Don't Get the Michaels Criticism

He's a top 20 back behind a patchwork offensive line.

4.2 ypc -- 22nd in the league
446 rushing yards -- 17th in the league

Not bad for an inexpensive backup that was thrust into the starting line up.

The frustration with him is he leaves a ton of yards on the field. As good as he's playing now he could be so much better by just staying on his feet and understanding where the 1st down marker is.

He always looks like he's tumbling forward. One of these last weeks I was yelling at his to just stand up and run like a normal human.

As a franchise we are moving on from Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Freaking Lynch. There is not a back alive that wouldn't receive some semblance of criticism following beast, he spoiled us. I too get frustrated by CM falling down and coming up oh so short of first down markers, but I think you make a good point OP.

hburn21":2z7znm5k said:

The frustration with him is he leaves a ton of yards on the field. As good as he's playing now he could be so much better by just staying on his feet and understanding where the 1st down marker is.

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I agree and disagree.
I disagree that he leaves a TON of yards.

I agree that he doesn't know where first down marker is so instead of picking up another half yard he goes down / tries to get lots more and gets nothing. First down is more important but wouldn't significantly change his average

He spins when he hits the line. At the point of attack he has his back to the defense, which means he can't see the field and has no leverage to push forward. It's a fundamental flaw in his game.

he wear banana peel shoes or something. Reminds me of Turbin. Either way Seahawks have to draft high at this position next year in what is supposed to be a good rb draft. Rawls is likely one of those band aid type of guys that can't be relied on. Michael would be a good change of pace guy to have around.

It drives me crazy that he doesn't seem to know how to finish. I theorize that he is so worried about fumbling that he doesn't want to fight for yardage. Not fighting for yardage = getting pasted by aggressive tacklers, so he goes down easier. The fact that he gives up too easily doesn't bother me that much. There are a lot of RB's in the league that don't want to take or give a shot straight up. We're not going to change CMike. That's fine. But he leaves a lot on the field by not having a good feel on how to finish. He's an elite athlete...you don't want to square up on a guy ? Fine. Make a cut and leave him in the dust.

The other thing that really bothers me about CMike is that he still seems lost in the offense. He loses plays where he just doesn't know where to line up. It's frustrating. Especially because the guy is such a physical specimen and he might be the best pass blocking back on our team. When he gets into a guy, he LEVELS them, or at least erases that rusher.

My theory is he's either not very smart or has a learning disability of some sort. He seems to struggle to pick things up; he definitely doesn't have a football mind. The protect the ball mantra is the one thing Pete pounded into his head when he started in the league and it's possible that's the over riding thought in his mind at the end of the play.

He's going to be a great/elite change of pace back. He's just not quite good or consistent enough to carry the load as a starter.

Stats aren't the only thing that makes a back good. Helping your team win is what matters. In that area he falls short. He's just not a 'difference maker' IMHO. He doesn't have the 'It' factor for me. There, I said it.

hburn21":2t1df95p said:

The frustration with him is he leaves a ton of yards on the field. As good as he's playing now he could be so much better by just staying on his feet and understanding where the 1st down marker is.

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I don't think you're taking the O-Line play into consideration, they have been coached to give more pass protection, and less clearing the way for the Run game, like they did for Marshawn Lynch.
Cable has been charged by Carroll to make those changes, so I think it's a little unfair to twerp Michael's for not beasting out more yardage.

A for effort, but he just isn't a starter in my mind. At times he seems lost or confused. It does not always look like he hits the "location" that he is supposed to, doesn't run to the dark side.

He's on the ground to much. I love the burst, and his blocking is much improved, but does anyone trust him? Do you think Bevell truelly trusts him to carry this team? I say no way. Do you think Russ trusts him? Third and 4 yards to go, we used to trust the run with Marshawn, and last year Rawls to some extent. Michaels... no awareness of yard markers. You see why we are passing in those situations. Defenses know this also, so they've adjusted which make 3rd down conversions tougher.

nwHawk":5rjy6jjt said:

A for effort, but he just isn't a starter in my mind. At times he seems lost or confused. It does not always look like he hits the "location" that he is supposed to, doesn't run to the dark side.

He's on the ground to much. I love the burst, and his blocking is much improved, but does anyone trust him? Do you think Bevell truelly trusts him to carry this team? I say no way. Do you think Russ trusts him? Third and 4 yards to go, we used to trust the run with Marshawn, and last year Rawls to some extent. Michaels... no awareness of yard markers. You see why we are passing in those situations. Defenses know this also, so they've adjusted which make 3rd down conversions tougher.

