NFC Notes: Rams, Seahawks, Geno Smith, D.K. Metcalf

Rams

Rams sixth-round S Quentin Lake admits he felt pressure to succeed in college given he’s the son of former Steelers’ All-Pro S Carnel Lake. 

“I’d say it’s less pressure now than it was in college,” Lake said, via the team’s official site. “I thought about changing my number, too, just because it’s a new journey for me, but I was like, I had to. I ain’t had a different number all throughout elementary, college, high school. Just because I respect him so much. It’s a respect thing at that point.”

Carnel Lake is also the defensive backs coach for the Buccaneers. Quentin explained that he learned how to play coverages from his father. 

“Like I said, he taught me the game,” Lake said. “He taught me Cover 2, Cover 3, what to look at, how offenses line up and stuff like that. Where the offenses like to attack. All that stuff. And coming from him, him being a coach and a player, it’s like, why not use that as a resource? So I don’t think the pressure’s really on me. Now, it’s really just up to me to do what I’ve been doing, do what I can do.”

Quentin would like to win a Super Bowl, which is an achievement that his father never accomplished in the NFL. 

“I want to be better than him,” Lake said. “I want to win a Super Bowl. He didn’t have that chance. My goal is if I win a Super Bowl, I’m gonna brag. I’m gonna go up to him and show him the hardware and stuff like that.”

Seahawks

Former Seahawks LB K.J. Wright is all in on QB Geno Smith being the starter in Seattle and doesn’t believe that it will be Drew Lock or Baker Mayfield under center in 2022.

“I’ll tell you not Baker Mayfield,” Wright said on SiriusXM. “Not Drew Lock. We ain’t gonna play those games. I’m team Geno all day. Geno was good. He was scout team quarterback. The dude has a cannon for an arm. He’s intellectual, you know, having those two-minute drills during practice throughout the week, the man can play. Just trust him, just trust Geno. And what I said was whoever you decide to be your starting quarterback, the other guy has got to leave. You cannot have both those guys in the building throughout the season. Because what’s gonna happen? Let’s say game three or four they’re not playing as well. What are the fans gonna do? ‘Put the backup in.’ And so to hell with all that, whoever’s the starting quarterback, the other guy, you’ve got to trade him or cut him.”

Seahawks

Regarding Seahawks WR D.K. Metcalf missing mandatory minicamp as he negotiates an extension, HC Pete Carroll pointed out that they’ve been in similar situations with other players and is confident GM John Schneider will handle the matter. 

“We’ve been through this for years, and we know it’s a challenging time,” Carroll said, via SeahawksWire. “We’ve had so many high-profile guys that have gone through this process and how’s that worked out for us? We’ve figured it out in time. Johnny (Schneider) is on it and he’s as experienced as you can get at handling this stuff.”

Carroll reiterated that he thinks Seattle will figure out Metcalf’s contract situation. 

“You got to go through it, so that’s just what it is, and our guys have to too” Carroll said. “We have to go through it again and start all over fresh, knowing that it’s brand new for us and a kid like DK and he’s a remarkable person. He’s a wonderful player, he has so much to offer the world, and I just don’t want him to miss this opportunity, where we can’t figure it out. So, we’ll do everything that we can.”