll is giving Lock each alternative to win the beginning job. Sadly, Smith hasn’t completed something horrible to really lose his maintain on the job. It’s a stranglehold on the job that Smith at present holds because of his seniority on the roster, having joined the Seahawks again in 2019.
The underside line is that this — Lock is extra dynamic and might really transfer the ball down the sector along with his arm. Smith is healthier at caring for the soccer, however he gained’t win any video games for you when compelled to attain. There’s a cause he hasn’t served as a full-time starter for the reason that 2014 season.
Advertisement
Fox Sports activities draft analyst Rob Rang explains that’s the very cause why Smith nonetheless has the within monitor on the beginning QB job regardless of Lock outperforming him within the preseason.
“With Geno, you realize what you are going to get, so it is simpler to sport plan,” Rang mentioned. “It is simpler to anticipate what the rating goes to be, so you’ll be able to higher put together your self for what your opponent would possibly do. Geno Smith and his expertise generally is a little little bit of a safety blanket for Pete Carroll.”
No matter who the Seahawks decide to go together with as their beginning quarterback, they’ll be one of many worst groups within the league. Seattle is clearly setting itself as much as choose excessive within the 2023 NFL draft, the place the quarterback class might be deep with elite prospects similar to Alabama’s Bryce Younger and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud.
However you would possibly as properly see what it’s possible you’ll probably have in Lock whilst you have the possibility to. In Smith, you already know what you could have — a profession backup who is barely in competition to begin because of his expertise within the system. The 31-year-old Smith went 1-2 because the Seahawks’ beginning quarterback final season because the offense averaged simply 20.3 factors per sport in his begins. By comparability, Seattle averaged 23.8 factors per sport in Russell Wilson’s begins.
In spite of everything, Lock’s potential was an enormous cause why the Seahawks had him included within the Wilson commerce.
Advertisement
“When Drew got here out of school — we made our assessments and evaluated him [for] the draft — we noticed him as an enormous, strong-armed, cellular, aggressive, athletic quarterback,” Carroll mentioned again in March. “He had thrown a ton of footballs. He had a really aggressive program the place you bought to see him do all the things … and we actually preferred what we noticed. We are able to nonetheless see that. We see that proper now once we watch the movie.”
Nevertheless, Carroll harassed that Lock wants to chop down on his turnovers.
“Sadly for him, his play has come about the place there’s quite a lot of turnovers in his sport,” Carroll mentioned. “That simply doesn’t match with us. We simply have to repair that. We have now to vary the mentality and do the issues that we will do to assist him be his finest.”
Lock did have a pricey turnover on the finish of the preseason opener versus the Pittsburgh Steelers that finally led to the Steelers’ game-winning landing. Nevertheless, outdoors of that fumble, Lock had a near-perfect efficiency, going 11-for-15 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and a 131.1 quarterback score.
“I feel that Geno Smith wins the job, however I nonetheless consider that Drew Lock is the extra gifted quarterback,” Rang mentioned. “The crucial error that led to the sack [in Pittburgh] — shedding the ball and shedding the sport — that is the form of stuff that we have seen with Drew Lock in Denver.
Advertisement
Lock is clearly the extra gifted quarterback. However his present bout with COVID-19 might set him again in his quest to win the beginning job earlier than the season opener.
The Seahawks will probably go together with outdated dependable — Smith — for the season opener versus the Broncos. However the offense will clearly be stagnant with Smith working the present and Seattle will flip to Lock quickly sufficient.
In Lock, there’s potential. In Smith, there’s mediocrity.
Seattle Sounders FC (16-9-9, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Los Angeles FC (19-8-7, first in the Conference during the regular season)
The MLB offseason is in full swing, but things have been rather quiet for the Seattle Mariners so far.
Seattle Mariners have a new TV situation, according to The Athletic
President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander are both on record saying the team is looking to add to its offense, particularly on the infield. But the team hasn’t been committal to how exactly they’ll approach that.
Seattle could look to upgrade in free agency. This year’s class isn’t very strong on the infield, but there are still a handful of options that seem to fit the club’s needs.
Advertisement
The team also could go the trade route and offload some of its touted hitting prospects or a proven starter from its talented starting rotation to address its offensive needs. It seems more likely the trade route would include a package built around prospects rather than one of the team’s current starting pitchers. Both Dipoto and Hollander have said trading a starter isn’t one of their top options, with Dipoto calling it “Plan Z” during an end-of-season interview.
Seattle Sports’ Michael Bumpus is trying to read between the lines and figure out what the real plan is for the M’s this offseason. During Thursday’s edition of Bump and Stacy, he asked ESPN baseball insider Kiley McDaniel about the team’s offseason approach.
“They’re in a spot now where they have tried for, I guess, a couple offseasons now to shore up the offense while staying within their spending parameters,” McDaniel said. “There was that time four or five years ago (the 2019 season) where there was the quick reset where they underpaid relative to what they could have paid the payroll to then have more money to, then ramp up spending when the team was good. And that has now happened and they need an extra bat or two, but they don’t have the money to go on the free agent market and just pay $20-25 million per year to get the two bats they need.”
That puts the Mariners in a difficult spot decision-wise, McDaniel said. They could trade from the farm system and risk dealing away a future star for a shorter-term solution. Or they could go for under-the-radar signings of cheaper players, which hasn’t worked out in past seasons with the likes of AJ Pollock and Tommy La Stella.
“There’s no easy solution to this the same way that like (if) the Mets or the Dodgers want a hitter, they just get a hitter,” McDaniel said. “The Mariners have a puzzle and they’re missing a piece. So how do they manufacture that extra piece to solve the puzzle, which is basically spending $1 million on a guy that will be worth 20, or not trading a prospect that they think is good and getting a good player. They have to conjure something up kind of magically.”
