Brock Huard Made an Interesting Point this Morning

Listening to KIRO this morning and Brock made a point that got me thinking.

We all know that Russell Wilson is having a career year running the ball. The fact that he's the 14th ranked rusher in the NFL right now and on pace to run nearly 900 yards this season has been a real bonus to our team this season.

The point he made that got me thinking though, is that it's entirely possible that his passing game has been altered by his running. He says that it very well could be that Russell is just tired from time to time and it may affect his accuracy when throwing the ball.

How often do you see guys make big plays then see them on the sideline getting a breather? Wilson never gets this. His version of a breather after a long play is possibly just handing the ball off again to Lynch, but many times, after a big run, the best read for a defense is to pass the ball.

It would be interesting to see if his more inaccurate pass attempts come more often after a lot of running? Is it coincidence that he says his footwork was off on some of this throws, after running so much?

Not looking at it as an excuse, because I'll take 300 yards of total offense by Wilson even if he has to do 100 yards of it on the ground, but this might be a valid thought process in why he is having a few more issues with his accuracy of late.

That is an interesting angle on some of RW's lapses this year.

Could be a valid argument if he was accurate early on in games vs. later on. However, I don't believe this is the case as he seems to be erradict from start to finish the past month. RW can also change the play in the huddle to a simple handoff to make sure he gets a breather if he needs one. He never looks overtly tired after a scramble that I can recall. He rarely gets hit when he runs on purpose too.

I think he just need to rediscover his rhythm and accuracy in the passing game. And soon as the next 6 games won't be won by his feet. We need his arm just as much. He's ALWAYS been known as an accurate passer in college and pro's so I'm sure it is correctable.

I'm not really buying that one. Marcus Mariota runs as much or more for Oregon than Russell does, and his accuracy is tip top. Ditto for Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. And its not like RW is getting hit either. A couple of runs per possession should not impact the stamina of a professional athlete to the degree that it causes him to completely lose command of the strike zone.

NorthDallas40oz":rtojk35x said:

I'm not really buying that one. Marcus Mariota runs as much or more for Oregon than Russell does, and his accuracy is tip top. Ditto for Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. And its not like RW is getting hit either. A couple of runs per possession should not impact the stamina of a professional athlete to the degree that it causes him to completely lose command of the strike zone.

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Russell isn't just running on running plays though. He's also scrambling on quite a few of his plays as well.

Also, you mentioned the Oregon QB, and I can't speak much to it personally, but Brock mentioned him by name as well and said that he experienced a dip in his accuracy in a recent game where he seemed to run the ball more.

Also, IMO, this isn't something that explains every play and every issue, but when you couple a few errant passes due to something like this with the normal amount of allowable errant passes, and put those with his throw away balls, it can really add up to making things appear worse than perhaps they are in reality

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

NorthDallas40oz":ieq019ae said:

I'm not really buying that one. Marcus Mariota runs as much or more for Oregon than Russell does, and his accuracy is tip top. Ditto for Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. And its not like RW is getting hit either. A couple of runs per possession should not impact the stamina of a professional athlete to the degree that it causes him to completely lose command of the strike zone.

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Agreed, there is something beyond fatigue/recovery involved with Russells accuracy. Throwing multiple interceptions, and fumbling the ball during the game is highly atypical for him as well. Whatever the issue(s) I hope (and believe he will) he gets it sorted soon. Until then I hope whatever the fix is, it is not at the expense of losing his running ability. Because that is world class at the moment.

I said this two weeks ago, that all these hits and Russell running more than ever is finally taking a toll on his body...........and thus his throwing mechanics are off.

Also explains why he's confused about it, because in his mind he's always made some of these easy throws, and they're off.

NorthDallas40oz":2jm190om said:

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

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He's run almost as many yards in this half season as he has in either of his previous two seasons.

2012 - 16 games - 489 yards
2013 - 16 games - 539 yards
2014 - 9 games - 500 yards

I would say he's running quite a bit more now than he ever has.

Rain? Slippery ball maybe?

