offtopic » Running backs are a weapon in the NFL.

Running backs are a weapon in the NFL. This is indisputable. And not just as receivers out of the backfield either Nazair Jones Jersey , this is not a mind game I’m playing with you where I flip the script in a second and say that running doesn’t matter. Of course it matters. Ezekiel Elliott is a great example of a running back who is a weapon on the ground and successful in spite of the Dallas Cowboys having nary the whisper of a passing game threat. Elliott has led the NFL in rushing yards per game in each of his first two seasons and he’s doing it again:73 carries, 426 rushing yards, 5.8 yards per carry, and without him the Cowboys would almost certainly be 0-4 instead of 2-2. He’s a weapon on the ground. No question. He’s the best running back in the league ... and Dallas is 30th in scoring.Ok, I might flip the script a tiny bit. A few pages at least.I still want to make it clear though that it would be ludicrous to pretend like running backs don’t matter at all; they’re a rich and important piece of the history of football. They remain viable threats among the 11 players who start on offense, specifically among the five skill players you expect to see in most offensive formations. The question isn’t, “Do running backs matter?”The question instead that should be focused on is: Do running backs matter the least out of those five skill players on the field? More and more evidence is pointing to the answer being “Yes.” People fighting against that answer — especially people who argue that running backs matter the most out of those five skill players on the field — are potentially still holding onto a version of football that has not existed in quite some time.And they have little-to-no evidence to support an argument that the running back could be nearly as important as the quarterback, or even more important than a number one receiver, number two receiver, or tight end. Instead the argument seems to always fall onto the side of not, “This is why I believe running backs are still as valuable as they were in the 1900s,” but: “I just don’t believe you or those odd-looking stats you cite.”When it comes to presenting evidence that running backs can still have a 50/50 contribution to an offense (that teams would split the responsibility between the QB and the RB, or that running plays are as valuable as passing plays), there simply isn’t any. There’s really none. Here is a little bit of evidence that not only are running backs or rushing not near the level of important of quarterbacks and passing, but that they might now be relegated, for the most part, to being a relatively small piece of an offense; a weapon that you dispatch at times knowing that a completed pass will likely get you much more.In other words, running backs are more like a WILL linebacker to an offense than they are a number one pass rusher or a shutdown corner.2018 has taken the run-pass imbalance to the next level and I would think that virtually all of the notable single-season and single-game passing records will be broken. Why? Well ... why not? If passing is this efficient, why would you go back to a style of offense that is decades past its effectiveness?The Top OffensesKansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes broke the record for most touchdown passes through three games, totaling 13 before the Chiefs’ Week 4 MNF game against the Denver Broncos. Mahomes added a touchdown against the Broncos and hasn’t throw an interception yet. If you’ve watched Mahomes this season, at any point did you think to yourself, “Damn, Chiefs need to run the ball more”?He, more than any other QB, seems to represent a further shift in the evolution of quarterbacks and the passing game. His number one target is a tight end. His number two is a 5’10 speed guy who likely could have been a running back in a not-so-distant past life. His number three is more of a classic “#1 WR” type who was the fourth overall pick a few years ago. Kareem Hunt went into Monday Night Football with 52 carries for 168 yards (3.2 YPC) and only three targets. Hunt was a Pro Bowl running back a year ago and instead of leaning on him, Andy Reid has shifted almost all of the focus to the talents of Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Tyreek Hill, and Sammy Watkins. Hunt had 63 targets last season. He might be lucky to get a third of that. Folks may turn to MNF and say, “Well, Hunt carried it 19 times for 121 yards and Kansas City won while scoring 27!” but that is an abuse of context.Hunt ran it a lot and ran it well in the first three quarters of the game. The score going into the fourth quarter: Broncos 20, Chiefs 13. Hunt was killing it and perhaps the best offense in the NFL prior to Week 4 was relegated to just 13 points. It became Mahomes’ offense in the fourth quarter and things were right again, with KC scoring two touchdowns to come from behind and win the game on the road.And snap counts among skill players? WR Chris Conley, 73TE Travis Kelce, 73WR Tyreek Hill, 70WR Demarcus Robinson, 45RB Kareem Hunt, 45So even when you add in the 24 snaps by running back Spencer Ware, the combined snaps of KC’s top two backs still doesn’t equal the individual snaps of Conley, Kelce Womens Chris Carson Jersey , or Hill. This is a top-two offense in the NFL.Not that Reid minds an offense without a rushing attack: This is his 20th season as