Marshawn Lynch and importance of staying smashmouth
The Seattle Seahawks best game of the season was their opening victory over the Green Bay Packers, as Marshawn Lynch completely obliterated the Packers run defense, the secondary held Aaron Rodgers‘s weapons in check, and Percy Harvin did a solid job as the focal point of the passing game. It looked like the Seahawks had built the perfect blend on offense with Lynch and Harvin, but they never went back to that winning formula. Harvin’s out the door now, but the Seahawks have inexplicably given Lynch less than 20 carries on five occasions this season.
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12th Man Rising
Yesterday, the Seahawks played their best game since Week 1, and it’s no coincidence that Lynch also played his game since Week 1. The San Francisco 49ers and Seahawks haven’t been bad this season, but they have, especially the 49ers, been a bit disappointing and have slightly deviated away from their M.O. of pounding the ball with workhorses Frank Gore and Lynch. Both teams went back to their staples this week, and they were clearly better off.
There’s very little chance that I give this week’s “Player of the Week” award to anyone other than Rodgers, but Lynch is at the top of the shortlist, too. The New York Giants linebackers had no chance against the second-best running back of the 2013 season, as he beasted his way to 120 yards on 21 carries with four touchdowns and a catch for 23 yards to his credit.
Averaging 6.7 yards per carry is always impressive, but it’s an extremely difficult average to hit when carrying the ball over 20 times in a game. His two fourth quarter touchdowns turned a 17-17 game into a 31-17 one, and the Seahawks success on the ground was the main reason for their victory. Russell Wilson has been dominant on the ground, but the Seahawks best policy is to continue to feed Lynch. I get that there have been plenty of reports about how the Seahawks are going to get rid of him this offseason, but that would be a big mistake. In my book, they are better off keeping him, sucking up any of the “issues” that come with him, and spending their first-round pick on a legit No. 1 WR to replace the underrated Golden Tate. Look, if they get rid of Lynch for “issues”, then I think it’s fair to criticize the organization for getting rid of their two most talented offensive players simply because they couldn’t handle them properly. That said, Pete Carroll is generally great at managing personalties, so I’ll also reserve judgment on Lynch’s issues, which could end up proving to be significant.
In any case, Lynch is on the roster right now, and so the Seahawks might as well use him. He’s easily their most talented non-QB on offense, and he was the clear focal point last season when he impressively put up over 1,200 rushing yards behind some poor blocking (largely thanks to injuries). His play hasn’t dropped off at all this season, as he is averaging a stout 4.5 yards per carry, and the Pro Football Focus has the agile and powerful Lynch with the second-most missed tackles forces on carries. Only Dallas Cowboys workhorse DeMarco Murray has more, and he also has 91 more carries than the Seahawks star.
In losses to the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, Lynch averaged around six yards per carry, but he had just six and ten carries in those two games. When the Seahawks lost to the St. Louis Rams, he averaged just 2.9 yards per carry, and he averaged just 3.2 yards per carry in a narrow Week 9 victory over the Oakland Raiders. The Seahawks success as a team seems to be correlated with the success of their running game, and that isn’t a surprise at all. It’s also a big reason to stay smashmouth, especially without a true difference-maker in the passing game.