What has Rawls done to deserve the starting spot?

Serious question, what has he done lately that merits him that role? I was on the rawls bandwagon back in 2015 but hes done very little since then. Always injured, underwhelming in most games he played since. Had a good game against the panthers last year.

But to me he didnt deserve it over carson, carson did all thats needed to get a starting spot. Was consistent and always producing in the presseason. I never even saw rawls play in the preseason, and hes been hit or miss when he plays anyway. To me it should have been Lacy and carson.

RussB":3c3e16xl said:

Serious question, what has he done lately that merits him that role? I was on the rawls bandwagon back in 2015 but hes done very little since then. Always injured, underwhelming in most games he played since. Had a good game against the panthers last year.

But to me he didnt deserve it over carson, carson did all thats needed to get a starting spot. Was consistent and always producing in the presseason. I never even saw rawls play in the preseason, and hes been hit or miss when he plays anyway. To me it should have been Lacy and carson.

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Games like the playoff game against Detroit is "why". 27 carries, 161 yds, a TD...and he dominated. 5.96 ypc.

They love his potential.

As for Carson, he has ZERO regular season snaps. Fans want to anoint him already, but we need to see what he can do in the very limited chances he will get.

I think with both Rawls and Lacy the answer is: prove they can perform at a high level in NFL regular season games when healthy.

FlyingGreg":15238dz8 said:

RussB":15238dz8 said:

Serious question, what has he done lately that merits him that role? I was on the rawls bandwagon back in 2015 but hes done very little since then. Always injured, underwhelming in most games he played since. Had a good game against the panthers last year.

But to me he didnt deserve it over carson, carson did all thats needed to get a starting spot. Was consistent and always producing in the presseason. I never even saw rawls play in the preseason, and hes been hit or miss when he plays anyway. To me it should have been Lacy and carson.

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Games like the playoff game against Detroit is "why". 27 carries, 161 yds, a TD...and he dominated. 5.96 ypc.

They love his potential.

As for Carson, he has ZERO regular season snaps. Fans want to anoint him already, but we need to see what he can do in the very limited chances he will get.

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This. When healthy he is a dominant RB that plays how Carroll wants the RB spot to be played. I just hope if he's not a full go, they rest him and let the other guys handle it.

FlyingGreg":ywko9xev said:

RussB":ywko9xev said:

Serious question, what has he done lately that merits him that role? I was on the rawls bandwagon back in 2015 but hes done very little since then. Always injured, underwhelming in most games he played since. Had a good game against the panthers last year.

But to me he didnt deserve it over carson, carson did all thats needed to get a starting spot. Was consistent and always producing in the presseason. I never even saw rawls play in the preseason, and hes been hit or miss when he plays anyway. To me it should have been Lacy and carson.

Click to expand...

Games like the playoff game against Detroit is "why". 27 carries, 161 yds, a TD...and he dominated. 5.96 ypc.

They love his potential.

As for Carson, he has ZERO regular season snaps. Fans want to anoint him already, but we need to see what he can do in the very limited chances he will get.

Click to expand...

I see that, but hes so inconsistent. They need consistency. Thats the problem with rawls, he can do nothing for like 5-6 games and then have one great game and all of sudden they just keep riding with him after that.

He had a slew of great games in 2015 since then hes really been underwhelming to me other than the panthers and detroit game. he was also a non factor against the falcons and is always injured.

He didn't earn it this camp and pre-season, Carson did.

But I guess Pete has more trust starting Lacy and Rawls due to experience, although I think it'll be short lived..........as I expect neither back to either stay healthy or perform well enough to keep Carson on the bench.

That can be said about Lockett, Richardson, Jimmy Graham, Frank Clark...Also Beastmode never prove anything during preseason...Im sure Seahawks staff who watch them play & in practice knows who should start.

Any of the four RB (Rawls, Lacy, Procise, & Clark) i would not mind as a starter for our team...

