We may have hit the lottery with Rawls

[jacobsod]

Rawls looks hungry, exactly what we need right now

100 times THIS.

I love the "fire in his eyes" look he's got right now. Same look and intensity Earl always has!

That kid looks hungry for the starter spot! Thank goodness, we gonna rely on him HUGE next year.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Those tempering thier expectation on Rawls have a good reason to but the way I see it, if hes good now, he's only going to get better. You cant teach elite vision and awareness or the aptitude to get yards after contact in the NFL.

He also has two great veteran mentors in his back pocket most RBs would dream of having in Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson. With great support like that the sky is the limit especially if the Oline has settled down and is on thier run blocking game.

The guy isnt going to average 150+ every start but if gets that 75 to 100 of hard yardage on average thats still better than what we could have ever imagined coming in.

 

[hawknation2015]

His development has been so impressive. I was really excited about him when I watched his college tape and saw his excellent vision and physical running style, but he was so underwhelming in the first three preseason games that I kind of fell out of love with him for a while. Carroll has said that Rawls was his guy. He saw something in him and wanted to give him a shot. Carroll also admitted that he did not see that physical running from Rawls in the preseason. But he obviously saw enough to keep Rawls on the 53-man roster and to trade away former 2nd Round pick Christine Michael. It was in the Chicago game that Rawls finally flashed that punishing running style that made him such an enticing prospect.

I am going to continue to be cautiously optimistic about Rawls. He obviously has certain traits -- vision, physical running, tackle breaking ability -- that previous backups, Michael and Turbin, never possessed. The life span of the average NFL RB is quite short. He does not have exceptional straight-line speed, so how will his body respond as it takes more hits? Will he remain explosive enough to be effective? It's going to be interesting to see how he responds as time goes on, whether he has the same temerity that Marshawn possesses to play through the inevitable injuries and changes that occur to RBs in the NFL.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Those tempering thier expectation on Rawls have a good reason to but the way I see it, if hes good now, he's only going to get better. You cant teach elite vision and awareness or the aptitude to get yards after contact in the NFL.

I'm only tempering my excitement for Rawls until I see his durability.

There were a few times during the game Sunday he popped up and had that "OMG I'm gassed and that last hit hurt a little" look on his face.

He's 220, but the way he runs could pose nagging injury issues. We just don't know yet.

But hell yeah I haven't seen a back slice and dice a defense like that with some wicket cuts and physicality in a LONG time.

 

[love1u0]

I think Rawls will be the Seahawks RB of the future, I have been calling him Beast Mode Jr. all year. Never cared much for Michael or Turbin and was happy to see them both go.

 

[KiwiHawk]

I'd be interested to see what Jarryd Hayne could do in a system designed for running the ball on a team that isn't a dumpster fire.

 

[Year of The Hawk]

No hyperbole.

What we gave up in draft picks + the INSANE contract given to him + the almost nothing we got in return on the field is already enough to make it the worst ever.

What makes it even worse is that if the Hawks had gone out and signed just an average WR we would have gone 19-0 on our way to our first championship. You guys are in denial about how much the Harvin trade hurt.

Not only would we have gone 19-0 in 2013, we would have won the Super Bowl last year due to a better roster. Even if Schneider isnt using his picks wisely we would still have at least landed a cheaper body somewhere. The extra cap space from Harvin's deal would've landed us a significant piece or two last year.

The Harvin trade cost us a 19-0 season and back-to-back Lombardis. Worst trade ever.

YES way over the top Hyperbole. If you think the Harvin trade cost us and undefeated season and back to back Lombardi's you know little about football. They Harvin trade was far from the worst in NFL History. It was not good but I cam definitely see why they tried it. I guess JS should hit on every player he picks just like all the other GM's in the league. I guess with your genius 20/20 hindsight you would have done much better than JS in the previous 3 drafts? JS is very good. He is one of the main reasons we have what we do now. Drafting gets much harder when you always pick at the bottom.

 

[chris98251]

His development has been so impressive. I was really excited about him when I watched his college tape and saw his excellent vision and physical running style, but he was so underwhelming in the first three preseason games that I kind of fell out of love with him for a while. Carroll has said that Rawls was his guy. He saw something in him and wanted to give him a shot. Carroll also admitted that he did not see that physical running from Rawls in the preseason. But he obviously saw enough to keep Rawls on the 53-man roster and to trade away former 2nd Round pick Christine Michael. It was in the Chicago game that Rawls finally flashed that punishing running style that made him such an enticing prospect.

