THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: To heck with metrics — we believe in Seahawks QBs

Are you ready to put on the pads? 

Oh, good, because it’s time we got busy in a seasonal column most of you seem to like so much. 

As in, football. 

Yes, right here as we tip-toe toward warm months in the glare of the sun. 

I once knew an NFL backup quarterback named Jacky Lee, who was never famous for his play, but became an icon on the strength of one sentence. 

“God didn’t intend football to be played in the summer,” said Jacky. 

Amen. 

The NFL and major colleges aren’t listening, as schedules get longer and warm-weather practices double and triple each year. 

I love the idea of a “non-mandatory” workout. 

Only superstars can take that phrase seriously. 

Meanwhile, we’ve got some chatting to do here. 

Let’s talk about quarterbacks. 

The Seahawks, after all, made a big-time gamble at that most important position — shipping out veteran Geno Smith. 

They signed last year’s reclamation project, Sam Darnold, and brought in Drew Lock for the position called “Break Glass in Case of Emergency.” 

Then for good measure, GM John Schneider grabbed multi-threat QB Jalen Milroe in the draft. 

I WROTE then (and still believe) that the Hawks were better off once they had moved on from Geno. 

Darnold is definitely younger and cheaper than Smith, and I think he can get you closer to a deep playoff run, too. 

Plus, I love the possibilities with Milroe. 

Smith was a disaster in the red zone last season, and it kept Seahawks out of the playoffs. 

If nothing else, Milroe can become a scoring specialist down near the goal line — where his run-pass threat is almost impossible to stop. 

Think of the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, or Lamar Jackson in Baltimore. 

Josh Allen with the Bills. 

Even Patrick Mahomes. 

These guys can get the ball into the end zone, one way or another. 

Darnold wasn’t bad at it with the Vikings last year, but if Seattle does have some problems going forward, Milroe can be the perfect closer. 

Pro Football Focus, however, disagrees with me. 

On almost all counts. 

PFF’s experts don’t think Schneider was too clever, either. 

The site ranked the starting QBs for each team, Nos. 1 through 32, and put them in tiers. 

Using that system, Milroe isn’t a factor. 

Hey, that’s the wrong way to look at each club’s quarterback room. 

Seriously, how many of these guys play the full 17 games without getting hurt?   

PFF should have considered the full QB picture, including the backups (and clipboard holders, too). 

The rankings also considered first-year players like Minnesota’s J.J. McCarthy, and we have no real idea — other than the Vikes’ optimism off what they saw in camp last year — whether or not McCarthy can be a playoff QB. 

MEANTIME, this ratings love affair with Geno Smith is puzzling. 

Quarterbacks are generally judged by wins and championships, not meaningless completions in the fourth quarter of a blowout no one will remember. 

Seattle had a shot at the playoffs a year ago, and Geno — more than anyone else — couldn’t deliver when it mattered. 

Yet PFF pegged Geno as No. 10 overall, noted his passing grade was almost identical to Mahomes, and gave him love for protecting the football. 

Ignored: Smith’s habit of losing every meaningful game when he had a chance to lift a team up a notch. 

Or those red zone nightmares. 

There’s the Geno that Seattle will remember. 

Darnold? 

Hah. 

You can find him all the way down in Tier 5 of the PFF rankings, No. 26 to be precise. 

That 26th spot, by the way, sits below Cam Ward, Drake Maye, Bryce Young, Michael Penix Jr., the aforementioned McCarthy and others. 

PFF is saying that the Seahawks have stuck themselves with one of the worst veteran QBs in pro football. 

Look, I don’t think Darnold is headed for the Hall of Fame. 

He could be just another guy in a helmet. 

But we already know that description fits Geno, no matter what PFF thinks.

So. 

As gambles go, this one feels OK. 

Email: [email protected] 

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press three times each week, normally Tuesday, Wednesday and 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.”