NFC Notes: Jonathan Gannon, Mike Macdonald, Geno Smith, Cardinals, Seahawks

Cardinals

Cardinals HC Jonathan Gannon said he’s proud of the way that the team has fought and believes they’re on the right track.

“Very proud,” Gannon said, via Cards Wire. “Honestly, you guys are probably going to not like this answer. I’m more proud of the week of practice than the actual game probably. Honestly, I really am. It just shows you the leadership and that you’ve got the right guys in the locker room because (in) the NFL it’s week-to-week. You’re going to go through ups and downs, and you try not to ride the emotional roller coaster, but that’s real in the NFL. The sky’s falling. You’re the best. You’re the worst. You have to block that out and you have to maximize the day. I thought that—and I told them this—I thought Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday we maximized the day. On the grass, in the weight room and with our health bucket. They did a really good job because it took all of that to get it done, but they set themselves up to have a chance to win the game. They did that and the challenge is now to do it again.”

Gannon broke down what the typical week of practice looks like for the team.

“The first thing I would look at is energy, how we practice, and then the mindfulness of the details of each play and the plan,” Gannon said. “We put a lot on our guys mentally. It’s not easy to play here. We give them a lot of things, not just schematically but I put a lot on those guys — not just offense, defense, special teams — but the global view of the game. Our guys take to that because we show them why it’s important. I expect them to know a lot, and they do. When I ask questions in meetings, I can tell by the response that they’re on it. That’s a good thing, so again, you’re trying to behave in a way that’s winning behavior. Our process is kind of the same week to week and then every game is different, but you have to take care of Monday through Saturday up until game time to have a chance to win or you just won’t. I mean that’s just how the NFL is: To even do that a very high level, to even give yourself a chance to win — not to win the game — to even give yourself a chance to win. Our guys understand the correlation between that, and they go out and do it.”

• Gannon noted they will know whether K Matt Prater can play in the next 24 hours and mentioned K Chad Ryland will go if Prater cannot. (Josh Weinfuss)
• Cardinals DL Darius Robinson has pain in his calf and won’t play Sunday, per Darren Urban.
• Urban adds WR Zay Jones won’t play either with a hamstring injury. 

Seahawks

Seahawks HC Mike Macdonald had high praise of veteran QB Geno Smith, calling him a “bright spot” and a “galvanizing force” for their team. 

“Geno is a big bright spot on our football team right now,” Macdonald said, via John Boyle of the team’s site. “He’s a galvanizing force. The guy’s competing his tail off. Doing a lot of great things. Let’s keep it going. We’re five games in, we’ve got a long way to go. But, the good news is we got another game here to make it right and have Geno take the next step in his game. And, we expect him to do so. We’re going to be leaning on him.”

Seahawks OC Ryan Grubb said Smith is playing with confidence and he trusts the quarterback to make all the right calls. 

“Geno plays with a lot of confidence in his preparation,” Grubb said. “He trusts himself to make the right kind of throws and decisions, and certainly he’s earned that as a veteran. He’s certainly shown that since I’ve been here. Myself, I have a ton of confidence in Geno to be able to make all of those decisions and throws and be responsible. And he really has done a great job of taking care of the ball. A couple of the picks that he’s had have been tipped interceptions, so a couple of tough-luck throws there. So I think that’s a big part of it, just how much he trusts his preparation.”

Smith said his focus is to make every rep count and continue putting Seattle in a position to win games. 

“I think it’s just how the game goes sometimes,” Smith said. “I’m not out there sitting there counting all the reps, I’m trying to make the reps count. So, I’m just going out there, doing my job, and putting us in the best position to make plays and to win the game. Obviously, we were in the fourth quarter, we were in pretty much a two-minute drill down two scores trying to score a touchdown and then get in field goal range. So, it’s going to be more passes than runs. Time is of the essence in that situation. I think that’s the reason for it, but obviously, we got to continue to fight for that balance that we love.”

Seahawks

The Seahawks committed three turnovers in Week 6 against the 49ers which led to their third-straight loss on the season. Seattle HC Mike Macdonald believes their turnovers are the biggest factor holding them back from their early-season success.

“It’s probably the single-handedly, biggest thing that hurt our football team,” Macdonald said, via John Boyle of the team’s website. “We have to take care of the ball better. Practice it better. You get what you emphasize and apparently, we’re not emphasizing that enough. Shoot, that’s my responsibility.”

• Macdonald talked about QB Geno Smith‘s second interception in Week 6: “It’s a team pick and so we’re just not sharp enough, it’s really that simple. It’s indicative of where we’re at as a football team.” (Bob Condotta)
• Macdonald spoke on their overall issues over the last few weeks: “There are too many things right now that are costing us football games that we can’t do. The takeaway differential missed tackles & explosive plays on defense, some decisions we’re making in the return game, all those are what we felt leaving the stadium last night.” (Curtis Crabtree)