Sea Hawk Run!

Welcome to my new blog, Sea Hawk Run!

Just in time for the 2012 season, I plan to focus on the Seahawk running game as I've done for a few years on the NW Sports Talk Forum as 'CamasMan" and more recently at the 17 Power Blog. If you're into the Seahawks and into the running game, this blog is for you!

Some background... I've never played a snap of organized football. With the toughness of a placekicker, the speed of a nose tackle, the hands of a 3rd string defender, and the hand-eye coordination of a replacement ref, my natural sport is swimming, not football.

So, why did I get into run game analysis? It was because too many low-down rotten Seahawk "fans" decided to actually "boo" Shawn Alexander. What were they thinking? Yeah, the team was struggling, but you don't "boo" the MVP running back that had just set league records and brought the team to the Super Bowl just two years before.

This taught me two things: 1) that some "fans" suck, and 2) that 90%+ of the people who watch football don't know crap about the running game - including me at the time. So I started recording every game on the DVR and playing back the running plays in slow motion. I started notating stats galore and tried to figure out who was to blame. Unfortunately, I had little insight into what plays were actually called, so I was never 100% sure that a given player botched any given play.

Still, I came to conclusions: Our guards were responsible for most of the problems. Gray was past his prime and was the worst offender. Sims was young (he's still playing in Detroit) and let his share of defenders through the line. Jones was consistent game after game, though he let defenders through here and there. Locklear (playing for the Giants) was terribly inconsistent. A week after his worst games, he would often play nearly perfectly. It was hard for me to judge Spencer (still playing for Chicago). I gave him some slack, having to snap the ball and all.

So, what about the running backs? I didn't have much insight into the fullback position. I just saw that time after time, Mack Strong would run through a hole that would close before the running back would get there. Maurice Morris (with the Lions last year - now a free agent) ran downhill, but (surprisingly?) it consistently took more people to tackle Alexander than Morris. Yes, Shawn would dance behind the line and avoid unnecessary contact, but he could still attack a hole and was still difficult to bring down. And he still had the open field speed to burn the opposition for some long runs. The biggest problem for both RBs, however, was contact in the backfield before they could gain any momentum. We had far too many negative plays.

Looking back, I now blame the coaching staff and front office as much as anybody. They didn't get the line to play in concert in a way that supported Alexander's style. And if they weren't willing to support Alexander, why the heck did they sign him to that fat contract? If there is any indication that Ruskell was throwing players at Holmgren and that Holmgren wasn't invested into those players, this was it.

Fast forward to 2012. We now have a front office and coaching staff that are 100% in sync. We have a clear philosophy: to run first based on the Alex Gibbs zone blocking scheme. We have a brutal back in Marshawn Lynch - and a skilled young support runner in Robert Turbin. And best of all, we have a fantastic assistant head and line coach in Tom Cable. Everybody is now on the same page. Including me.

I now have nearly five years experience in analyzing the Seahawks' running game. And I know the philosophy as well as how zone plays are supposed to work.

I also now have a blog: Sea Hawk Run! I hope you enjoy it!