Christine Michael

[arghawkfan]

Was anybody else surprised by the fact that Michael didn't receive any touches yesterday. I'm guessing that given that it was such a tight game, and protection was an issue that they favoured Lynch and Turbin, but I would have been curious to see if Michael's speed and exposiveness could've fared better vs Carolina's front.

 

[sturg78]

Close game, no room for a rookie mistake like a nerves fumble or something of that sort. At least, that is what I assumed was happening.

 

[bestfightstory]

They will ease him in, if at all. Lynch and Turbin deserve the work.

 

[SeaTown81]

As talented as Michael is, he's still got a ton of learning to do. Turbo's got a big lead on him in terms of knowing his role in the offense.

 

[HawksFTW]

Not surprised by it, but I think the offense would have benefited from the speed. Turbin broke that 15 yarder, and probably could have had more. Carolina was vulnerable to the outside, if they could get the DE to over pursue, I WAS surprised they didn't try to attack that aggressiveness more.

 

[FlyingGreg]

Michael is more future than current. I doubt we see him all that much, injuries notwithstanding.

 

[Sarlacc83]

Poor pass protection by Michael + Bad day for the O-line = no playing time.

 

[Blitzer88]

I was surprised he didn't get at least one touch, but i understand why as it was a close game and could not really afford a costly mistake.

 

[pehawk]

Not surprised by it, but I think the offense would have benefited from the speed. Turbin broke that 15 yarder, and probably could have had more. Carolina was vulnerable to the outside, if they could get the DE to over pursue, I WAS surprised they didn't try to attack that aggressiveness more.

Totally.

Yeah, Michael's a liability in protection, but he would've PUNISHED that interior numbers game the Panthers D was using. I would've loved to see him catch one of those bubble screens, or a delayed pitch to him at H-Back.

 

[HawksFTW]

Not surprised by it, but I think the offense would have benefited from the speed. Turbin broke that 15 yarder, and probably could have had more. Carolina was vulnerable to the outside, if they could get the DE to over pursue, I WAS surprised they didn't try to attack that aggressiveness more.

Totally.

Yeah, Michael's a liability in protection, but he would've PUNISHED that interior numbers game the Panthers D was using. I would've loved to see him catch one of those bubble screens, or a delayed pitch to him at H-Back.

Though, Kuechly was pretty much running everything down. He is the type of player that can get bogged down with a couple of bodies in front of him. Maybe that was the difference, without having watched the game again yet, O line was struggling with second level blocks.

I agree with Michael, even with the liability in pass protection, you have to get the ball into your play maker's hands and Michael can take it to the house from any point on the field. And I think Michael is the type of player that doesn't tip their hand too much either, because he is so good in the receiving game and a legit threat running the ball. Defenses have to be hesitant to let him slip out of the backfield, so might be reluctant to make Seattle pay for trotting him out there. Either way, it was a pretty tightly called game by Bevell, and I think they wanted to get out of there without exposing too much of the playbook.

 

[davidonmi]

he's the guy who can make a guy miss, something we dearly needed yesterday. Lynch can turn 0 into 3 consistently. Michael can turn 0 to 30, would love to see him catch it out of the backfield. Robert Turbin reminds me of Julius Jones, boring

 

[pehawk]

Oh agreed. Not only Luke, but even ole "Curt Warner Knees" Beason looked pretty fast out there. Their LB's we're flying. I have to think they were playing close to the vest, because anything delayed would've worked in the 2nd half, IMO.

 

[HawksFTW]

he's the guy who can make a guy miss, something we dearly needed yesterday. Lynch can turn 0 into 3 consistently. Michael can turn 0 to 30, would love to see him catch it out of the backfield. Robert Turbin reminds me of Julius Jones, boring

Turbin's 15 yard scamper was a big break in that game, and setup the TD for the go ahead score. It was one of the top plays on offense, in terms of shifting win probability. Turbin isn't a super flashy runner, but he does a bunch of things well. He is a key part of the run game, going forward.

Oh agreed. Not only Luke, but even ole "Curt Warner Knees" Beason looked pretty fast out there. Their LB's we're flying. I have to think they were playing close to the vest, because anything delayed would've worked in the 2nd half, IMO.

Yeah, Beason was another player I was surprised by. He looked great out there. Just contrast Beason running down Wilson vs Urlacher last year, Beason still has some life left in his legs. I was calling for the delay/outside draw all game long, along with more screens. Bevell was very hesitant to really test the Carolina's LBs it seemed.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Was anybody else surprised by the fact that Michael didn't receive any touches yesterday. I'm guessing that given that it was such a tight game, and protection was an issue that they favoured Lynch and Turbin, but I would have been curious to see if Michael's speed and exposiveness could've fared better vs Carolina's front.

Michael getting snaps is more than just seeing what he can do speed wise, he also has to have all the protection and scheme assignments locked down.............and that's why you won't see him very much this year unless someone get's injured or the game's a blowout.

David Wilson of the Giants is a perfect example of what can happen when you have a running back out there that's not prepared. Missed protection assignments, going the wrong way, fumbles, etc.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

If we want a less effective running back spelling for Lynch, by all means keep playing Turbin.

Rookie RB's frequently start for a reason. I'm not sure what they're waiting for.

 

[12thMan1]

If there was a game to put him in to help hone his skills I would have to say the Jacksonville game.

 

[plyka]

Was anybody else surprised by the fact that Michael didn't receive any touches yesterday. I'm guessing that given that it was such a tight game, and protection was an issue that they favoured Lynch and Turbin, but I would have been curious to see if Michael's speed and exposiveness could've fared better vs Carolina's front.

One of the HUGE weaknesses in the NFL are coaches refusing to give talented youngsters a chance. Then when they give them a chance and they are HUGE, it's like, look what i found! This was the problem in Buffalo with CJ Spiller the last few years. Giving all your chances to Fred freakin Jackson, when Spiller is on your team? And this isn't a one off, every coach in the NFL has the same problem.

Ironically, this is one of Pete's strong points. He is not afraid to give players a shot, even young ones. So I expect Christine to get his chance, and I expect him to take advantage. Perhaps week one was even too much for Pete, but he will come around. Pete showed just how much he will give young players a chance with Wilson last year, but even for Pete it was too much to give Wilson free reign in the offense for the first half of last season. I expect the same for Michael.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Rookie RB's frequently start for a reason. I'm not sure what they're waiting for.

I just explained why above you. Trust is just as important as talent in the NFL, too much is at stake to risk a RB like Michael missing blocking assignments, etc. Especially when you have the luxury of your first two backs being Lynch and Turbin.

Michael will get his opportunities, just not on the road the first game against a nasty defense.

 

[DavidSeven]

A lot of excitement here over what Michael has been able to show against 2nd/3rd string defenses in preseason. I agree that he's very promising, but let's not forget he's been largely stonewalled against opposing 1s. I don't like what I've seen from him as a pass blocker. I'm going to trust Pete and Tom's judgment on when and if he should play. I don't think an ultra-tight game against Carolina's front 7 was the time to experiment in the run game.

 

[CANHawk]

CMike will get his chances and I'm certain they'll come sooner rather than later. I suspect we'll see him get a pile of carries when we're playing with a lead and trying to control the clock. At least until he gets his cerry popped in a real NFL game. After that, I'm sure we'll see him in regular rotation. IIRC, they kind of did the same with Turbo. i recall being anxious to see what he could do in the first few games last year as well.

This Carolina game didn't really present itself as a good time to get the rook some work as we were kinda chasing it all game; passing a lot and calling on the RBs to block. It would have been a devistating time for a rookie mistake.