rushing
offense in
2018
Byron Maxwell
Color Rush Jersey , and Pete Carroll¡¯s run-first approach that was
prevalent from 2012-2014 made its return this season. Russell Wilson is a worlds
better quarterback in 2018 than he was from 2012-2014, and now it¡¯s universally
recognized that he is elite at his position.So when Brian Schottenheimer and
Pete Carroll refuse to deviate from an unsuccessful run-heavy gameplan as they
did in Seattle¡¯s 24-22 playoff loss against the Dallas Cowboys, national
observers take notice. Wilson¡¯s contract is up after 2019, and The Ringer¡¯s
Robert Mays not-so-jokingly brought up the idea of the Seahawks moving on from
Wilson because of the way the offense is structured.Wilson only had 27 pass
attempts against the Cowboys, but had a higher EPA than Dak Prescott and was far
more effective than the bogged down Seahawks rushing attack. And yet, Seattle
didn¡¯t have more passes than runs until the final drive of the game (and indeed
the season). Six of Seattle¡¯s 13 third-down situations saw them run the ball on
the previous two downs. In other words, run-run-pass when run-run-pass wasn¡¯t
working.It¡¯s not like the Seahawks are incapable of ¡°unleashing Russ¡± when the
run game is ineffective, and this is a topic that predates Schotty and includes
more than a few Darrell Bevell era games. Focusing on this season, they beat the
Carolina Panthers despite just 75 yards on the ground, but Schottenheimer
adjusted and Wilson tore up Carolina¡¯s secondary. But we¡¯ve also seen them
running the ball down two scores in four-minute offenses against the Los Angeles
Chargers and Los Angeles Rams. More often than not, ¡°Peteball¡± wins out over
cutting Wilson loose. Perhaps they fear a higher volume passing attack or
passing more on early downs is too risky because an early-down sack can kill a
drive in ways that consecutive runs tend not to, but you don¡¯t need to be a
mathematician to figure out that passing is way more valuable than running.I
don¡¯t think Seattle is going to part ways with Wilson. There¡¯s also been no
indication that Wilson is that frustrated with the system. He has been
sensational and is one of the most greatest athletes in the city¡¯s entire
history. But high-profile games like the Cowboys loss will undoubtedly stir up
discussion over whether it makes financial sense to tie up that much money to a
quarterback on an offense that seemingly values running backs above all else.One
thing I do know is that Carroll is not going to abandon what he believes in, for
better or worse. It¡¯s brought the team multiple top-10 offenses and a sustained
stretch of success that we¡¯ve not seen in any other era of Seahawks football.
But is Pete¡¯s philosophy still the best one for Russell Wilson¡¯s prime years? I
have my doubts. In the build up to the 2019 NFL Draft, one of the most repeated
questions was regarding the height of Kyler Murray out of the University of
Oklahoma. The height at which he would measure in at was..." The OffseasonThe
LookaroundLooking around the NFC West: The Arizona CardinalsNew,24commentsPDTIn
the build up to the 2019 NFL
Draft
Sebastian
Janikowski Color Rush Jersey , one of the most repeated questions was
regarding the height of Kyler Murray out of the University of Oklahoma. The
height at which he would measure in at was obviously of utmost importance
because there is no greater predictor of success in the NFL than the height of
the team¡¯s quarterback. With the Arizona Cardinals selecting Murray with the
first overall pick, and the team bringing in Kliff Kingsbury in as head coach,
there are far more question marks about the 2019 version of the Cards than there
are known quantities. How much of the Air Raid offense will Arizona run? How
much will Murray stay in the pocket and how much will the offense take advantage
of his speed? How will players on both sides of the ball adjust to their third
system in three seasons under a third different head coach? Even those players
who have been with the organization for several seasons will be asked to change
what they do and how they do it yet again. Thus, the Cards may not even be able
to rely on those few talented veterans they have on the roster. There is no
better example of this than Patrick Peterson, who has been a shut down
cornerback for the Cards for the past eight seasons, but even his ability to
contribute will be limited early as a result of his six-game suspension for
using performance enhancing drugs. In short, there¡¯s not a lot that can be known
with certainty when it comes to the Cards. Maybe the offense will be phenomenal.
