Seattle- The Seattle Seahawks last season were one of five teams that did not pass the ball much and ran more offensive running plays than any team in the league. They ran over 534 times and only passed the ball 427 times, which is why they led the league in running yards. Seattle had over 2,500 yards on the ground with an average of four yards per carry.
Seattle’s success came from running back Chris Carter, who is a downhill running back. Carter is not a flashy type of back and will not tap dance with defenders in the backfield trying to find a hole to run through. If he sees a hole and it is slightly open, he would burst through it. He is a bruiser and one of the underrated backs in the league, but Seattle left tackle Duane Brown feels like Seattle is running too much and going away from the explosive style that Russell Wilson brings to the table.
“When you have a quarterback as talented as Russell Wilson is, you have to have balance,” Brown said. “At times, I think we ran the ball maybe a little bit too much, and that’s kind of hard to say as a lineman. But it worked for us, it worked for us for a long time. The guys up front, they leaned on us. They leaned on Chris Carson and the stable of backs we had.”
In the playoffs against the Cowboys last season, Wilson had to change the offensive strategy to get his team back into the game by throwing the ball, however on some crucial downs, the Seahawks ran the ball instead of threw it three straight times, which ultimately cost them the game.
The Seahawks are still trying to figure out the type of identity that they want to be, but they have to mix it up in order to be successful next year. Wilson has some wide receivers that can alter the opponents’ game plan and make it hard to call defensive plays, but Seattle needs to throw the ball more. They have Doug Baldwin, who may have at least two years left with the team, Tyler Lockett, and David Moore, who has emerged as a reliable wide receiver. All three of the receivers can put pressure on a defensive coordinator because they can beat you off the line with speed.
Hopefully, this season the Seahawks can even out their offense and find the balance that they need in order to make it back to postseason play
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