I am going to continue to be cautiously optimistic about Rawls. He obviously has certain traits -- vision, physical running, tackle breaking ability -- that previous backups, Michael and Turbin, never possessed. The life span of the average NFL RB is quite short. He does not have exceptional straight-line speed, so how will his body respond as it takes more hits? Will he remain explosive enough to be effective? It's going to be interesting to see how he responds as time goes on, whether he has the same temerity that Marshawn possesses to play through the inevitable injuries and changes that occur to RBs in the NFL.

Some guy named Emmitt Smith was down graded in his draft stock because he ran a 4.5 40 I think, he really sucked also running those 40 yd sprints from the line of scrimmage

 

[Willyeye]

While Rawls looked good, you have to keep in mind who the competition was.

The 49er defense looked atrocious.

Being a good NFL RB takes more than a sample size of 2 games.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe the 49er D looked atrocious because Thomas Rawls MADE them look that way? Just the week before, the 49ers shut down one of the best running games in the NFL...the Falcons were held to only 17 yards rushing. Devonta Freeman is a beast, and he had 12 rushes for 12 yards against the 49ers exactly one week before Rawls put up 209 on them. If the 49er D looked atrocious against the Hawks it's because the Hawks made them look bad. 506 yards is a real beatdown. I think between the 209 against the 49ers, the 169 he put up against the Bengals, and the 104 yards in the 2nd half against the Bears (came into the game halfway through the 3rd quarter), this kid is the real deal. Also, Rawls is already leading the NFL with 6.0 yards per carry.

 

[Willyeye]

Rawls 101 carries for 604 yards. 2nd in the league in YPC behind only Karlos Williams. Even better he has only had 5% of his runs go for negative yards. That is a huge benefit.

Rawls actually leads the NFL with 6.0 yards per carry. Williams is at 5.8.

 

[Hasselbeck]

No hyperbole.

What we gave up in draft picks + the INSANE contract given to him + the almost nothing we got in return on the field is already enough to make it the worst ever.

What makes it even worse is that if the Hawks had gone out and signed just an average WR we would have gone 19-0 on our way to our first championship. You guys are in denial about how much the Harvin trade hurt.

Not only would we have gone 19-0 in 2013, we would have won the Super Bowl last year due to a better roster. Even if Schneider isnt using his picks wisely we would still have at least landed a cheaper body somewhere. The extra cap space from Harvin's deal would've landed us a significant piece or two last year.

The Harvin trade cost us a 19-0 season and back-to-back Lombardis. Worst trade ever.

And sorry everyone for derailing thread. When I see someone say Schneider is the best scout thats ALMOST as false as saying the Niners are the classiest organization in football.

lol this is such an awful take.

We were as close to finishing 8-8 that year (could have easily lost to Houston, Tampa, St. Louis, Carolina, and Tennessee) as we were going 16-0. Harvin didn't change that.

 

[irocdave]

Before we crown his ass, lets see how he does when the load is squarely on his shoulders. He has been great, but hasn't been the most important player on the field for multiple games in a row. Lynch is that guy, even hurt.

Just an FYI, the toilet zone has spoken, Rawls is nothing because he got after it big time against their POS defense. Reminds me of the complete homerism based ignorance of talent / acceptance of ass whipping superiority they are known for in recent years.

Rawls is great right now, but I would like to see him be a top back for multiple games in a row. Dude has the gifts, attitude, just need to " show me / us / NFL" for a season. He is on his way thought.

 

[olyfan63]

So if its one or two yards we need, and the blocking sucks, and he gets hit in the hole by a LB, Lynch is more likely to plow through and get those yards. A smaller back like Rawls tends to get stuffed and not get the first down.

FYI.....they are the same weight and I doubt you were referring to the 2" height difference.

ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT according to Rawls himself in the Q13 post-game interview, where Rawls states that Lynch is 20 lbs heavier, and mentions Lynch is 230, 235. Here is an interesting article from Lynch's Buffalo days.
http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2009/5/ ... to-230-lbs

I realize their "listed" weights are similar, but apparently Lynch's "real" weight is about 15-20 lbs above what's listed.
Also, consider the eye test. Does Rawls move the pile the way Lynch does? Really?

