Although it may appear that the running game was ineffective, it is hard to determine its true effectiveness without taking into account how it changes defensive playcalling. To break down every play is too complicated in this setting, but looking at the results yields some interesting possible interpretations.
RAWLS RUNS:
down direction result
1st Half;
2-5 middle -3
1-10 LT 2
1-10 middle 3
1-10 LE 2
1-10 middle 1
1-10 LT 1
1-10 LT 0
3-1 middle 23
1-10 LE -1
2nd Half;
1-10 RT -1
Also, there have been numerous complaints that the Seahawks have been failing to utilize the short passing game effectively, especially in regards to RB passes out of the backfield.
RB PASSES:
2-7 short right McK 9 THESE 4 RUNS AND 1 PASS SUSTAINED TD DRIVE
2-22 short middle rawls 7
1-10 short middle rawls 5
1-10 short left McK 7 THESE 2 PASSES AND 1 RUN SUSTAINED FG DRIVE
2-7 short left McK inc
1-10 short left McK 9 THIS PASS OCCURED DURING FG DRIVE
3-5 short left McK -5
The first thing that I notice is, with the exception of the very first play call and the 23 yard run, every carry by Rawls was on 1st and 10. While watching the game, I noticed that in the first half almost every 1st and 10 call was a run or RB pass (10/14). It seemed to me that the AZ defense keyed on this and consistently called some variation of run blitz which resulted in stuffs, and in instant pressure the few times RW did drop back to pass.
The second thing I notice is the high success rate of passes to the RBs (6/7). Most of these were to RB lined up in backfield at the snap - the incompletion and the 5y loss were both when McK lined up as a receiver pre-snap.
The third thing I notice is that, while it did not look pretty, when the Seahawks did use the RBs, they were much more likely to score than when they did not. The RBs were an integral part of all three 1st half scores - the drives where they were not utilized were unsuccessful. When the Seahawks went away from the running game for the 2nd half, their only score for the half was due to the miracle RW/Baldwin 54 yard pass completion.
Overall, the run game may not be pretty but it can be effective. I think a little more creativity is in order. How about running more often on other than 1-10? How about a few more designed passes (including some screens, maybe?) to the RBs out of the backfield? If the OC can just show a little more creativity and imagination in utilizing the RBs, I believe the running game can improve steadily and dramatically by the time the playoffs get here.
As to Rawls, he has missed a lot of holes so far, but he is showing small signs of improvement. He has only had 49 carries on the season - give him more carries/game and I'd bet he shows consistent and marked improvement week-to-week.
