SEATTLE — The ability to flush.
For everyday people like you and me, that phrase may mean the culmination of a private moment behind a closed door.
But when you’re an athlete who’s used to playing at a high level, the ability to flush takes on a far different meaning. It's a mental exercise that can be mandatory for success.
It’s the ability to forget.
The ability to move on to the next week, the next day, or sometimes even the next minute.
That’s where Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith found himself Sunday in Detroit.
He had just taken arguably the worst sack of his career. With under two minutes to play and the Seahawks clinging to a three-point lead, Smith dropped back to pass.
He felt some pressure and moved up in the pocket, escaped left, then back to the right. By the time he finished his Motor City shuffle, he found himself in the arms of a Lion who dropped him like a wounded Gazelle, 17 yards behind the line of scrimmage.
By many accounts, fans at Ford Field were louder in that moment than the locals had ever heard before.
And when Smith hit the turf at Seattle’s three-yard line, those fans blew the roof off. Their Lions were about to get great field position to kick a field goal and send the game to overtime. That’s exactly what happened. And honestly, thanks to the Hawks’ defense, that’s all that happened.
So here we are, headed to overtime.
Head coach Pete Carroll has a tradition of sending his backup quarterback out for the coin toss to start the overtime period.
Drew Lock played the odds. He checked with Smith to make sure he called tails to start the game and lost, which Geno confirmed.
Lock called tails to start overtime with a hunch the coin could not land on “heads” twice in the same game.
He was right.
Enter the flush.
Smith needed to clear his mind of what happened just a few minutes earlier. Heled the offense onto the field knowing a touchdown would win it. And he looked like the quarterback Seahawks fans have grown used to seeing.
It was almost surgical how he dissected the Lions' defense. Completions to Noah Fant, DK Metcalf, Colby Parkinson. Runs by DeeJay Dallas and Ken Walker.
And eventually, the game-winner to Tyler Lockett.
Six players and a pylon touched the ball on that game-winning drive. A drive led by one cool customer.
For all those who thought last year was an anomaly for Smith, he reminded them he’s not going anywhere. He could have folded after that 17-yard sack. He could have hung his head on the sidelines.
But no. He jettisoned the bad and stormed back with the good.
The ability to ditch the memory. Dump it. Dispose of it. The ability to flush it.
It's what elite athletes do. It may be hard for some to call Smith an elite quarterback, but he works hard at his craft. His coach knows he’s not out “kissing babies." He's concentrating on football.
Smith is bigger and stronger this season, You can see it just by looking at him.
What you can’t see is what’s up here - in his head. No one can.
It’s his own private room.
And somewhere behind that closed door is the ability to flush.