THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Comparison between Geno, Goff will have to wait

It wasn’t a fair fight. 

I had been waiting for this Seahawks’ Monday night game, because there’s a comparison that was bugging me. 

There are NFL personnel people, and some very savvy ones, who really like Geno Smith. 

He has a lot of respect around the league, or he wouldn’t have been voted into the Pro Bowl. 

On the other hand, there are coaches and scouts who believe that Geno has a fatal flaw that prevents him to rise to the elite level — and almost certainly would keep him taking a team to the Super Bowl. 

The naysayers insist that Geno is really only successful throwing from the pocket, or with a short rollout. 

They concede that he’s accurate, but has limitations that allow good defenses to stop him when it really matters. 

“Hey, Geno can spin it,” one NFC personnel executive said. “If he has a clean pocket, he can throw the thing through the eye of a needle. 

“But sooner or later, you can get to him, either with a rush, or maybe you change a coverage late and his receiver blows a route. 

“Something goes wrong, anything. He has a history of trusting his arm too much in those tough spots, and then you get a pick.” 

I ADMIT that criticism seemed fair to me. 

Smith is described sometimes by what he CANNOT do, such as make the electric play on third-and-20, or dash out of the pocket and blow past a few linebackers. 

Yep, those things are true — although you didn’t many flaws during Monday night’s 42-29 loss at Detroit. 

To be fair to Geno, however, you don’t reach that level of nitpicking if it’s already agreed that you’re darn good — and the argument is about whether or not you have enough tools to be a champion. 

So, what was the big deal about this particular Monday night? 

Smith was facing Detroit’s difficult defense, for starters, a group that made it to the NFC title game a year ago. 

But what really intrigued me about this matchup was the pitcher on the other side. 

Jared Goff endured some of the same knocks as Smith during his first few years in the league. 

It was agreed he had a good arm, and even better, he proved from the beginning that he was dead-eye accurate. 

Goff, though, had problems handling pressure. 

He wasn’t nimble in the pocket, his foot speed reminded you of the U.S. Mail, and a lot of plays could be exploded by defensive coordinators who turned the dogs loose on him at critical times. 

Finally, he seemed to make a breakthrough under the guidance of Rams coach Sean McVay. 

Goff remained accurate on rollouts, and especially play-action stuff that gave him time and clear looks downfield. 

McVay built a bruising run game to force defenses to honor the line of scrimmage, then put in a passing game that turned Goff loose — in situations where he was comfortable. 

Goff quarterbacked the Rams to the 2019 Super Bowl, but New England stuffed L.A. runner Todd Gurley, constantly harried Goff and finally forced an interception by Stephon Gilmore late in the fourth quarter to win 13-3. 

McVay decided after that game that he needed a different type of quarterback, and traded Goff to the Lions for cannon-armed Matthew Stafford. 

With Stafford at the controls, the Rams beat Cincinnati to win the 2022 Super Bowl, 23-20. 

Goff, though, found a second home in Detroit. 

I HOPED to watch Geno Smith, a drop-back passer unless under serious duress, match Goff and a Lions offense that appears even better than the one that came a field goal from reaching the Super Bowl a year ago. 

As I said to start, Monday’s battle was never fair. 

Seattle was missing five defensive starters at kickoff, and then saw safety Julian Love limp off with a thigh problem in the second half. 

The Seahawks literally had more starters NOT available than they could put on the field.

Mike Macdonald threw wrinkles at Goff, and the Hawks had their moments, but they were totally outmanned. 

Goff completed all 18 of his passes, including 12 of 12 for 229 yards on plays that featured play-action. 

It seemed like every one of Goff’s targets was wide open. 

Meanwhile, Geno was 38 for 56 for 395 yards despite tremendous pressure, and the Hawks gained 516 yards. 

Even though Seattle was shorthanded and basically couldn’t keep up, Smith was terrific. 

My verdict: Geno is every bit as good as Goff, or maybe better on a team that can help him out. 

Seeing him on the wrong end of an unfair fight told a hell of a story. 

Email: scameron@cdapress.com 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”