Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith has fire in his belly. That’s good. But he knows he has to control it sometimes.

“I’m really not a big loser,” Smith told reporters Thursday. “It sucks, I hate it. Overall, when I take care of myself, I have to say, “Hey man, just keep helping these guys,” and if I’m honest, I have to do a better job in times when we’re struggling. These are things that I am constantly improving. I won’t say I’m perfect at it. I’m very emotional about winning and doing the right thing. Sometimes I let my feelings show. Whether that’s good or bad is probably a personal opinion, but I will always be myself. I want to continue to bring that fire to our team and our offense. I want to continue to be competitive, not in a bad way, but in a good way. It’s always a fine line to walk, but I have to be careful not to make too many mistakes in this area.”

He wants to be his authentic self, but he also doesn’t want to be his authentic self in a way that creates a problem for the team, in the form of a 15-yard penalty.

That happened on Sunday in the loss to the Bills. Smith was called out for taunting in the third quarter throwing the ball at a Buffalo defender after a 10-yard run. The flag enforced at the Seattle 20 nullified the win and set the stage for a punt.

“These are things I can’t let happen,” Smith said. “Obviously everyone is watching me. When I’m upset, they get a little nervous. I just need to have a better poker face and work on it.”

Still, it’s better for a quarterback to have a fire that needs to be controlled than to have no fire at all. It is easier to pour a little water on an existing flame than to light a flame that is not there.