One of the clearest things Brock Huard wants to see from the Seahawks’ offense is simple: get Rashid Shaheed more touches out of the backfield.
That was the former NFL quarterback’s message Monday on Seattle Sports’ Brock and Salk during his Blue 88 segment, coming off Seattle’s win over the Chargers. Huard pointed to Shaheed’s two carries Sunday and said the Seahawks need more of that kind of wrinkle to juice a run game that has been uneven through the first month.
“More Rashid Shaheed,” Huard said. “(He had) two carries yesterday. He got the explosive run (on a) beautiful toss play (that was) well blocked.”
Shaheed finished with 33 rushing yards on those two attempts, including a 28-yard touchdown on the toss play Huard highlighted. It was the Seahawks’ longest run of the year and only their second carry of 20 yards or more this season. The other came from Jadarian Price, who had a 25-yard run in Week 2 before landing on injured reserve this past week.
Seattle’s ground game has been all over the map since the season began. The Seahawks opened with a performance that came within three yards of 100 rushing yards, then reached the century mark twice in the first four weeks. But there was also the Week 3 clunker against Washington, when they managed just 44 yards on the ground, and the team still hasn’t consistently found explosive runs.
The challenge got tougher with Price now out, leaving Emanuel Wilson, George Holani and Velus Jones Jr. as the healthy running backs on the 53-man roster.
Huard’s solution was to lean into Shaheed’s speed the way other teams have leaned on versatile weapons in the run game. He brought up San Francisco’s use of Deebo Samuel, while noting Shaheed is a different kind of player.
“(They) try to take some of the load off Christian McCaffrey over the course of the season from a lesson learned last year, and they’ve got old Debo back there. He’s got guys bouncing off of him still… He’s remarkable because you can’t tackle him, and it’s not like he’s Derrick Henry. But his lower half and his power in his legs - if you don’t wrap, you don’t tackle him,” Huard said.
“Shaheed’s a little different. He is absolute speed.
And when you can get him on the toss sweep, you get him on the jet sweep, you can get him into some of your run action, it does turn into some punt return kind of looks for him with space - and we know how unbelievably dynamic he is. So, that was a cool little adjustment to add some explosion, to add a gear that George and Emanuel just don’t have.”
In Other News...
Seahawks Win Came With One Ugly Problem Fans Wont Ignore
The Seahawks left no doubt about the result in Sundays 30-23 win over the Chargers, and there was plenty to like beyond the final score. Connor OTooles recovery of a muffed punt helped set up an early touchdown, the defense forced three turnovers, and Derick Halls late fumble recovery closed the door as Seattle moved to 3-1.
Still, the victory came with an ugly number that was hard to miss: a franchise-record 150 penalty yards. Even with the lead never truly slipping away, the constant flags kept the Chargers around longer than Seattle would have preferred, leaving the Seahawks with a win that looked convincing on the scoreboard and messy everywhere else. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks May Have Avoided A Huge Leonard Williams Problem
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Macdonalds early read offered at least some relief, saying the injury does not appear serious, but the next few days will still matter. Williams availability for the Seahawks upcoming matchup with the 49ers will hinge on how he looks in practice, and until those reports come in, Seattle is left trying to gauge whether it dodged a major problem or just bought itself a short wait. [Read more 🡒]
Seahawks Are 3-1 But This Win Exposed A Costly Problem
The Seahawks got the kind of messy AFC-to-NFC crossover game that tends to reveal as much as it rewards, with turnovers and flags shaping the afternoon almost as much as the play calling. Drake Thomas picked off Justin Herbert on the Chargers first snap, setting an early tone at Lumen Field, while Seattle answered with a 28-yard touchdown run by Shaheed and a defense that kept poking at a Chargers offense trying to settle in.
But the more the game wore on, the more the penalties became impossible to ignore for a 3-1 team trying to look like a true contender. Seattle and Los Angeles both had drives slowed or stalled by flags, and the Seahawks own mistakes left them having to fight for every clean sequence. For a team with a winning record, the concern is less about the flash plays than whether that sloppiness is becoming part of the identity. [Read more 🡒]