There were a number of bright spots in Sunday's disappointing loss to the Rams, including Carpenter's return to the active roster, a total of 179 yards in the run game, and Lynch taking over the top rushing spot in the league with 423 yards. But what really got my attention was the 3rd quarter performance by rookie and 4th round pick, Robert Turbin.
In case you don't know who Robert Turbin is, he's the one with the biceps...
Let's look at the numbers: In the 3rd quarter, Turbin got 44 yards on five touches for 8.8 yards per carry. This wasn't a matter of one giant run and four duds. Of his five runs, three were for first downs. His shortest run was for two yards and that followed his 9 yard run to gain a first down. Oh yeah, his second shortest runs were for nine yards. Overalls, they were for 9, 2, 9, 9, and 13 yards.
This was the first time Turbin got a sustained set of carries in a real NFL game and he made the best of his opportunity. Clearly, he's not just a preseason flash. In St. Louis, Turbin also collected a couple of passes for 13 yards, contributing a total of 58 yards in eight plays.
Here are Turbin's 3rd quarter run plays:
[10:01] 1st and 10 on the SEA 34. '22' personnel.
There are 2 TEs, but McCoy sets up wide left. The line play is zone left as Turbin makes a nice cut back inside Carpenter at left guard. Turbin tries to avoid a man and is then carried forward another three yards by Unger only to get smashed by Giacomini and his man. 9 yards with a tough ending.
[9:25] 2nd and 1 on the SEA 43. '22' personnel.
Even with '22' personnel, Rams show pass D. (2nd and 1 rocks!) The Rams then load up our right side just before we run zone to that side. Turbin cuts back left as we create a textbook crease. Turbin then cuts back inside and makes the safety miss. Unfortunately, Unger didn't make his 2nd level block stick, otherwise the Seahulk is in free space. Still, we got 2 yards and the first down.
[8:47] 1st and 10 on the SEA 45. '11' personnel. Shotgun.
Inside zone right as the Rams D plays the pass. McCoy slashes back as Giacomini and Unger open a huge hole and McQuistan goes forward. Turbin smashes the safety at eight yards, gets another three and earns 11 yards and the first down.
[:41] 1st and 10 on the STL 40. '21' personnel.
Zone left as the Rams D plays the run. Turbin cuts back hard, breaks a tackle at the line, another at five yards and is finally taken down after a gain of 9 yards.
[:06] 2nd and 1 on the STL 31. '22' personnel.
Zone left as Rams play run again. Turbin sneaks through a sliver of a hole into open space. Seahulk powers between two tacklers for 13 yards and the first down.
On the first play, Turbin becomes a super-Hulk with Unger carrying him. #22 showed his toughness by staying in the game after getting smashed. In the second play, Turbin made a great read for a sharp cut into the line followed by a second cut away from the defender. Had Unger not let his linebacker keep his arms extended, it would have been yet another long run. On runs three and four, Turbin makes like Beast Mode, Jr., breaking tackles and smashing forward solo. On his fifth, and signature, run, Turbin hits the hole quickly, gets narrow like Justin Forsett, and bursts into space. He ends the run by splitting his tacklers, maximizing the gain.
While Turbin doesn't have the wide-legged stability and the mad ferocity of Beast Mode, he's equally willing to do the one cut and downhill running style that Cable's zone blocking scheme demands. Like Lynch, he's willing to pound forward to take one yard and leave three bruises. (Okay, Lynch would get two or three yards and leave five bruises.) But there are a few differences: Turbin's cuts are quicker and tighter. For a guy with that much upper body mass, those quick moves are impressive. He's also got a faster top gear than Lynch, so once Turbin gets into open space, he's got more potential to beat the opposition downfield.
The surprising thing to me, however, is Turbin's ability to get small at the point of attack. He's like a puffer fish who takes in water to show off his guns, but who can spit it out to get skinny through a closing hole. I've seen this a couple of times now in the regular season, and it's like a David Copperfield illusion. One moment you think he's slamming into a mass of linemen and split second later, he's popping out the other side at speed. This simply isn't in Marshawn's toolkit and Turbin will likely surprise a few teams with that skill down the road.
Marshawn improved his receiving game this week with four catches for 37 yards. This was nice to see as Lynch hasn't been a strong outlet receiver since joining the team. Turbin, by contrast, has shown great hands since he arrived, catching both passes that came his way. It was great to see both backs make those screen and outlet catches smoothly without a drop.
The days of a half-injured Shaun Alexander, Mo Morris, and Julius Jones running behind an undisciplined line are behind us. Not only do we have a line that can run block, we now have two backs who can perform in a well-defined system and who can both run and catch.
Mostly, it was great to see Turbin get an opportunity to show us his stuff. Given that we want Lynch to be strong all season long (and then some) and given that some teams will let down their guard when they see that #24 has left the field, I hope that Turbin's opportunities keep on coming.
"I have an Army!"
"We have a Hulk."
SEA HAWK RUN!
RUN HAWK RUN!
GO HAWKS!
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