Geno Smith was ready to write back tonight. And then some.
Smith was pulled down along the sideline in the second quarter in an awkward way. Giants defender Isaiah Simmons dragged Smith to the turf with a hip-drop tackle. He missed the rest of the half with a knee injury that required X-rays.
After the game, Geno sounded off to Lisa Salters of ESPN.
What happened? she asked.
“A dirty play,” Smith said. “Dirty play. You guys could see it. It was a dirty play. There’s no place in this sport for that. And, you know, hopefully something happens. But other than that, the grace of God allowed me to come back into this game.”
He was upset after the hit and beyond, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct foul after he returned to action. Why was he so mad?
“You know what?” Smith said. “I don’t respect that type of stuff, you know what I mean? There’s no need for that type of stuff. It’s a hard-fought game out there. We’re all battling. But no need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sideline.”
The hip-drop maneuver has created controversy. A push to outlaw it in the offseason was unsuccessful. The injury risk is very similar to the risk from the banned horse-caller tackle, as the body of the tackler comes down on the ball-carrier’s lower legs. (Former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has argued against making the hip-drop tackle illegal.)
Legal or not, this one happened when Smith was out of bounds.
The Seahawks have a bye, giving him extra time to heal. It doesn’t sound like he needs it.
“I’m fine,” he told Salters. “I’m fine. God is good.”
The Seahawks are good, too. And whether it was Smith or Drew Lock or Jim Zorn or Rick Mirer or Dan McGwire or Pete Carroll at quarterback, the defense was more than enough to propel Seattle to a huge win, pushing them to 3-1.