RussB":3dwyn5pw said:

Serious question, what has he done lately that merits him that role? I was on the rawls bandwagon back in 2015 but hes done very little since then. Always injured, underwhelming in most games he played since. Had a good game against the panthers last year.

But to me he didnt deserve it over carson, carson did all thats needed to get a starting spot. Was consistent and always producing in the presseason. I never even saw rawls play in the preseason, and hes been hit or miss when he plays anyway. To me it should have been Lacy and carson.

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Can't compare pre season numbers vs reg season numbers. Rawls has done just as much "lately" to prove his worth as Lockett. Some coaches believe you don't lose your position due to injury, that may be part of your answer. I think they put him out there, but on a short leash with all the other talent. Lacy hasn't exactly tore it up either, so how do you justify starting him over our incumbent starter?

Sgt. Largent":rn3f6m4f said:

He didn't earn it this camp and pre-season, Carson did.

But I guess Pete has more trust starting Lacy and Rawls due to experience, although I think it'll be short lived..........as I expect neither back to either stay healthy or perform well enough to keep Carson on the bench.

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Key phrase, "pre-season."

Give the proven regular season vets first crack. If they underperform or get injured then next man up. Having Carson as a backup is a good problem to have. Last thing we need is an untested rookie missing a key block that gets our QB injured.

FlyingGreg":36mm9k93 said:

Sgt. Largent":36mm9k93 said:

He didn't earn it this camp and pre-season, Carson did.

But I guess Pete has more trust starting Lacy and Rawls due to experience, although I think it'll be short lived..........as I expect neither back to either stay healthy or perform well enough to keep Carson on the bench.

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Key phrase, "pre-season."

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He didn't earn it last year either.

I get it, it's a trust thing. But no one can tell me Rawls earned his starting role this year. Half a year in 2015 and one good playoff game last year surrounded by poor play and injuries isn't good enough for me.

It's fine, I'm patient. I know eventually Rawls will get hurt again and Carson will get his chance.

Sgt. Largent":31imld3i said:

FlyingGreg":31imld3i said:

Sgt. Largent":31imld3i said:

He didn't earn it this camp and pre-season, Carson did.

But I guess Pete has more trust starting Lacy and Rawls due to experience, although I think it'll be short lived..........as I expect neither back to either stay healthy or perform well enough to keep Carson on the bench.

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Key phrase, "pre-season."

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He didn't earn it last year either.

I get it, it's a trust thing. But no one can tell me Rawls earned his starting role this year. Half a year in 2015 and one good playoff game last year surrounded by poor play and injuries isn't good enough for me.

It's fine, I'm patient. I know eventually Rawls will get hurt again and Carson will get his chance.

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And for all we know, he might manage 40 yards against an actual starting NFL defense playing at a higher level than vanilla. That's how unproven he is, and how deceptive preseason is.

I think the Carson hype has finally gone officially nuts. Callin' it now. I hope he lives up to it.

MontanaHawk05":1cxdh3jg said:

Sgt. Largent":1cxdh3jg said:

FlyingGreg":1cxdh3jg said:

Sgt. Largent":1cxdh3jg said:

He didn't earn it this camp and pre-season, Carson did.

But I guess Pete has more trust starting Lacy and Rawls due to experience, although I think it'll be short lived..........as I expect neither back to either stay healthy or perform well enough to keep Carson on the bench.

Click to expand...

Key phrase, "pre-season."

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He didn't earn it last year either.

I get it, it's a trust thing. But no one can tell me Rawls earned his starting role this year. Half a year in 2015 and one good playoff game last year surrounded by poor play and injuries isn't good enough for me.

It's fine, I'm patient. I know eventually Rawls will get hurt again and Carson will get his chance.

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And for all we know, he might manage 40 yards against an actual starting NFL defense playing at a higher level than vanilla. That's how unproven he is, and how deceptive preseason is.

I think the Carson hype has finally gone officially nuts. Callin' it now. I hope he lives up to it.

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People never learn around here. Its Pope-itis. Jesse Lumsden Syndrome. On and on...

Carson will be good. But can we wait to see a few meaningful snaps before we get crazy?