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

While Rawls looked good, you have to keep in mind who the competition was.

The 49er defense looked atrocious.

Being a good NFL RB takes more than a sample size of 2 games.

Did you ever stop to think that maybe the 49er D looked atrocious because Thomas Rawls MADE them look that way? Just the week before, the 49ers shut down one of the best running games in the NFL...the Falcons were held to only 17 yards rushing. Devonta Freeman is a beast, and he had 12 rushes for 12 yards against the 49ers exactly one week before Rawls put up 209 on them. If the 49er D looked atrocious against the Hawks it's because the Hawks made them look bad. 506 yards is a real beatdown. I think between the 209 against the 49ers, the 169 he put up against the Bengals, and the 104 yards in the 2nd half against the Bears (came into the game halfway through the 3rd quarter), this kid is the real deal. Also, Rawls is already leading the NFL with 6.0 yards per carry.

Just to add and piggy back off of you... 49ers had a bye week. So not only were they coming off one of the biggest wins of thier season vs the Falcons and completely shutting down thier run game. They had two weeks to prepare and rest coming in.

As rushers vs SFO:
Lynch had 27 carries for 122 yards
Rawls had 30 carries for 209 yards

SFO has also faced 5 of the top rushers in yardage in thier 8 other games.

1. Adrian Peterson*: 10 for 41
3. Chris Johnson*: 22 for 110
4. Todd Gurley*: 20 for 133
5. Devonte Freeman*: 12 for 12
10. Justin Forsett: 17 for 62

*Top 10 in Yards/Gm

Also:
DeAngelo Williams: 20 for 77
Eddie Lacey: 18 for 90
Rashad Jennings: 11 for 46

Williams has done very well in Bell's absences (suspension and injuries)

Other than Rawls, Williams, and Jennings... SFO has sparred against some of the best and toughest RBs in the NFL of the past two seasons.

Rawls tore SFO up by himself like no running back nor team has since early 2010, the last time theyve allowed over 200 yards rushing to any team, when they allowed 207 to KC.

I dont think anyone can diminish what Rawls did and had done by saying SFO sucks. The dude has shone when given the opportunity. San Fran has only allowed 4 RBs to go over 100 yards this season out of 10 contestzs. But only one has gone over 135 yards.

Rawls and that dude just put up 209. 76 yards better then the next best.

 

[Rob12]

Truth be told, we haven't hit nothing.

Rawls has had some good games... No, some great games.

But we're used to the Beast... The man that teams spend weeks game planning for. Is Rawls that guy yet? No.

He looks good. Real good. And he might be the answer to a post-Lynch Seahawks team. But I'm not ready as a fan to hand him that crown yet. I want to see more out of him.

I may sound spoiled, but am I supposed to get yoked up over a great performance against a broken 49ers team? I haven't gotten there yet.

Great foresight by Pete to nab Rawls. I actually think he has what it takes. He has basically the rest of the season to prove that he's going to be the man going forward. I want to see it week in and week out.

 

[byau]

Truth be told, we haven't hit nothing.

Rawls has had some good games... No, some great games.

But we're used to the Beast... The man that teams spend weeks game planning for. Is Rawls that guy yet? No.

However, you can also see an upside to this. In my mind I call it "The Thomas Rawls Effect", previously called "The Beast Mode Effect".

Watching Rawls mowing down people, didn't it look like the Seahawks (at least the offense) played inspired? Baldwin giving some extra jukes? Russell putting in some extra focus?

Sure it could have also been extra preparation, to me the eye-test was that it was Rawls inspiration. Him giving that much for the team inspired the others

Beast Mode has had that effect, but this year I think with the same if not higher expectations and much lower actual output, it can be defeating. Hey if this guy gives his all and he can't even get it done ....

It'll be interesting to see if Rawls can hold up, some of those crashes look pretty reckless for a little guy.

In a way, the surgery might be a good thing timing wise (of course surgery sucks and we wish a healthy recovery, that goes without saying). Timing wise you give Rawls the reigns for three to four games and he "relieves Lynch". Hopefully we make the playoffs, and by then BeastMode is back and ready to relieve Rawls who might be showing some wear of four straight starts.

And by the way, wasn't it nice to see a jump in odds to make the playoffs from about 17% to 47%? To be in it against Tampa Bay, Minnesota, and Atlanta for the wildcard... it'll be interesting

That's how we Rawls ...