How Geno Smith Avoided Crucial Mistakes vs. Titans

For a partial transcript, read below.

On the return of tight end Michael Mayer...

Geno Smith: "It was awesome to have Mike [Michael Mayer] back. As you can see, he played a phenomenal game. He's tough as crap, man. He plays so hard every single game. Him, Brock [Bowers], and couple other guys that are my safety net. I feel good when those guys are in the game, and as you can see, they do a great job. They make us better."

On the positive effects of playing clean football...

Smith: "It wasn't as clean as I would like, obviously, I can't throw an interception in that situation. I was trying to dirt the ball. I told Coach [Pete Carroll] I need to go jump in the lake, or ocean or something. It's just a lot of bad luck stuff happening to me but I'm in control of that. When our defense plays the way that they play today, when Devin [White] goes out there makes the plays that he made, Maxx [Crosby] is out there, disrupting the game all game long.

Those guys flying around giving us the energy, the crowd getting involved, and then us playing clean for the most part. I thought we did a great job on some third down situations. I thought we ran the ball well first and second down, kept ourselves on schedule, and that allowed us to play our game. When we can go out there and play the way that we were supposed to, and we can execute the right way, we have a shot to win a lot of games."

On taking what the other defense gives and playing disciplined… 

Smith: "For sure. That’s definitely something that, again, the way teams play on tape versus the way that they've been playing us have been two separate things. Getting to the game today and realizing what they're doing and how to exploit it, we took a lot of stuff underneath today, which is what they gave us. They played a lot of shell, a lot of Cover 3, a lot of quarters. The safeties played pretty deep for the most part, which allowed us to run the ball well. But again, to just take what they give us and stay on schedule."

On the importance of getting into rhythm this week...

Smith: "It was important for us to get our rhythm. We had our moments where we sputtered. It wasn't a perfect game by any stretch of imagination, but like you said, we took what they gave us. We played clean. I thought we had some big-time conversions, big time fourth down conversion, right up coming out of the half, an eight-minute drive to put 7 on the board. I thought that was a big drive for us. I think we're maturing as a group.

As we go along throughout this season, we're becoming more mature as a group. Every single guy is starting to fit into their role, and I think we're going to continue to get better as the season goes on. Coach [Pete] Carroll does a great job of staying on us. Chip [Kelly] does a great job of staying on us, and we're process driven. We're going to continue to stay that way. And I think we just got to keep working at it."

On the maturity and impact of Ashton Jeanty...

Geno Smith: "Great player. He's becoming a focal point for defenses. They know what he can do when he gets to the second level. He's running over guys, running past guys. He's great out of the backfield and in the catching game. He's also great in protection. It's a great draft pick. I think they did a phenomenal job with getting Ashton [Jeanty], and he's only going to get better. Still a young player, still so many areas to improve, but every single week, he's showing you who he is."

On how comfortable Ashton Jeanty is in the offense and understanding the 'why'... 

Smith: "I think you're exactly correct. I think we all are. Again, this is a first time for me in the system, so we're all getting better with understanding the why, and we're all figuring out just how to get - once we get two [Ashton Jeanty] in space, I mean, he's phenomenal. He's one of the best in the league with the ball in his hands. His confidence is growing every single week. He's becoming even more of a leader. He's picking me up when I get down at times, and just his overall demeanor. But the way that he plays the game, and then what he does in space, I mean, it's just phenomenal." 

On how important it is to get a win for confidence, positivity in the building after a losing streak… 

Smith: "I mean, we know what wins can do for you in this league. And yeah, I mean, shoot, man, you never want to go on a streak like that. But the key thing is that we stick together. And I think the togetherness of this team, the organization, it's bar none, I mean, the second to none. And I just think as we continue to grow throughout the season, we're going to have to get more and more wins so that we can continue to gain our confidence. But every week's a fist fight. Every week’s a dog fight. We got to come out with the same approach we took this week, which is to go out and make it happen and get it done."