MontanaHawk05":1b6d3ci8 said:

I think the Carson hype has finally gone officially nuts. Callin' it now. I hope he lives up to it.

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For me it has. But I've been a Hawks fan for 40 years, I know "it" when I see it.

I saw it in Russell, Clark, and many others when I first laid eyes on them. They jump off the screen in pre-season, and I saw that with Carson.

Rawls has some of that same pop and explosiveness, but dude can't stay out of the trainer's room.

It's a good problem to have, but if I'm in charge, Rawls hasn't been available and dependable enough for going on an entire year, so IMO I have no problem whatsover in starting Carson.

It doesn't matter who starts as it does matter who finishes, especially in this opener against a good Green Bay defense. I think all of our backs will be utilized at different stages of the game.

Because he's a game changer when healthy.

Look at what Kareem Hunt did last night for KC. Rawls can do the exact same thing for our team, health is his only limitation

Here are a few reminders of why Rawls will get another shot this season.


[youtube]0L_wJwgc38o[/youtube]

hawk45":2o3r9ge4 said:

I think with both Rawls and Lacy the answer is: prove they can perform at a high level in NFL regular season games when healthy.

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Responding to myself here, I would add that vin.couve would say that there is history to suggest that a healthy Rawls isn't sufficient to guarantee production; that Rawls needs both health and reps with contact to achieve lift-off.

I would agree with that. Speculating on what mitigating factors might push Pete in the direction of still starting Rawls however, my thought is Pete may be considering:

- Lacy is here to be the anvil and Rawls the change-of-pace, giving Rawls an advantage he didn't have last season and also minimizing the damage if Rawls is rusty.

- If in X carries Rawls is obviously sucking it's trivial to switch out a running back and can even be an advantage if you're switching to a back a team hasn't prepared for. This is the biggest reason comparisons to Wilson/Flynn fall short, IMO. If you make the wrong call with a QB early in a season there goes your season, or at least a handful of games, and your backup isn't getting the same reps until it's time to pull the plug. If your RB needs switching, you throw the new guy out there.

- There is always a balancing act between recent performance (Carson in pre-season) and real-game performance "proof". In this instance the margin is especially tight because Rawls didn't just do "okay" in the past, he was a game-changer. Pete has always been very apt to trust his own eyes moment-to-moment. I hope this means that in practice he is seeing Rawls hit holes and cutback lanes correctly and that is what pushes him over the edge to starting Rawls. It would be out of character for Pete IMO if Rawls looked like trash in contact practice but still got the nod. Last year that happened, but last year Rawls was "the guy." Prosise had owies and nobody would have suspected Michaels might have been the better option at the beginning of the season. This year the same conditions do not attain.

Seymour":19iifdrf said:

Here are a few reminders of why Rawls will get another shot this season.


[youtube]0L_wJwgc38o[/youtube]

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Here's a Christian Michael highlight video, maybe we should resign him.

[youtube]ZlbrFQXml-E[/youtube]

Sgt. Largent":ydtxlpbk said:

MontanaHawk05":ydtxlpbk said:

I think the Carson hype has finally gone officially nuts. Callin' it now. I hope he lives up to it.

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For me it has. But I've been a Hawks fan for 40 years, I know "it" when I see it.

I saw it in Russell, Clark, and many others when I first laid eyes on them. They jump off the screen in pre-season, and I saw that with Carson.

Rawls has some of that same pop and explosiveness, but dude can't stay out of the trainer's room.

It's a good problem to have, but if I'm in charge, Rawls hasn't been available and dependable enough for going on an entire year, so IMO I have no problem whatsover in starting Carson.

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I'm not sure I understand the argument that not being available and dependable is a reason not to start a player. It's a reason to have a good plan B, which we do, but if Rawls gets hurt he gets hurt. No harm done.

The argument I have an easier time with is vin's argument about Rawls rust last year leading to poor game performance. The rust argument isn't a slam-dunk for me, at the RB position in particular, but if it had an effect last year then I can't just wave that history off.