Running game

[CsrolinaHawker]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

 

[toffee]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

This.

 

[kidhawk]

Our run game has befuddled me for a few years now. K9 is an excellent runner but we can’t seem to be able to get enough runs most games to make it worthwhile.

 

[AROS]

It’s not K9. It’s the coaching and the players up front. Lets do some process of elimination here. Our tackles are not the problem. It’s our guards and the revolving door that is our center and oh, by the way, just so happens to be the position known as “the QB of the OL”.

Why was Shaun Alexander so successful? Well yes, obviously due to being gifted as a running back for one, but he doesn’t sniff the 2005 MVP without some shlubs named Jones, Hutchinson, Tobek, Gray and Locklear.

You need the horses up front in the trenches for any back to have a chance at maximizing his ability. Sadly, our horses are deficient in the interior and I’m not so sure the coaching is helping as well as they could or should be.

 

[keasley45]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

Yup. This was obvious before Grubb got here.

If you do a google search on Grubb Huff O line scheme or something similar, you will find film breakdown and assessmenets that characterized Grubbs run schemes as 'basic' and unimaginative well before he called a play for the Seahawks.

Is it unreasonable to think a scheme that was already vanilla for the college ranks might struggle in the NFL?

So, we have a vanilla scheme that Grubb and Huff are trying to coach to NFL players for the first time, to beat NFL defenses.

Is it really SOOO shocking that its struggling? And Grubb gets credit for having been an o line coach. He coached the run game and o line for what? 3 years before becoming an OC? Hardly a stacked resume.

And is what our offense looks like as it stumbles and runs in fits and starts so different than what we saw Grubb do in the CNCG when he faced harbaugh when it went from setting records to struggling to stay on the field with its pass-happy approach.

Is Penix's struggles in the CNCG similar to Geno sometimes struggling now with Grubb's scheme having to navigate NFL defenses?

The issues we are having now are no great surprise and were cautioned about when Grubb was announced.

Its silly to NOT think coaching and scheme arent a major contributing factor when even the HC ( the coach who had no issue calling out poor play) says that we all have to remember that these coaches are doing their jobs for the first time...

Macdonald has acknowledge that he is really just now getting to a point where he is able to balance his responsibilities do a better job actually coaching... and he WAS ALREADY IN THE LEAGUE. To think that green coaches on the other side of the ball running a complex system in a new league with professional athletes wont also struggle and need time to acclimate is, again... silly.

If its gonna work, Grubb and Huff need more time to get their own process right before we start assigning blame entirely to players. If we assumed it was all on them, we'd need basically 4 new starters, because even Cross looks average way too often under Grubb.

 

[keasley45]

It’s not K9. It’s the coaching and the players up front. Lets do some process of elimination here. Our tackles are not the problem. It’s our guards and the revolving door that is our center and oh, by the way, just so happens to be the position known as “the QB of the OL”.

Why was Shaun Alexander so successful? Well yes, obviously due to being gifted as a running back for one, but he doesn’t sniff the 2005 MVP without some shlubs named Jones, Hutchinson, Tobek, Gray and Locklear.

You need the horses up front in the trenches for any back to have a chance at maximizing his ability. Sadly, our horses are deficient in the interior and I’m not so sure the coaching is helping as well as they could or should be.

100%

Fully ackowlege Guard play needs to improve a good bit.

I also know that there are a dozen teams across the league with similar talent at the position that arent as bad as we are.

Great coaching can elevate average players.

Not great coaching, or inexperienced coaching can take that same average player and make him look like he shouldn't have a job, make a great player look like he's in a slump, and make a unit look lost.

Im not saying we should be great. At this point I'd understand it if our run game, given the talent on the o line was ranked between 14 and 20. But to be bottom 3?

And I get losing at a higher rate at a position when you have inferior talent. But losing the majority of the time, and embarrassingly badly the way we do?

Baldinger said our o line looks like backups. He didnt single out a player, he said the unit looks like theyre backups.

Even Cross looks lost and out of position way more often than he should.. He's in year three. He should be locking down All Pro consideration at this point, given where he was drafted and how good he was unanimously seen to be coming out of college.

The reality here is we have players on the o line who have been under poor coaching now for at least 2 years (waldron, fired and Dickerson's line in Cleveland ranked only a few spots better than ours). There wasnt a solid foundation before Grubb got here and whatever there was, was abandoned and replaced by this yet to be proven scheme being coached be rookie NFL coaches.

 

[bigskydoc]

It’s not K9. It’s the coaching and the players up front. Lets do some process of elimination here. Our tackles are not the problem. It’s our guards and the revolving door that is our center and oh, by the way, just so happens to be the position known as “the QB of the OL”.

Why was Shaun Alexander so successful? Well yes, obviously due to being gifted as a running back for one, but he doesn’t sniff the 2005 MVP without some shlubs named Jones, Hutchinson, Tobek, Gray and Locklear.

You need the horses up front in the trenches for any back to have a chance at maximizing his ability. Sadly, our horses are deficient in the interior and I’m not so sure the coaching is helping as well as they could or should be.

And yet, we continue to run between the tackles. Facepalm.

Being said, I won’t be worried about it until next year when Grubb has a year of experience, and a full off season, under his belt.

 

[Jville]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

Opinion: Football contests have morphed into a very different spectacle over the years. It's gone from a field sport to a stadium event only to devolve into a televised circus. Today's spectacle is not the same as yesterday's game. The one constant that has ruled over all those changes are the competition and rules committees. Both players and coaches must work within the box of rules defined by those committees. What sports fans are resigned to see is mandated by the will of rules committees. To date, the media has successfully shielded those committees by directing blame and criticism at boxed in Players and Coaches and GMs.

 

[CsrolinaHawker]

Opinion: Football contests have morphed into a very different spectacle over the years. It's gone from a field sport to a stadium event only to devolve into a televised circus. Today's spectacle is not the same as yesterday's game. The one constant that has ruled over all those changes are the competition and rules committees. Both players and coaches must work within the box of rules defined by those committees. What sports fans are resigned to see is mandated by the will of rules committees. To date, the media has successfully shielded those committees by directing blame and criticism at boxed in Players and Coaches and GMs.

???

 

[CalgaryFan05]

And yet, we continue to run between the tackles. Facepalm.

x1000.

Charbs on 3rd and 2 up the gut for a 2 yard loss! Rinse and Repeat.

Grubb is the problem. Outside pitches. RB screens. Oh, I don't know, copy the play that everyone else seems to be using where the RB loops around the quarterback in a circle, and takes the handoff on the backside when he comes around so that the gaps have time to develop. Pre snap motion. Plain old RB screen play.

Literally a dozen things that a coach who's more focused on actually FIXING the run game with some of these things than telling us "The run game is COMING." Been hearing that for 2.5 months now. The run game isn't coming. It's not even breathing hard

And, from my perspective, our previous running game issues with coaching have come down to prior coaches not 'wanting' to fix the problems, and now the problem is that the coach doesn't know 'how' to fix the problem.

And honesly, headline after headline of 'Grubb's offense isn't even installed yet', 'the oline sucks' and such. Dude needs to get even MODERATLY creative or adjust to the situation.

 

[SeaWolv]

Per SI.com
https://www.si.com/nfl/seahawks/podcasts/how-can-seahawks-jump-start-scuffling-run-game

Despite making a more concerted effort to find balance on offense and take a load off of quarterback Geno Smith's shoulders orchestrating the NFL's most pass-heavy attack, Seattle still hasn't been able to get its ground game back on track, in part due to several lineup changes along the offensive line. Through 12 weeks, after being held to 65 rushing yards in a win over Arizona on Sunday, the team ranks 28th in rushing yards and yards per attempt.

Given the Seahawks' underwhelming rushing numbers, it'd be easy for coach Mike Macdonald to dwell on the lack of progress. But after diving into the film following Sunday's win over the Cardinals, he feels like the offense is close to a breakthrough with the run game, as consistency remains the biggest obstacle that has yet to be hurdled.

"You're looking through it from, 'Hey, how we're coming up with our plan, how we're implementing it, how we're practicing it, how it's coming to life on the field.' There's some good stuff out there," Macdonald said. "It's just not as much as we want it or as consistent as we want it, but there's some good stuff and our guys are working really hard at it. Our coaches are devising some really good plans in my opinion, that we're still going to try to improve on, but we're on the right track."