What were weather conditions on the field yesterday?

:stirthepot:

kidhawk":kx1cgbb6 said:

NorthDallas40oz":kx1cgbb6 said:

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

Click to expand...

He's run almost as many yards in this half season as he has in either of his previous two seasons.

2012 - 16 games - 489 yards
2013 - 16 games - 539 yards
2014 - 9 games - 500 yards

I would say he's running quite a bit more now than he ever has.

Click to expand...

Nope. RW rushed 94 times in 2012, 96 times in 2013, and is currently on pace to rush 117 times in 2014.....or slightly more than 1 additional rush per game vs. the previous two seasons. In fact, thru 9 games last season RW had 67 carries, vs. 66 thus far in 2014.

NorthDallas40oz":1sc0npli said:

kidhawk":1sc0npli said:

NorthDallas40oz":1sc0npli said:

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

Click to expand...

He's run almost as many yards in this half season as he has in either of his previous two seasons.

2012 - 16 games - 489 yards
2013 - 16 games - 539 yards
2014 - 9 games - 500 yards

I would say he's running quite a bit more now than he ever has.

Click to expand...

Nope. RW rushed 94 times in 2012, 96 times in 2013, and is currently on pace to rush 117 times in 2014.....or slightly more than 1 additional rush per game vs. the previous two seasons.

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I think he means more as in more yards, and thus more wear and tear on his body.

Russell's currently 15th in he league in rushing, as in more than most RB's. That has to be taking a toll on his body.

HoustonHawk82":1s3xftnq said:

Rain? Slippery ball maybe?

What were weather conditions on the field yesterday?

:stirthepot:

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I'm with you but it was bright and sunny in Carolina and he was off there too.

I really think it's just a number of things; we all know RW is usually accurate and a pretty good decision maker.

1. RW is forcing throws he normally wouldn't out of frustration
2. Protection hasn't been great; reliable pockets just haven't been there (most of his career)
3. Receivers don't get great separation, meaning RW can't throw with any anticipation
4. Training camp revolved around an offense that featured Harvin; now we have to adjust
5. Penalties were cleaned up against NY, but until yesterday threw off the offense routinely
6. As OP/Huard pointed out, Wilson is having to do much more athletically than a traditional QB
7. TE Injuries have contributed both in terms of pocket protection and in pass catching
8. Play calling hasn't really been impressive or imaginative.

All in all I think it's just a lot of little things adding up; when you look at that list, all those little things add up and equal out to a much bigger issues than just identifying any one thing.

NorthDallas40oz":92eeufe3 said:

kidhawk":92eeufe3 said:

NorthDallas40oz":92eeufe3 said:

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

Click to expand...

He's run almost as many yards in this half season as he has in either of his previous two seasons.

2012 - 16 games - 489 yards
2013 - 16 games - 539 yards
2014 - 9 games - 500 yards

I would say he's running quite a bit more now than he ever has.

Click to expand...

Nope. RW rushed 94 times in 2012, 96 times in 2013, and is currently on pace to rush 117 times in 2014.....or slightly more than 1 additional rush per game vs. the previous two seasons. In fact, thru 9 games last season RW had 67 carries, vs. 66 thus far in 2014.

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You don't have to think that it's more, but it's nearly 50% more yards on each carry, add that to the fact that he's averaging 20% more rushes per game, and IMO that's quite a bit more than his normal.

Hawknballs":jmiocl9z said:

I really think it's just a number of things; we all know RW is usually accurate and a pretty good decision maker.

1. RW is forcing throws he normally wouldn't out of frustration
2. Protection hasn't been great; reliable pockets just haven't been there (most of his career)
3. Receivers don't get great separation, meaning RW can't throw with any anticipation
4. Training camp revolved around an offense that featured Harvin; now we have to adjust
5. Penalties were cleaned up against NY, but until yesterday threw off the offense routinely
6. As OP/Huard pointed out, Wilson is having to do much more athletically than a traditional QB
7. TE Injuries have contributed both in terms of pocket protection and in pass catching
8. Play calling hasn't really been impressive or imaginative.

