It’s time for the Seattle Seahawks to involve their running backs in the passing game.
No, no not like this:
If Klint
Kubiak doesn’t run a trick play the rest of the season I’ll write him a thank you card.
I’m talking about a 100-yard game from Kenneth Walker. Just the third on the season, and for the first time he passed 100 yards in back-to-back games.
Neither of them came from rushing alone.
In addition to 71 yards on 11 carries, good for his second-best average of the season, Kenneth Walker had three receptions for 30 yards against the Tennessee Titans in Week 12.
Let’s talk about why that matters.
Walker’s had a weird season. The weirdest part by far is how the team has used him, not how he plays.
We’ve already established there’s more than whispers that the coaching staff has a dedicated load management plan. And perhaps it’s working! Walker’s played in all 11 games this season – the first time in his career.
But something more interesting has emerged that past two games. Finally, Klint Kubiak has turned to his running backs as pass catchers. It was successful against the Los Angeles Rams, and the Titans in Week 12 as well.
In just two weeks, Walker has 6 receptions for 74 yards. Three catches per game. Here’s the list the rest of the season:
- Week 2 – 1
- Week 3 – 1
- Week 4 – 1
- Week 5 – 1
- Week 6 – 1
- Week 7 – 0
- Week 8 – 2
- Week 9 – 1
- Week 10 – 1
The only exception was three catches in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. But we burn the tape from that game; they’ve never looked remotely close to what that offense was.
Not every play is successful. Walker had a 29-yard gain on Sunday, meaning the other two passes weren’t anything special. But it also means that in consecutive weeks Walker turned out an explosive play in both the passing and rushing game. That is a legitimate part of Ken Walker’s game, and it’s time the team start using it. In fact, it’s odd that that a Klint Kubiak team hasn’t turned to it much until now.
Seattle still is what it is in the screen game and similar plays. I’m not advocating for six targets per game to running backs, or to go heavy on trickery. Mostly, it’s the running back check down that’s been absent this season. They’ve preferred tight ends in this, which is fine, but it does seem like the absence has been felt.
While we continue to await the day that a competent center and right guard will bust open the run game and give us 130-yard spectacles, hopefully this two-week step is a sign of good things to come. And maybe take a little hero ball out of Sam Darnold.