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That's the thing, he was never intended to be a starter. He was a stop gap starter at best. But with that said we are getting borderline starter production out someone intended to be a change of pace back up and that is paid as such.

Give me Rawls and or Pope's mentality in C Mikes body and we would have something special.

He didn't get a chance to expand on it but when asked on ESPN yesterday who he thought the most underrated back in the NFL is, Ahman Green said... Christine Michael!

nwHawk":1qtxg6mm said:

A for effort, but he just isn't a starter in my mind. At times he seems lost or confused. It does not always look like he hits the "location" that he is supposed to, doesn't run to the dark side.

He's on the ground to much. I love the burst, and his blocking is much improved, but does anyone trust him? Do you think Bevell truelly trusts him to carry this team? I say no way. Do you think Russ trusts him? Third and 4 yards to go, we used to trust the run with Marshawn, and last year Rawls to some extent. Michaels... no awareness of yard markers. You see why we are passing in those situations. Defenses know this also, so they've adjusted which make 3rd down conversions tougher.

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You've proven my point....Marshawn Lynch has set the bar so high, that NOBODY ELSE wearing a Seahawks uniform is going to reach it.
There's one fact that everyone here seems to want to ignore, and that fact is, Tom Cable has rebooted the Offensive Line AWAY from the run first mantra, and said as much last year "Lynch Is Going To Have To Make Some Adjustments When He Returns".
The Seahawks realized by mid Season last year, that the ridiculous sacks on Russell Wilson had become the main focus, and some drastic changes needed to be made; they then re-tooled the O-Line for better pass protection, and were using Russell Wilson to spearhead a new Offensive scheme...Mr. Pocket Passer Extraordinaire.
Fast forward to 2016...This o-line is NOT the same o-line that ended the season last year...The lack of continuity and lowballing of the O-Line has gotten Russell Wilson hurt, and that is a major deficit of play to the whole Offense.
Just curious though...Who do some of y'all think we can seriously bring in to replace Michaels?

^ Bingo. Unless and until we have a RB that can do better than CMike we need to support and applaud that we do have him in there getting every hard yard he is able to slog out.

The Turfbin Monster tackles him more than anybody else.

What's not to like? He's a downhill runner.

As in, he seems to run down an imaginary hill into the turf after crossing the line of scrimmage.

It's weird, but if there was a better option they would be getting carries. Michael is what he is, and maybe he'll have some monster runs to offset his weird running.

I really appreciate what Christin has brought to Seattle, on his second time around he came out and played like a man possessed, and kept us in the hunt to the end of last season,

He returned this season fearing he would be passed by with a returning Thomas Rawls, and again Christin played like his career depended on it. Something happen along the way, I don't know if it was Rawls going out injured again, or maybe Christin got injured on a play and is worried about really getting injured, so he decided to take a knee once he gets the needed yardage for us.

Whatever the case may be he has not been giving his all recently. You see him dive to the ground time and again when no defender has touched him yet. We are repeatedly reminded that this is a professional business, and that business is business. If we have to chose which RBs will stay and which one will not, then choosing Christin to go has nothing to do with hating him it has to do with making hard business decisions.

Don't worry about Christin if they should choose to let him go, he'll find another team to play for. Given Collins, Rawls, now Pope, and let's not forget C.J. Prosise, to consider, I can see where management might see Christin as a likely candidate.

I'm on The Pope's bandwagon right now, so happy to see that decision reversed by Seahawks higher ups. This kid looked like a keeper to me from the gate. I hear people saying they will reserve their judgment until they see him take a snap against a 1st string lineup of NFL players, go back to preseason where he did exactly that and smoked their butts on several occasions.

I think we all forget that other teams do put their starting lineups out on the field in preseason games to get some time as well. The Pope didn't appear to be intimidated or overwhelmed by the challenge, he stepped up to it and played like a seasoned professional when they gave him the opportunity. I don't know why some are questioning what he is going to do now if they give him that opportunity now, he is gonna get some, that's what.

The number of times CMike has hit the ground seemingly untouched is memorable but is not the norm. And on those few occasions, it looks like more a case of him being so wound up, his legs churning so fast, than a case of him intentionally trying to avoid contact. It's often the case that he slaps his hands in frustration, realizing how close he was to breaking it.

He like most any other RB is not beyond criticism but the guy straps on his helmet, cuts once, and tries like hell to hit a hole with explosion.