Maybe the offense will bomb out at the NFL level. Maybe the Cards will present a
rebirth of Jerry Glanville¡¯s Run N Shoot. Maybe they¡¯ll see a short lived
success that is eventually figured out by opponents like during Chip Kelly¡¯s
time with the Philadelphia Eagles. The things we do know are that they will have
a roster full of highly athletic skill position players. There is no questioning
what wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald brings to the field, and Cardinals fans are
certainly hopeful that running back David Johnson returns to his pre-Mike McCoy
form. However already set to turn 28 late this season, Johnson¡¯s prime may have
already passed, as so often happens to running backs before fans are ready and
willing to accept it. Behind those two, however, Arizona is light on experience
and heavy on the hope of upside potential. At receiver alone the team has
potential playmakers in Hakeem Butler, Pharoh Cooper, Christian Kirk and Andy
Isabella, to go along with one-time first round pick and Chicago Bears mega-bust
Kevin White. While White did next to nothing during his time with the
Bears
Dontae
Johnson Color Rush Jersey , coming to play in whatever version of the Air
Raid system Kingsbury brings to the NFL puts him back in the system in which he
put up 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns as a senior at West Virginia. Getting down
to the very basic level of things, teams that face the Cards during the early
portion of the season will have an extremely limited amount of NFL level tape on
the offense the team will be running, while the Cards will be rolling out a
receiving corps that threatens deep with high end speed from nearly every
position. While Fitzgerald has undoubtedly lost a step at age 35, the other
receivers all bring the threat of beating defensive backs deep on any given
play. Butler ran a 4.48 forty at the combine, while Kirk ran a 4.45, Damiere
Byrd clocked in at 4.28 at his Pro Day back in 2015 and Isabella was timed at
4.31 at his Pro Day. That brings things back to Murray at the quarterback
position. There is never any way to know what to anticipate from a rookie
quarterback, but Murray brings a dimension that his predecessors with the
Cardinals didn¡¯t - the ability to beat defenses with his feet. No defensive
coordinator was staying up at night worrying about how to slow down Carson
Palmer, Drew Stanton or Josh Rosen on the ground, but Murray is an entirely
different beast. His slight stature will likely gather a significant amount of
coaching to avoid taking significant hits, but that won¡¯t prevent him from
running entirely. But before a defender can hit Murray, they actually have to
catch him. Opting not to run the forty at either the combine or at his Pro Day,
his exact speed is up for debate, unless one accepts ¡°really fast¡± as an
acceptably specific answer. Murray¡¯s 1,143 rushing yards over his last two
seasons with the Sooners actually outpaces the
1
D.J. Fluker Color
Rush Jersey ,076 rushing yards Chris Carson recorded with the rival
Oklahoma State Cowboys during his two seasons in Stillwater. Basically, Murray
is a threat on the ground that the Cardinals haven¡¯t had in the past, and to
gain an understanding of exactly how dangerous and how fast he is, here¡¯s a clip
of Cardinals offensive players running in practice, with Murray fighting for the
lead until the end. And in case you¡¯re wondering who that is that Murray is neck
and neck with in that sprint, it¡¯s the aforementioned Andy Isabella of the 4.31
speed. Cutting right down to the chase, nobody really knows what Arizona is
going to bring to the field this season and how well they¡¯ll be able to compete.
What we do know, however, it that it will involve an offense designed to get the
ball to playmakers in space, and those playmakers have the speed to make things
happen once they have the ball in their hands. If the Cardinals defense can give
teams fits like it did to the offenses of the Seahawks and Bears in 2018, then
they could prove a dangerous opponent in the NFC West. There¡¯s no need to panic,
but there¡¯s definitely a collection of weapons down in the desert that could
make some noise if given the chance.