Carolina Panthers-30, Seattle Seahawks-24
Q. Just in general how do you assess the offense today? Obviously, kind of frustrating to get going.
GENO SMITH: Yeah. I felt like we were just up and down. Couldn't get into a rhythm. You know, we actually did pretty good on third down, but just first and second down I think really hurt us.
Obviously turnovers. Plays that we wish we can have back, but we can't. So for us, man, we just have to get back to it. Quick turnaround. You have to flush it, learn from it, and get ready for the next one.
Q. On that second interception did you think you had the offsides call?
GENO SMITH: Yeah. I mean, I saw three of the guys jump offsides. I don't know what they saw, but I'm pretty sure that's what happened.
Q. Other than that, are you trying to look for the penalty marker and sometimes you can't just go...
GENO SMITH: You can't really look around and see all the time, but I'm looking at the D-linemen. The reason we snapped the ball is because they jumped offsides.
That's one where we have to learn for it. Can't make excuse. It happened. The reason I threw that ball in the traffic was because I felt like we had a free play, and it was an opportunity if they intercepted, then obviously it comes back and we get the five yards. That didn't happen. Maybe they didn't see it. So I can't make an excuse about it, and just have to learn from it.
Q. The very first play you had something in the flat and you go deeper to Tyler. Did that surprise you that he peeled off like that?
GENO SMITH: Jaycee made a great play. He is a really good player. He made a great play. It happens in the NFL. It was the first play of the game. Obviously you don't want to start that way, but I feel like we responded well, and we had more opportunities late in the game to really win it. We just couldn't get it done. That's unfortunate.
It pains me to even say that because we want to take those steps forward, but today it's got to be a learning lesson for us. We have to learn from it. We have to figure it out and get better.
Q. Did it feel like the timing just wasn't there today at all?
GENO SMITH: Yeah, hats off to the Panthers. They did a lot to disrupt our timing. They've got really good defense. They've got guys up front. They've got corners, safeties, linebackers. Shaq Thompson is a really good linebacker. He quarterbacks that defense, and he had those guys ready and lined up.
We made a lot of good plays out there. It wasn't like they just shut us down the entire game. We had our plays. We made our plays, but it wasn't enough.
Like I said, hats top of Carolina. They came in. They were tougher than us. They played harder. They played to win, and they got it done. We've got to learn from these things.
Q. What do you feel like the mindset of the team is now after these three losses in the four games that you probably felt you should have won?
GENO SMITH: You know what, there's no moral victories. There's no could-have, should-have, would-haves. It's the NFL. You lose or you win, and we didn't win.
Three losses, you know, it's one game at a time, and today was just one loss. It wasn't three losses today. It was one today.
So the reality is that we have more games to play. We have a four-game season to really determine where we can be for the rest of the season. We have to come out and play like it. I really want to see that. I don't want to hear any talking or cliches. I want to see guys come out and do it. That's where my mindset is.
Q. How big was Marquise for you in getting things going? He had a couple of big third downs early, a couple of big spots for you guys. How critical was he to get you guys moving?
GENO SMITH: Marquise has been great all year, and he was phenomenal today. He got us going. He is that third guy, kind of sometimes he plays the back, but he is so dynamic. He is a really good receiver.
I'm just happy for him to be a part of this team and happy to have him because you can see how special he is out there. He is so tough, man. He makes all the plays that you wouldn't expect a guy with his size to make. He plays big. So really fortunate to be able to play with Marquise and look forward to just having more opportunities.
Q. Six games in a row and a touchdown for Tyler Lockett. I would think you would have a ton of faith every time you throw the ball go in his direction.
GENO SMITH: That was a heck of a catch. Any other guy you might be, like, well, did he get his feet in or did he not, but with Tyler you are just 100% sure he did. He is that good.
He has done that over and over again. Six games with a touchdown shows his consistency. So we've got to keep getting him the rock, keep putting him in position to succeed because he is a great player.
Q. Did they blitz you any more or any differently than you expected?
GENO SMITH: No, no. They had some really good looks though. They had some different packages and different looks. They had a bye week, so they had time to put a bunch of things in. So they had some different things, but I think our line did a great job at adjusting and finding ways to pick it up and giving me time to go through my reads and get the ball out.
Q. Without Ken and DJ kind of getting the running game going today, what was the challenge there?
GENO SMITH: It's always going to be a challenge when you don't have your top three backs. But the guys who were in there... Homer, Tony, and Iggy... they all stepped up.
Iggy had some great plays on special teams. Tony was one or two blocks away from a big play or big catch or so.
All those guys, we have trust in all the guys. It's always next man up. Obviously we love our guys, and we want them back healthy, but all the other guys stepped up, and we just have to do better overall.
Q. You mentioned Iggy's kick. What's that do for an offense when you are, like, okay, we're starting midfield or whatever?
GENO SMITH: I think he really sparked us. Especially the two-minute drive to get us in a good position, put us in a position where we had some energy, some momentum, and also have field position. I think that helped us out to get back into the game. It was good to see him out there and getting his chance and doing well.
Q. You ended up on the injured list during the week with a shoulder and all that. Are you good physically, or is everything okay?
GENO SMITH: It's late in the year. Everyone has a little something here and there, but I don't think it affected me in any way. Just normal soreness. Just have to continue to rehab and make sure I'm ready for the next one.
Q. Geno, you said you all did well in the third down, and first and second you weren't. So when you go back and look at the film and get ready for Thursday, what's kind of that message in getting ready for the first and second down? How do you message that?
GENO SMITH: It starts with staying efficient, really being efficient and running well on first and second down as well as when I get my ops the pass, staying on schedule, getting the ball out, not getting sacks, getting the ball out on time to the right guys so we can stay on schedule and have manageable third downs. That's really what it comes down to.
Obviously, like I said, we ran some tough third downs, but we were able to convert. I think if we do better on first and second down, the game looks a lot different.
So that's the area we need to improve on, and we have to really look at the film. We have three days to correct it, and we'll see what we can do on Thursday night.
Q. How do you think you played today?
GENO SMITH: I have to look at the numbers, but I feel like I was up and down. I had some good plays, had some not so good plays. It's the NFL. Nobody is perfect.
I don't expect to come out here and be perfect, but I do have a standard, and I don't think I played to that standard quite today.
Q. Did you get an explanation on why they didn't call offsides on the second pick?
GENO SMITH: I don't know. Usually they come back and say, hey, we're wrong. They've done that to us about five or six times this year, and it seems like they're all interceptions. I don't know. They'll give us an explanation at some point. I felt like they were offsides, and that just is what it is.
Q. Do you feel like you guys are playoff team?
GENO SMITH: We have to prove it. Nothing I can say up here is going to make us a playoff team. We have to go out there and play.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports