Pete Carroll takes shot at Russell Wilson while praising Geno Smith - "There was resistance to that"

The Seattle Seahawks, led by quarterback Geno Smith this season, sit atop the NFC West division with a 6-3 record. The Seahawks, after trading Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos this off-season in a blockbuster trade, are playing better than many expected with Smith as quarterback, and things seem to be flowing smoother in Seattle.

Most recently, head coach Pete Carroll praised Smith while taking a shot at his former quarterback, Russell Wilson,

Carroll made an appearance on Seattle Sports 710 AM and credited Smith for wearing a wristband with plays on it to make it easier for offensive coordinator Shane Waldron while having some "resistance" with other quarterbacks in the past.

Carroll said:

"If you notice, Geno’s going off the wristband, and that’s a big help. It’s smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up. And that’s part of it, too. We never did that before. There was resistance to that, so we didn’t do that before. When Shane says something to Geno, he’s not doubting it. He’s just going with it, so there’s a real immediate flow and that accelerates all the process."

Seattle finished in last place in their division a year ago with a 7-10 record. Wilson went 6-8 as the starting quarterback and demanded a trade after the season.

Upon moving on from Wilson, many thought the Seahawks might trade for a quarterback, sign one in free agency, or draft one. The Seahawks elected to do none of the above, only acquiring Drew Lock as part of the Wilson trade.

The Seahawks decided to roll out Smith as their starting quarterback this season, and it's paid dividends thus far.

Geno Smith is having a sensational year as Russell Wilson is struggling

Seattle Seahawks v Arizona Cardinals

Most people's instant reaction to the Wilson-Broncos trade was that the Broncos would be a contender and the Seahawks would be back at the bottom of their division.

Denver is currently third in the AFC West at 3-5 and the Seattle Seahawks are in first place in the NFC West at 6-3.

In the seven games played, Wilson is 3-4 as a starter while throwing only six touchdowns and four interceptions, while completing under 60% of passes with a career0low 83.5 passer rating.

Smith, on the other hand, is 6-3 as a starter, has thrown 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions, leads the league in completion percentage with 73.8, and has a high passer rating of 107.2.

As of now, the Seahawks seem to have won the trade with far better QB play from Smith.

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