Advertisement
McDaniel said the easiest route for the front office may be one fans don’t want to hear after the past two seasons, which is being patient and waiting for the group of hitting prospects to start reaching the majors. Just two of the team’s top hitting prospects are projected to reach the big leagues this year by MLB Pipeline – second baseman Cole Young and catcher Harry Ford. Both played at the Double-A level last season, and Young is expected to start the 2025 season in Triple-A.
“They’ve done a really good job creating a good farm system full of young hitters,” McDaniel said. “So I think unfortunately … the easiest answer is to just wait a year or two until these guys come up and then you maybe have the homegrown solution, but then some of the veterans that are contributing right now, they might be gone, which then creates another problem. … There is not an easy solution to this issue other than raising payroll, which is obviously only up to the owner.”
A free agent fit M’s
McDaniel spoke about a few free agents who would fit the Mariners’ needs. Two were players McDaniel would advise teams not to sign: first basemen Justin Turner and Pete Alonso. Both were included as two of his free agents to avoid this offseason.
Someone who McDaniel thinks makes sense for Seattle to go after, though, is former New York Yankees second baseman Gleyber Torres.
“Gleyber Torres (is) coming off a slightly disappointing year, one of the youngest guys in the free agent market (at) 28. I think two or three years at $15 to 17 (million) a year is probably what it costs,” McDaniel said. “He’s the guy that I think makes a lot of sense to possibly get some upside, get him locked in for multiple years (and he) can play multiple positions.”
Advertisement
Torres was an All-Star in his first two seasons (2018-19), slugged a career-high 38 home runs during 2019 and produced a 113 OPS+ or higher in four of his first six seasons.
He hit a combined 49 home runs in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but saw his power numbers decline and hit just 15 last season. In 154 games in 2024, he slashed .257/.330/.378 with a 1.7 fWAR.
“You have a chance to spend less than $20 million a year and get a guy,” McDaniel said. “But if you miss on him, now you have almost no money left and you’re forced – if you need to find a hitter – to either get lucky on like a minor-league signing or a one-year deal, or to trades some prospects.”
Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
Advertisement
Seattle Mariners coverage
• Mariners make deal with Rays to reunite with local product • Drayer’s Rebuttal: Why Mariners shouldn’t trade a starting pitcher • Longtime announcer for Seattle Mariners’ Triple-A affiliate to retire • Legends Ichiro, Félix among new names on Baseball HOF ballot • What would a Roki Sasaki signing mean for Mariners?
TikTok food critic Keith Lee, who taste tests dishes from family-run restaurants around the country while sitting in his car, stunned his nearly 17 million followers in the last week with a video from Seattle that his followers alleged included him unknowingly eating a piece of sushi with a “worm” in it from Fob Sushi Bar in Seattle. The restaurant was his first and highest-rated stop in the city until all hell broke loose on the internet.
Lee did eat several other places while he was in town, however. Here’s where and what he thought of them.
King’s Barbeque House
518 6th Avenue S, Seattle
The ducks hanging in this window of this Chinatown spot caught the attention of Lee and his family, so they stopped to buy one and filmed the process of its preparation for takeout — including the head. “I’m not going to eat this, I just thought it was interesting,” Lee says. Cool, cool, cool.
Advertisement
He proclaimed it seasoned to perfection, said it tasted like a duck but not gamey or exotic, and just seasoned meat — which… seems normal? Loved the rice and proclaimed the skin the home of all the flavor. Ultimately, he gave it a 9.5 out of 10 and said he likes Seattle.
Pike Place Market This stand outside Pike Place, where shoppers buy a cup or try as many different drinks as they like, caught Lee’s eye on a rainy day. His first sip was of the buttered rum cider, which he judged to be “real sour” and “real good.” That and lavender cider got 7s, and his highest rating went to the cinnamon spice cider at an 8. Lee bought everyone else waiting in line cider and attempted to leave one of his trademark large tips for the staff but noted on the video in a caption, “[T]ipping isn’t a thing in Seattle so it took some time to explain what we were doing.” In the end, Lee purchased 60 large cups and asked the vendors to keep anything left over from people who wanted a smaller size.
3114 NE 125th Street, Seattle
A fan of this restaurant emailed Lee to ask him to visit, saying it struggled during COVID and was still trying to get back on its feet. His family purchased doro wat, beef tibs, oatena, injera, and samboosa. Lee found the presentation of the beef tibs in a to-go container lacking because the grease was leaking, and although the beef was tough, the flavor was “deep” and “spicy.” Several family members rated it and opinions were varied. The samboosa was not to his liking, with too many lentils, and was “very mushy.” Its rating was a 1. He compares the doro wat to barbecue or braised chicken (it is stewed and covered in spices, so… yes) and gives it a 7.9. Why not an 8? The world will never know.
Lee and his family left the restaurant with $1,000 to pay for anyone who came in to eat after them, which is admittedly very cool.
Advertisement
A Seattle teriyaki chicken taste-test
Various locations
Lee decided to get teriyaki chicken from several places and taste-test them against each other. What could go wrong?
Chickens from the top five most recommended places, including Toshio’s Teriyaki, Rainier Teriyaki, Nikko Teriyaki, Toshi’s Teriyaki in Bellevue, and Ichi Bento. Spoiler alert: Ichi Bento and Toshi’s tied, but Ichi would have won if they had rinsed the rice so it was less starchy, per Lee.
504 5th Avenue South, Suite 107A, Seattle
The Filipino food at Hood Famous received raves, though Lee seemed to struggle to accurately describe the dishes. He ordered multiple dishes, from savory mains to desserts. In describing them, the word ube was used a lot, and although it was an ingredient in some of the dishes, he meant umami a few times. But honestly, who knows?
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")
