Seahawks’ RBs - Who Starts? Will It Matter?
As the spring passes into recent memory and we brace for the frenzy of training camps (the Ravens and the Redskins open camp on the 22nd of July, with the rest of the NFL following suit over the following week), one ongoing situation of interest to fantasy owners is the new-look rushing attack in Seattle. Shaun Alexander has been shown the door and NFL veterans Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett welcomed into the Seahawk’s backfield. They, together with holdover Maurice Morris, figure to split up the carries during coach Mike Holmgren’s final season as head coach in Seattle. So, on the eve of training camps, the pressing question for fantasy owners is this: who among the three candidates is the favorite to start for the Seahawks?
Unfortunately, the answer as of today (according to USA Today’s Larry Weisman) is “we don’t know who the starter is yet”. Coach Holmgren stated in early July “We probably won’t make that decision right until late. We’ll go into training camp. You know Mo (Morris) and Julius are going to carry the ball a good portion of the time. Leonard’s (Weaver) going to be our starting fullback. The one I have to figure out a little bit is how we are going to use Duckett.”
As coach Holmgren also points out, the progress of the young men on the offensive line are going to determine how much improvement the new players at RB can show over the old lineup - “I really thought we made too many errors last year, and I am not talking physical errors necessarily. I am talking mental errors, more than we have in the past. … I want to see that improved… Secondly, the technique of some of the fellas — they have been playing enough now. Some of the guys that I called young last year I am not going to call young anymore. They have played enough now; let’s get it going, and let’s see some improvement. Lastly, you have to see it come together — a cohesive unit — and then our new running backs have to learn it.”
The Seahawks averaged 3.8 yards per carry last year (tied for 22nd in the NFL) - there is plenty of room for improvement, without a doubt. Unless we see the O-line jell during training camp and the exhibition season, the name of the Seahawks’ starter come September may not matter too much.
Football is a team game, and right now the Seahawks’ rushing attack is a big question mark due to the lack of cohesion along the offensive line. Because of the ongoing process of building team chemistry on that unit in Seattle, fantasy owners need to pay attention to more than just who gets named the starter at RB.
Once we see if the offensive line can open decent holes, then we can worry about whether the Seahawks’ RBs will be stuck in a committee (or not).
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