THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Geno as a Super Bowl quarterback? In your dreams

You aren’t likely to find an elite quarterback standing around on a street corner. 

It has happened, though. 

Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas was playing sandlot ball in western Pennsylvania after being cut by the Steelers as a ninth-round draft choice. 

Unitas got into the NFL by accepting a deal from the Colts for $6 per game. 

He went on to throw for more than 40,000 yards after that, proving the “investment” was worth it. 

Hey. 

Remember Kurt Warner? 

He took a beating with the Iowa Barnstormers in the Arena League, and then with the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe — before fighting his way to stardom as the gunner on “The Greatest Show on Turf,” those thrill-a-minute Rams who won the Super Bowl in 2000. 

Warner’s shot at heroics seemed to end in 2003, but somehow, he managed to have a “second career” with the Arizona Cardinals, and took the Cards to their first Super Bowl in 2009. 

So, quarterbacks CAN appear out of nowhere and wind up showered with confetti. 

But it’s not a good bet. 

Geno Smith understands that. 

YOU HAVE to wonder if the Seahawks, and particularly new coach Mike Macdonald, truly believe that Smith can take this team deep into the playoffs. 

Could he win the NFC West as an underdog to the 49ers and Rams? 

The season that starts Sunday is Smith’s third as Seattle’s QB1, and the first two can be categorized as decent. 

But not special. 

Geno has turned in two strange years, with 2022 starting surprisingly strong but tailing off near the finish. 

Last season was just the opposite. 

Macdonald couldn’t be blamed if he had doubts about his veteran quarterback. 

There are some legitimate reasons that Geno has spent most of his career as a backup. 

He didn’t exactly win the No. 1 spot in Seattle. 

It was more like a family inheritance after the Hawks front office tired of bickering with Russell Wilson — while paying him a fortune. 

Wilson was shipped off to Denver in a trade that now feels like a train robbery, and Geno became a starter by default. 

Fair or not, that’s how the NFL looks at Smith — and thus considers the Seahawks a decent team with a useful quarterback — but not much more than that. 

And the key to everything? 

There isn’t any other sport where one player, or one position, determines the fate of an entire franchise. 

But that’s the situation with your QB1. 

The league looks at Seattle and thinks: Win some, lose some. 

There are optimists who like the cast that John Schneider has assembled over the past two or three years, and wonder if he can find a quarterback to take this group to the postseason. 

QUESTION: Why did Schneider trade for Washington’s Sam Howell? 

Question: Does anyone imagine that Geno Smith can be a Super Bowl hero? 

Pro Football Focus ranked all 32 starting quarterbacks and tagged Smith at No. 18. 

The PFF summary: “At 33 years old and entering the final year of his deal with guaranteed money, Smith may not be seen as a franchise quarterback.  

“But he is absolutely the kind of guy who can engineer a win in any given week.” 

Is that a wrap-up you want to hear about your starting quarterback? 

The puzzle that NFL teams face is some version of this Geno Smith problem. 

To be one of the contenders for division and conference championships, you MUST have one of the four to 10 quarterbacks you can lead you there. 

Actually, that number is really less than 10. 

Mahomes, Jackson, Allen, Burrow. 

Yes, you can see it with those guys. 

Purdy, Hurts. 

OK, maybe. 

Goff, umm, Herbert. 

Love? 

Tua? 

Stafford…still? 

Tell me if you can dream of anyone else. 

To tell the truth, Geno is probably on the edge of the next gang, but dreaming in THAT crowd will wake you up and feeling desperate for a glass of water. 

For all we know, Sam Howell could win a Super Bowl. 

John Schneider has amazing insights when it comes to quarterbacks. 

He gave up draft choice ammo for Sam. 

All we know for sure is that the Seahawks are off and flying on Sunday. 

How far can your dreams take you? 

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.”