FieldGulls: The real value of rushing yards in the NFL.

Posting this here given a lot of sentiments from last year and what we might look like this coming year despite re-affirmation from PC merely weeks ago.

http://www.fieldgulls.com/2016/6/7/1184 ... in-the-nfl

Lynch really wasn't even a part of the 2015 Hawks. We had Rawls for about half.

Glad the Hawks went deep on RB in the draft.

There is also an effort to get stronger along the OL. I hadn't thought about it, but that may also be one of the reasons why Britt has been moved to C. His pass blocking leaves a lot to be desired, but he now has help on either side. He's a pretty good drive blocker though...

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#24 was simply a non factor in 2015. We're on aded with chip on the shoulder rb%. We're in good shape if the new offensive line decides to block.

Lynch never got to play with that OL after they got their arse in gear and jelled. It wasn't only pass blocking that hit all time low's at that time. Rawls and Michael had a ton more space to work with and that's literally measurable even to the naked eye.

Every team can say that they're running game will be fine so long as the OL produces though. That's a given. Between Rawls, Michael, and Prosise we should have plenty of talent to take advantage.

Good article. Very appropriate for June reading. Glad to see it already posted to the forum. :2thumbs:

vin.couve12":20uxor1w said:

Lynch never got to play with that OL after they got their arse in gear and jelled. It wasn't only pass blocking that hit all time low's at that time. Rawls and Michael had a ton more space to work with and that's literally measurable even to the naked eye.

Every team can say that they're running game will be fine so long as the OL produces though. That's a given. Between Rawls, Michael, and Prosise we should have plenty of talent to take advantage.

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I don't know about the whole "Rawls and Michael had a ton more space to work with", thing.

Laloosh":1yu3jj19 said:

I don't know about the whole "Rawls and Michael had a ton more space to work with", thing.

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Right. Because the holes were there, Lynch was just trying to add to his legend by beast moding on either side of the holes where the lanes were occupied.

bigskydoc":3d1p4inn said:

Laloosh":3d1p4inn said:

I don't know about the whole "Rawls and Michael had a ton more space to work with", thing.

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Right. Because the holes were there, Lynch was just trying to add to his legend by beast moding on either side of the holes where the lanes were occupied.

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Lynch and Rawls took snaps in six of the same games last year. Rawls had the better Y/A in four of them. Rawls was more diverse in which holes he hit; I pointed this out last year with actual numbers. Lynch had one of the worst stuff percentages in the league while Rawls was near the top. Rawls led the league in Y/A... because he had more space to work in than any other rusher in the league?

Whether it was due to injury or not, Lynch did less with the space they had to work with (imo).

I don't think Marshawn was completely healthy at any time last year. That said, Rawls is quicker and more decisive at picking the "correct" lane to run through. Imaho, his recognition, quickness, and power are what make him so good.

Love that article, thanks for posting it. I especially liked this part:

"The logic?

"The running game enables a team to control the ball, convert short-yardage and goal-line situations, and wear down the opposition."

A lot of it, too, came down to protecting the ball and avoiding turnovers, which is Pete Carroll's top priority as well. "If you throw it 50 times and you throw for 250 yards and you have one touchdown and three interceptions," Osborne said, "you'd have been better off letting the air out of the ball.""

Or you could let a little air out of the ball before the game.

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ivotuk":3p6n8pyp said:

I don't think Marshawn was completely healthy at any time last year. That said, Rawls is quicker and more decisive at picking the "correct" lane to run through. Imaho, his recognition, quickness, and power are what make him so good.

Love that article, thanks for posting it. I especially liked this part:

"The logic?

"The running game enables a team to control the ball, convert short-yardage and goal-line situations, and wear down the opposition."

A lot of it, too, came down to protecting the ball and avoiding turnovers, which is Pete Carroll's top priority as well. "If you throw it 50 times and you throw for 250 yards and you have one touchdown and three interceptions," Osborne said, "you'd have been better off letting the air out of the ball.""

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Good post.

I noticed last year that Rawls was hitting the hole faster than Lynch was. With our OL last year, we were opening holes, but they weren't staying open very long. Rawls was squirting through holes that Lynch was getting caught in. Many times it was the exact same hole on the exact same play. I think part of it was injuries, but part of it was that Lynch has looked increasingly thicker the past two years. I think he's lost a step in quickness, and it hurt him last year. There was also quite a few times that Rawls was able to bounce a run outside that Lynch just wasn't able to do last year (but has in years past).

One thing I'm excited to see is that we have more speed in the backfield than I can ever remember. Seriously, Rawls might be the slowest guy back there, and he led the league in YPC last year. Pete mentioned in that article that you can't wear a team out (and beat them up) by throwing the ball a lot, but put these backs in our spread from last year and I think you can.

Thing is, you can man up and just run the other team over, or combo and cut block your way forward. The Seahawks have also been masters at the stretch zone run. Making big bodied run defenders run from sideline to sideline will also tire them out. We have the speed to do this with our backfield. I think it's also going to be fun if our OL doesn't gel right away, and we go to our spread again with these RB's. I honestly don't think teams will know what hit them.

vin.couve12":3czxkuck said:

Or you could let a little air out of the ball before the game.

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:twisted: