The Running game

[Smellyman]

It would be interesting to see the stats and I bet someone has them.

Lynch with FB - Coleman V MRob
Lynch single back

not all apples to apples becuase I imagine there was an FB on a lot of 3rd and short or 4th and shorts, but I don't know.

still would be interesting.

does seem a lot of his big runs were single back runs.

 

[Threedee]

From JS's interview with Brock and Danny this guy will be the hammer for Lynch. JS loves the way he roots guys out of the hole, as JS puts it. He was not brought here to pass block. As I see it after listening to JS Small will be the goal line and short yardage dozer.

This. Our goal line and short yardage offense was terrible last year. Meanwhile, we turned 3rd & 11 and 4th & 7 into an art.

 

[hawknation2014]

Here he is for pre-OTAs:

http://www.seahawks.com/videos-photos/p ... f97dce2780

 

[themunn]

And I saw Small knock guys back too...its about power and leverage.

It's much less frequent with Small.

Might have something to do with you watching 14 years of Mack Strong at NFL level compared to a couple of years of Kiero Small packed into highlights

 

[Jville]

I remember a former 2an round wide receiver who disappointed and was benched a couple of times in his rookie year. I also remember their solution was to bring in an undrafted rookie free agent who proceeded to upstage that highly touted second year receiver in preparation, dedication and leadership. Without Doug Baldwin, I am not so sure that other guy would have developed, cashed in and gotten paid this off season.

Now I did not bring this up to throw rocks or point a finger at prior second round draft picks. I brought it up because the staff does know what it wants and will take the necessary steps to realize their goals. My understanding is that they like the leadership, attitude and nastiness Kiero Small brings to the contest.

Kiero Small's arrival signals a renewed emphasis on blocking attitude and the renewed emphasis of forcing Seahawk will on opponents. A Seahawk running back must block and earn the trust to protect. The staff plan is for Kiero Small to help amplify those attributes and make the running back corp better. If the results are comparable to the effect an obscure wide receiver had on his receiver corp three years ago, it will put a smile on the collective face of the coaching staff ... as well as the collective faces of most fans.

 

[hawknation2014]

At least one person agrees with me: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ ... id=2550157

WEAKNESSES Very short and short-armed. Does not drive defenders out of the hole and often is stalemated on contact. Average body control. Not a nuanced route runner. Only has a 25-inch vertical jump and clocked a 4.55-second 20-yard shuttle time at his pro day.

5'8 tall with 28'' arms.

40: 4.91
SHUTTLE: 4.55
3-CONE: 7.27
BROAD: 8'6.5
VERTICAL: 25''

Whether you like his blocking or not, objectively Small is the worst athlete the team has drafted in many years. He's officially the Rudy of the Seattle Seahawks. Hope he makes it.

 

[Jville]

At least one person agrees with me: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ ... id=2550157

WEAKNESSES Very short and short-armed. Does not drive defenders out of the hole and often is stalemated on contact. Average body control. Not a nuanced route runner. Only has a 25-inch vertical jump and clocked a 4.55-second 20-yard shuttle time at his pro day.

5'8 tall with 28'' arms.

40: 4.91
SHUTTLE: 4.55
3-CONE: 7.27
BROAD: 8'6.5
VERTICAL: 25''

Whether you like his blocking or not, objectively Small is the worst athlete the team has drafted in many years. He's officially the Rudy of the Seattle Seahawks. Hope he makes it.

:177692: You have convinced me.

You do not like Kiero Small.

You do not like how the Seahawks used their 7th round pick.

But is it really necessary to pick a fight with Notre Dame?

 

[hawknation2014]

At least one person agrees with me: http://www.nfl.com/draft/2014/profiles/ ... id=2550157

WEAKNESSES Very short and short-armed. Does not drive defenders out of the hole and often is stalemated on contact. Average body control. Not a nuanced route runner. Only has a 25-inch vertical jump and clocked a 4.55-second 20-yard shuttle time at his pro day.

5'8 tall with 28'' arms.

40: 4.91
SHUTTLE: 4.55
3-CONE: 7.27
BROAD: 8'6.5
VERTICAL: 25''

Whether you like his blocking or not, objectively Small is the worst athlete the team has drafted in many years. He's officially the Rudy of the Seattle Seahawks. Hope he makes it.

:177692: You have convinced me.

You do not like Kiero Small.

You do not like how the Seahawks used their 7th round pick.

But is it really necessary to pick a fight with Notre Dame?

I wouldn't say I don't like Small. He seems like a cool guy who has overcome major physical limitations. Kind of like Rudy.

 

[HawKnPeppa]

From JS's interview with Brock and Danny this guy will be the hammer for Lynch. JS loves the way he roots guys out of the hole, as JS puts it. He was not brought here to pass block. As I see it after listening to JS Small will be the goal line and short yardage dozer.

Great minds think alike. He will be like Anthony 'Boobie' Dixon was in the 9er goal line 'jumbo' package.

 

[hawknation2014]

Great minds think alike. He will be like Anthony 'Boobie' Dixon was in the 9er goal line 'jumbo' package.

Anthony Dixon (6'1, 233, 4.67)
Michael Robinson (6'1, 240, 4.57)
Derrick Coleman (6'0, 230, 4.56)
Spencer Ware (5'10, 228, 4.62)
Robert Turbin (5'10, 222, 4.42)- good blocker and athlete, wish he would convert to FB because he lacks balance and vision as a runner.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

Not to turn this into a hawknation vs. the world thread but I have to agree with the general consensus here. Height is a non issue considering Small has the muscle and it's much easier to blow a guy up if you get underneath them. From the video I've seen, he looks reliable and wants to hit. There were a handful of times he initially appeared to miss his block but after rewatching, often times the HB failed to follow him into the hole or the QB moved way outside the pocket. He wasn't perfect everytime but he well the majority of the time.

I hope he makes the cut. Sippin' the Kool-Aid... :179422:

Generally, people don't like to stick their necks out there when they disagree with a decision by the FO.

Overall, the FO did a good job selecting players will a high ceiling to develop into productive players. For whatever reason, this looks like it was a throwaway pick because Small's physical limitations are unlikely to translate well to this level where the defensive players are all bigger, stronger, and faster. I also thought the decision to trade their original 7th Rounder for one year of Pryor was somewhat of a throwaway decision. I think there's a good reason there have not been 5'8 fullbacks in this league. But, of course, I hope he exceeds expectations and turns into a productive player; he could be the shortest fullback in league history.

Throw away pick? What is that?

Assess these points:

1. Even if you hate the pick, what you can't argue is that Small, just entering the league, is probably the best FB on the roster. He plays the position naturally with decisive instincts and plays with great physically and toughness.

2. JS loves this pick...probably because he's also a hobbit. But it wasn't even his pick...

3. The scout in charge of scouting FBs chose Smalls as the best FB in this Class over all other prospects.

4. The obviously speaks high of Smalls and what he can do for this team... 26 broken facemasks is crazy.

5. Even his college coach loved him and said something along the lines that Smalls was such an important part of the offense that they couldn't run it without Smalls.

So, throwaway pick... Nah. Small has a great chance to make this team has the starting FB. And if he doesn't it just means that Coleman or Ware worked their ass off to out compete him. Which makes everyone better.

6. You guys using the FB is only used on this % of snaps or Marshawn Lynch runs just as good without a FB arguments. Are missing a few key points:

A) Marshawn Lynch will be 28?
B) Even though he's all about that action, I'm pretty certain that he's very thankful for when he does have a lead blocker to limit that wear and tear on his body.
C) Also, Lynch gets the ball A LOT, 35% of 300 carries, is more than 100 times he has a FB taking that initial damage for him.

Hate on Smalls all you want but he's probably the best guy on the roster willing to put his body on the line to protect our bigger, more important assets like Lynch and Wilson.

 

[Smellyman]

A lead blocker limits wear and tear?

 

[Erebus]

I like the pick, but lets not get too carried away with the broken facemasks. Remember Owen Schmitt? He had a lot of broken facemasks too but it didn't make him a good fullback.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

A lead blocker limits wear and tear?

Are you actually serious...or does this need to explained.

There is a reason why the decline of the workhorse running back coincided with the decline of the lead blocking FB. There is a reason why the majority of teams are using running backs by committee as well as getting their RBs out in space more...

To limit wear and tear.

If Lynch went a full seasons without any lead blockers, he'd probably have retired from football by now.

And look at the best RBs throughout history, more often than not, he'll be accompanied by a distinguished FB. If I remember Emmitt Smith's HoF induction speech well, he was in tears of admiration for how thankful he was for Daryl Johnston.

So its pretty much logical, workhorse backs like Marshawn Lynch need a quality FB such as Michael Robinson to get him through the grind of 300+ carries. Its that simple.

 

[Pandion Haliaetus]

A lead blocker limits wear and tear?

Are you actually serious...or does this need to explained.

There is a reason why the decline of the workhorse running back coincided with the decline of the lead blocking FB. There is a reason why the majority of teams are using running backs by committee as well as getting their RBs out in space more...

To limit wear and tear.

If Lynch went a full seasons without any lead blockers, he'd probably have retired from football by now.

And look at the best RBs throughout history, more often than not, he'll be accompanied by a distinguished FB. If I remember Emmitt Smith's HoF induction speech well, he was in tears of admiration for how thankful he was for Daryl Johnston.

So its pretty much logical, workhorse backs like Marshawn Lynch need a quality FB such as Michael Robinson to get him through the grind of 300+ carries. Its that simple.

 

[jammerhawk]

He was brought in to compete with Coleman and Ware for the job, J&P thought for whatever reason that he was worth picking @ pick #227 you can moan about his short arms or lack of height but he played well as a college FB and has a distinct leverage advantage. Who knows if he'll actually survive and make the team but the demonstrably best FO thought he was worth drafting and they've been right an awful lot.

I'm curious to see what he can do, and very interested what happens with the rest of the RBs as well. Am hoping to see a bit more Christine Michael this year but he'll need to win his spot. Nice depth on the team at RB &FB.

 

[sam1313]

Great minds think alike. He will be like Anthony 'Boobie' Dixon was in the 9er goal line 'jumbo' package.

Anthony Dixon (6'1, 233, 4.67)
Michael Robinson (6'1, 240, 4.57)
Derrick Coleman (6'0, 230, 4.56)
Spencer Ware (5'10, 228, 4.62)
Robert Turbin (5'10, 222, 4.42)- good blocker and athlete, wish he would convert to FB because he lacks balance and vision as a runner.

Good point. I would like to see that as well. Still like the fact that Small brings the wood...

 

[Largent80]

If Small breaks face masks in the pre season, I don't care if someone else outperforms him, I just want that factor on the Hawks.

 

[edogg23]

On the KJR they asked John Snider if they had any oh crap moments where their guy was taken ahead of them. He said in the 7th round the fb they wanted was taken 3-4 picks in front of them. So it appears Smalls wasn't even their first choice at fb.

 

[DavidSeven]

On the KJR they asked John Snider if they had any oh crap moments where their guy was taken ahead of them. He said in the 7th round the fb they wanted was taken 3-4 picks in front of them. So it appears Smalls wasn't even their first choice at fb.

That's wrong. They wanted a different player in the 7th, but it wasn't a fullback. In fact, there was no other fullback taken in the 7th round, so you could have checked that pretty easily. JS said Small was his top rated fullback on Brock and Danny.

The player they wanted in the 7th was likely Beau Allen, a DT from Wisconsin. He was taken three spots ahead of Small and fits the profile of players that JS likes (SPARQ athlete, from Wisconsin).