C Mike?

[kidhawk]

I have been on the patient side. Very much so. Early in the season I was one of the people writing about pass protection, etc..

But here is the thing: He was a 2nd round pick, and he has played a complete NFL season.

If youre a 2nd round RB and after 4 preseason games and a full regular season and youre still not ready to make a meaningful contribution to the team, then youve been over drafted. Running back is generally one of the positions that transitions easiest, 2nd round running backs are usually "plug and play". We have Lynch so he didnt need to be , but after a full season I would hope he would be able to get some touches. Turbin is fine, but I would think that Michael offers more, otherwise why pick him up?

On the other hand, I am not sure I want him getting meaningful touches for the first time in a playoff game. But maybe there are creative ways to get him in there.

Another thing to consider is investment. Right now we have very little financial investment, but if he's going to be the player people expect him to be, then we will have to make a larger financial investment in the near future. Running backs also have a short life span in the NFL, so by him not taking an unnecessary beating this year, you could be extending his career by a season which could mean a lot down the road. I'm excited to see him next year, but Lynch is more than capable enough to handle the load, so I'm much more patient and willing to let the coaches make the call here. Having Michael active or inactive isn't changing our season one way or the other, but not having him play does allow that extra game day active in another position

 

[Vetamur]

It may extend him a year..but running backs hitting the wall isnt just about how many hits theyve taken. Some is just age..more than most other offensive positions the initial burst is important..and for that..30 is 30. Its one reason most return men are spectacular only for 3 or 4 seasons.. by the time they hit 28 or so they are already not the same person. But if we are talking about career lengthening.. by getting him carries we could, if it really works that way, extend Lynch's career.

If Michael and Harvin could be out there on the field.. 2 of the 5 skill position players would sort of be "wild cards".

I dont mean making him the primary ball carrier, but I would think that , once ready, he would add a bit more threat to our offense than Turbin. I wouldnt mind even using him as a kind of decoy. Up to now when hes on the field it means "run" because he isnt trusted in pass protection. So.. put him out there.. defense is thinking run..then motion him out wide.

Im not upset or anything over his lack of usage..but its a bit concerning that he cant earn time on the field given his draft position.

 

[kidhawk]

It may extend him a year..but running backs hitting the wall isnt just about how many hits theyve taken. Some is just age..more than most other offensive positions the initial burst is important..and for that..30 is 30. Its one reason most return men are spectacular only for 3 or 4 seasons.. by the time they hit 28 or so they are already not the same person. But if we are talking about career lengthening.. by getting him carries we could, if it really works that way, extend Lynch's career.

If Michael and Harvin could be out there on the field.. 2 of the 5 skill position players would sort of be "wild cards".

I dont mean making him the primary ball carrier, but I would think that , once ready, he would add a bit more threat to our offense than Turbin. I wouldnt mind even using him as a kind of decoy. Up to now when hes on the field it means "run" because he isnt trusted in pass protection. So.. put him out there.. defense is thinking run..then motion him out wide.

Im not upset or anything over his lack of usage..but its a bit concerning that he cant earn time on the field given his draft position.

True, but to activate Michael, you have to deactivate someone else. I believe that we really need to keep the combination of Lynch/Robinson together, and Turbin, although not spectacular, does a good job of pass protection and can run the ball enough to keep defenses on their toes. The only person I would be comfortable with swapping him for would be Coleman, but since blocking seems to be the key question mark for Michael, I seriously doubt that would happen.

 

[Vetamur]

Does anyone know, in the games he was active, what the "trade off" was? Was that before Robinson was back? I cant recall off hand. I think I would be willing to de activate Coleman, but its easy for me to say that sitting behind a desk at home and not about to play a "win or go home" game for real.

 

[kidhawk]

Does anyone know, in the games he was active, what the "trade off" was? Was that before Robinson was back? I cant recall off hand. I think I would be willing to de activate Coleman, but its easy for me to say that sitting behind a desk at home and not about to play a "win or go home" game for real.

I don't recall each time he was active, but there was one game where Turbin was a bit dinged up and on the injury report as probable. Turbin was active, but they also activated Michael as well. At the time it seemed precautionary with Turbin hurting

 

[hawks4thewin]

I think They feel more comfortable running 2 FB's and 2 Half backs right now with the way we keep 3 tight ends And we run alot of 2 te sets this year, FB fills the gap better in emergency and you have redundancy in multiple positions. Also Coleman can play Halfback also as he did in preseason before The other guy went to IR.


As for the michael Topic.. what we know is.
1) he is eplosive, has high burst and is overall Brutal in his runs like lynch.
2) he has compartivie work against turbin in garbage time.. (someone should compart sets and runs, inlcluding plays called back for holds as we are player evaluating NOT team evaluating)

What we dont know.
1) can he Read defense's
2) can he pass block
3) can he play fullback or tight end

Other items to note:
1) if its garbage time and they know we are running and still struggle stopping him what does that mean? (compareitive anaylysys would be key here)

Thats all i got ...

 

[cdallan]

Ah, yes. Another Christine Michael thread where half the people confidently introduce evidence such as "fumbling issues" and "can't pass block" despite that there is zero actual evidence...

Just like players, coaches are people and people make mistakes in execution and judgment. We have the best coach in the NFL, but he's made many errors, e.g., letting Bennett go. Plenty of people hated that decision, with evidence, and their position was proved. Based on the evidence available, I regard holding Michael back as an error. It may be that if I had more inside info, I would change my mind, but it would have to be new information. Football coaches have to deal with so many decisions and so many layers of abstraction that it can sometimes be easier for folks on the outside to see things with a better perspective. Deferring to a trusted authority makes sense when there's little evidence. In this case there's enough evidence that we can question whether authority is making the right decision making trade-offs.

I agree that people make errors in execution. As an example, you can't blame Pete for letting Bennett go, as it happened the year before he arrived. That was a decision of the Mora-Ruskell brainfart trust, who needed a roster spot for the all-important second kicker.

 

[Penman96]

There has been speculation he was acting a little spoiled, like it was his devine right to start, and he was being knocked back a peg for having that attitude. Then there are the supposed blocking issues, maybe in practice he's not getting the blocking assignments done as well as Turbin. Again, speculation.

He's sure to have a lot to learn, given he just turned 23, so parking him for a year so he can learn how to play as a Seahawk in the NFL and avoid a season of getting hit makes sense, even if there is no specific fault with his play. No "rush" to get him playing while Lynch remains elite.