Does Russell Wilson make Marshawn Lynch a better player??

There has been much discussion and repeated suggestion that the only reason Russell Wilson has enjoyed such spectacular success his first three years in the NFL is because Marshawn Lynch lines up beside him in the backfield.

But could the argument be made that the reason Marshawn Lynch has had such spectacular success. . .is because he lines up beside Russell Wilson in the backfield?

There is a way to test that hypothesis.

Consider; Marshawn Lynch has played in the NFL eight years; the first five years the teams he played on (Buffalo and Seattle) did not have Russell Wilson at quarterback. Here's his stats for those five years:

4542 yards rushing, 1137 rushes 4 yards/carry: average 908 yards per season: 1020 yards total receiving; 143 passes: 7.13 yards reception: 204 yards/season: 1112 yards total offense per year:

The last three years he has played alongside Russell Wilson. Here are his corresponding stats:

4133 yards rushing: 896 carries: 4.61 yards/carry: 1377 yards per season: 879 yards total receiving: 96 passes: 9.15 yards/reception: 293 yards/season receiving: 1670 yards of total offense per year.

There doesn't seem to be any question that playing alongside Russell Wilson has caused Marshawn Lynch's offensive output to increase by about 50% a year.

So has Russell Wilson benefited more from playing alongside Marshawn Lynch. . . than Marshawn Lynch has benefited from playing alongside Russell Wilson??

In a word, NO.

In a word YES. Check out Lynch's stats pre-Wilson. Everything goes up because of the threat of the read option. Lynch obviously helps Wilson but I think you can, and have seen, very good support for the idea that Wilson helps Lynch more than Lynch helps Wilson. I love have both back there so doesn't matter to me. It's not the popular answer but there is some truth to the idea of Lynch benefiting from Wilson as the stronger play.

Need to remember that Tom Cable didn't arrive until 2011 and it took him some time to get the road graders he desired. I also remember it took Lynch a portion of the 2011 season to buy into Cables system. There are many stories you can dig up from 2011 that talk about Lynch and his 2nd half of the season surge. Fyi his rushing numbers from 2011 were fairly close to his 2013 numbers

I believe Wilson helps some due to the read option but I don't think it is as much as most people here would say. I honestly think Graham has a chance to help Lynch more then Wilson can since defenses now have to account for another play maker on the field.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/gamelog/_/id/10456/year/2011/marshawn-lynch
http://www.seahawks.com/news/2011/12/30/finding-his-fit

A little, but nowhere near the impact letting Lynch get more yards before first contact would have (ie a better line).

Nowhere near the positive impact that Lynch has on Wilson's #s (allowing him to throw against teams where most of the safeties have to commit to the run early).

And nowhere near the impact having a great defense does, since the Defense constantly sending the opposing defense back on the field means the opposing defense begins to wear down quickly, making much easier yards for Lynch.

Yeah, Wilson helps. But Lynch does a lot of that work on his own based on the # of forced misses, broken tackles and yards after first tackle that Lynch rolls up.

I think way too many fans assume its all Lynch helping Wilson because its the cool thing to say for some reason. I think Numberfire wrote an article breaking this whole debate down and ended up on the side of Wilson helping Lynch MUCH more than the other way around. I think at worst its a pretty equal partnership.

I do agree that Graham will play a huge role in opening things up. Can't wait to see how his presence changes things. Going to be a fun year for the offense.

My question is: What does it matter? They are all part of a team...no?

I think Lynch has helped Wilson much more than Wilson has helped Lynch. It is always very helpful for a young quarterback to be able to lean on a back. Also, still, everybody tries to stop Lynch first. It is easier for a quarterback to produce when the offense is keying on your running game.

That said, Wilson is certainly the best QB Lynch has ever had, and it has helped Lynch. Also, every play out of the shotgun, one of either the DE or LB is keying on Russell, taking a guy away from stopping Lynch, which certainly helps open things up for Marshawn.

Ultimately, I think either any good passing quarterback or really good running QB would have a similar effect on Marshawn's numbers. Marshawn is really, really good, and any decent QB would have allowed that to blossom, not necessarily Russell in particular.

kf3339":3v9rulqq said:

In a word, NO.

Click to expand...

Of course he does. The reverse is also true. You can also see how Earl makes Sherm better and Sherm makes the D-Line better and Russ and Lynch make the O-line better.

In any team sport, the better players are supposed to, by design make the players around them better.

I don't think he makes him better but I think he makes things *easier* for Lynch

The way the question is worded, no. He may give him more opportunities, particularly, more opportunities for receptions with lots of yards after catch, but he doesn't make him a "better player." Lynch was balling out before Russ.

I think the current coaching staff and culture has made him a better player since his days in Buffalo, no question.

Aside: Remember when people used one question mark? Those were good days.

They make each other better......

Pretty clear.

Lynch was pretty good in 2011.

Wilson has looked just fine when Lynch has been on the sideline.

They help each other probably about as much as deflated footballs helped Tom Brady. It's not zero, but it's a small amount and impossible to measure.

And don't forget that the OL was built for Lynch and not Wilson. An OL that can at times roll a defense with the ground game, but has been noted as very lacking in pass protection. As a result, Wilson's passing performance and development takes a hit.

Course the pundits only discuss the failings of the OL as it would impact both players, while missing the fact that the OL is tilted toward the run game.

In a word, Yes

And in two more words (or is it one hyphenated word), vice-versa

Two more words.

I think Aaron Rodgers may have been the best quarterback that Lynch ever had, certainly in relative terms. Imagine those two in the same backfield at Cal. In absolute terms it is probably Wilson, unless someone argues that Rodgers on college was better than Wilson in the NFL.

I'm sure Wilson helps in some way, but I doubt Wilson has any effect on all of his yards after contact stats that make him so dominant and unique.

That's all Lynch

They've benefitted each other. You can't completely key on Lynch near the goal line. Goal line situations will be even tougher to defend now that you have a TE.

No

Source: Matt Hasselbeck beast quake