All in all I think it's just a lot of little things adding up; when you look at that list, all those little things add up and equal out to a much bigger issues than just identifying any one thing.

Click to expand...

Agreed, there are a multitude of causes, I don't believe any one thing is the issue. After hearing Huard mention this, it makes sense to me as one additional possible cause, and when you start adding up all the little things, it creates a seemingly big issue.

I equate it to having 'one of those days' only it's 'one of those stretches of games'.

You have those days where you wake up and just don't feel spectacular. You go to take a dump and there's no TP. You go to leave for work and you can't find your keys. You finally find them and are looking forward to stopping to pick up some starbucks but the line is obscenely long. Traffic sucks because there's a wreck. You get to work and something goes wrong that you have to fix when you already have other pressing issues on your plate. You get home and your wife's not feeling well so it's up to you to make dinner, help the kids with homework. You're so beat, then just when it's time to finally get some rest and put the day to bed, you get your second wind and aren't tired anymore but the only thing that's on NFL nework to pass the time is "The Top 10 49ers of All Time".

Nobody died. You didn't have a health problem. No financial devastation. Nothing Serious. But overall it was a pretty crappy day from the get go.

This is how I feel like our offense has been all year. Nothing huge broken but tons of little things that just make it tough.

kidhawk":23qsyb7w said:

NorthDallas40oz":23qsyb7w said:

I'm not really buying that one. Marcus Mariota runs as much or more for Oregon than Russell does, and his accuracy is tip top. Ditto for Johnny Manziel when he was at Texas A&M. And its not like RW is getting hit either. A couple of runs per possession should not impact the stamina of a professional athlete to the degree that it causes him to completely lose command of the strike zone.

Click to expand...

Russell isn't just running on running plays though. He's also scrambling on quite a few of his plays as well.

Also, you mentioned the Oregon QB, and I can't speak much to it personally, but Brock mentioned him by name as well and said that he experienced a dip in his accuracy in a recent game where he seemed to run the ball more.

Also, IMO, this isn't something that explains every play and every issue, but when you couple a few errant passes due to something like this with the normal amount of allowable errant passes, and put those with his throw away balls, it can really add up to making things appear worse than perhaps they are in reality

Click to expand...

The last game Mariota ran 18 times, and they showed him looking pretty gases out there. One time he even under threw his WR by about 5 yards after a big run. Granted it was Utah, and the altitude more than likely played a part, but he was breathing hard.

I think fatigue is an issue. I also believe that his receivers are an issue, and the fact that he is one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the league has taken a toll on the guys footwork. I just also think he's in a slump right now. He might be pressing things trying to claw his way out of it. I believe he'll snap out of it as well.

The one thing that worries me going forward, were the turnovers yesterday. He has been so good protecting the ball, that even when he struggles, he doesn't kill us. Even if he stays in this slump, not turning the ball over will let them be in all these ball games going forward.

kidhawk":193l490x said:

NorthDallas40oz":193l490x said:

Again, I'm not buying it. Russell has been running and scrambling his entire Seahawk career and he's never struggled with accuracy like he is now. It's not like he's running 60 yard gassers on every play. I don't blame Brock for spit-balling potential explanations given how inexplicable it does seem to be, but this one just isn't very plausible. At least not to me.

Click to expand...

He's run almost as many yards in this half season as he has in either of his previous two seasons.

2012 - 16 games - 489 yards
2013 - 16 games - 539 yards
2014 - 9 games - 500 yards

I would say he's running quite a bit more now than he ever has.

Click to expand...

200+ of those 500 Yards are in the last three games, and happened right after PH was traded away.
Is Bevell calling for him to run the ball more because we may be lacking in Pass protection from the O-Line, and hasn't yet gotten on the same page with his Receivers, OR, could it be that he's playing through an injury?
If it is injury related, (even a minor one), that would explain some of his accuracy issues, because knowing how to throw a ball isn't something you forget how to do.