As I've been saying this is all about OLine play and we have two significant liabilities, Tomlinson and Bradford. The coaching staff has been tinkering but hasn't found the right combination.

 

[Appyhawk]

Our newfound hope for improvement rests on the shoulders of a just elevated rookie guard who has yet to play a down. Bet he comes and just tears it up! Whadduya think?
Geno on wheels for student body right and left trying to throw screens for an entire game?

 

[Chukarhawk]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

newsflash, we sucked last year too. We ranked 28th in rushing last year. in 22 we ranked 18th which actually surprised me.

 

[hawks85]

Our run game has befuddled me for a few years now. K9 is an excellent runner but we can’t seem to be able to get enough runs most games to make it worthwhile.

We need better coaching up front. I've said this a thousand times. We have 3 excellent O-linemen in Cross, Lucas, and Olu. We need an experienced NFL level offensive coordinator and O-line coach. What those 2 are doing is better for college not the NFL. Their not adapting at all and it's extremely frustrating to watch week in and week out.

 

[Chukarhawk]

We need better coaching up front. I've said this a thousand times. We have 3 excellent O-linemen in Cross, Lucas, and Olu. We need an experienced NFL level offensive coordinator and O-line coach. What those 2 are doing is better for college not the NFL. Their not adapting at all and it's extremely frustrating to watch week in and week out.

we had one of those last year and we finished 28th in rushing, were 28th now. I bet we finish better than 28th this year. Watch.

 

[keasley45]

We need better coaching up front. I've said this a thousand times. We have 3 excellent O-linemen in Cross, Lucas, and Olu. We need an experienced NFL level offensive coordinator and O-line coach. What those 2 are doing is better for college not the NFL. Their not adapting at all and it's extremely frustrating to watch week in and week out.

X1000

Grubb and Huff only know how to do what they have done. They arent adapting their scheme to the players ornadjustingbit to help the O line... because they know what they know and do what they do.

We dont pass to setup the run. We dont run out of our typical pass sets, and when we do, its telegraphed. And we havent even run enough to get the line accustomed to it.

So if we arent passing pass to run and vice versa enough in practice you can bet that across the board, our lineman probably have 'tells' that defenses are keyed in on.

It all around just doesnt work. Hoping sitting Haynes in favor of some more bulk up front helps. But more than anytgung, we need practice doing it. Reps reps reps

The scheme just isnt sound

 

[ivotuk]

It's odd that we seem to not recognize talent in the occasional player, and we either finally start him, and he does good, or we release him and he succeeds on a different team.
I think J.S. needs to hire someone that knows how to evaluate Olinemen, because the Seahawks have been a disaster there for more than a decade.

I believe we'll get lucky with Oluwatimi though. My prediction: Olu Oluwatimi will improve over time, and the OLine along with him.

Per Chad Reuter:

"He sat out the 2018 season per NCAA rules after transferring to Virginia. Oluwatimi was an honorable mention All-ACC pick in his first year as a starting center (13 starts in 14 games played), playing guard in the only game he could not start at center because of a hand injury. He started all 10 games at center in 2020 and then was named a Rimington Trophy finalist and second-team All-ACC selection as a 12-game starter in 2021. He transferred to Michigan for his final collegiate season. Oluwatimi won the Rimington (nation's top center) and Outland (top offensive or defensive lineman) Trophies for his play in 14 starts."

 

[CPHawk]

Anyone else find it curious that not only have we been horrible at running the ball this year but so has Alabama. Maybe these chuck it around coaches have no real idea how to run the ball against a decent defense. Bama has four lineman who will play on Sundays and two really good backs along with a mobile Qb but if you watch them their running game produces more negative runs then I’ve seen at Bama in a decade.

To be fair, Alabama best rb, plays qb.

 

[Scout]

The Bucs were dead last rushing unit 2 consecutive years before this season. They invested a lot to improve that interior of the OL, drafted and signed new RBs, new OL coaches and run game coordinators and a new OC in Coen.

So the Seahawks have already Olu and two rookies but it might need to bring more talent to really shore it up.

 

[hawks85]

we had one of those last year and we finished 28th in rushing, were 28th now. I bet we finish better than 28th this year. Watch.

Yup 27th lol. All kidding aside, if they make the adjustments we can definitely finish in the middle of the pack for sure.