a head coach and he hasn’t had an offense that finished top-10 in rush attempts since 2002. He’s had eight teams that finished top-10 in pass attempts. And what does that do for a ground game? Reid’s had a team rank top-10 in yards per carry in 15 of his previous 19 campaigns. It’s not about running a lot, it’s about running efficiently; Reid’s “elite” backs? LeSean McCoy (52nd overall pick), Brian Westbrook (91st), and Hunt (86th). They’ve all helped a Reid offense finish top-three in yards per carry, as did Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware in 2015.If you wanted to argue against Reid’s credentials as an offensive genius, 2018 would not be the time to do it.The other 4-0 team with a new world offense is the LA Rams.The Rams are second in scoring at 35 points per game, which is five points per game better than their NFL-best scoring output in 2017. The biggest reason for that: Jared Goff. Sean McVay has managed to help get Goff from 62% completions, 8 Y/A last season to 72% and 10.5 Y/A in 2018. His current passer rating of 127.3 would be an NFL record (and Mahomes is also on pace for breaking that record) and how much of that has to do with Todd Gurley?Some.In their recent 38-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings — a defense I was told many times is great — Gurley ran it 17 times for 83 yards and no touchdowns. He caught four passes for 73 yards and one touchdown. Gurley’s value as a runner was nowhere near his value as a receiver. Goff threw it to Gurley six times and gained over 10 yards per attempt, more than double his 4.8 yards per carry. Of course you can’t abandon the run (I mean, that’s really more of a hypothesis until we see a team do it), but how difficult is getting 4.8 YPC from any NFL caliber back behind this offensive line? Gurley’s DVOA as a runner: 9.4%Gurley’s DVOA as a receiver: 21.2%The snap counts were more even than in Kansas City’s game, but still emphasized that Gurley is more like “one of the guys” than “the guy.”WR Robert Woods, 55 snapsWR Cooper Kupp, 53 snapsRB Todd Gurley, 53 snapsWR Brandin Cooks, 52 snapsAnd season yardage totals for these four players? It goes 452 receiving to Cooks, 348 to Kupp, 338 rushing to Gurley, and 323 receiving to Woods. Add in his 192 receiving and Gurley leads the team in total yardage, but as a runner, his contributions feel more mandatory than anything else.In both cases, let me ask you this: Five Things We Learned From Ken Norton Jr.’s Appearance On 710 ESPN SeattleKey takeaways from defensive coordinator Ken Norton Jr.'s interview on 710 ESPN Seattle.Podcast Player - Seahawks OC Brian Schottenheimer talks 2018 seasonFive Things We Learned From Brian Schottenheimer’s Appearance On 710 ESPN SeattleKey takeaways from offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's appearance on 710 ESPN Seattle.Podcast Player - Seahawks DC Ken Norton Jr. on the 2018 seasonThursday Round-Up: Colville High School Coach Nominated For 2018 Don Shula NFL High School Coach Of The Year AwardColville High School football coach Randy Cornwell was recognized by the Seattle Seahawks for his leadership, character and integrity, and on-field success.Podcast: Dallas aftermath, the 2018 season and looking ahead 芦 Seahawks Draft BlogOpinion: Seattle Seahawks – the lost season that wasn’t – The Observer0 Flares 0 Flares 脳 To say the Seahawks had a rough off-season before the 2018 opener would be putting on a thick coat of sugar. Richard Sherman said the Seahawks lost their way after he was released. Rumors dropped alleging Seattle’s supposed coddling of star quarterback Russell Wilson. Earl Thomas was contemplating holding out,...Seahawks QB Russell Wilson to attend Yankees spring training again | SI.comSeahawks quarterback Russell Wilson will attend Yankees spring training again this year.Seahawks fire strength and conditioning staff, head trainer – ProFootballTalkSeahawks head strength and conditioning coach Chris Carlisle wasn't the only member of the team's strength staff to get let go this week. Assistant strength and conditioning coaches Mondray Gee and Jamie Yanchar, and head trainer Donald Rich were also fired by the team this week, sources told PFT...Seahawks grades: Final judgment of the 2018 seasonFinal Seahawks grades for the 2018 season. Seattle may not have won a Super Bowl but they exceeded expectations and the grades show that.Around The NFL Podcast: Divisional Round Preview - NFL.comThe heroes -- Dan Hanzus, Gregg Rosenthal, Marc Sessler and Chris Wesseling -- react to the latest coaching moves and Antonio Brown's relationship with the Steelers, and they break down this weekend's games.Rams' Zac Taylor is favorite to land Bengals job - NFL.comZac Taylor is coaching a team that is still alive in a chase for a Lombardi Trophy. But whenever and however that chase ends, he'll be wanted on the banks of the Ohio River for a promotion.Bruce Arians: Bucs OC Byron Leftwich is a 'rising star' - NFL.comBruce Arians is back in football after a yearlong sabbatical that took him to broadcast booths across the country. From that vantage point, he had a pretty good view of what Byron Leftwich was doing.Steelers president open to trading WR Antonio Brown - NFL.comHas Antonio Brown played his final down in Pittsburgh? Steelers president Art Rooney II said Thursday that while they won't release Brown "all other options are on the table."Broncos' Vic Fangio: 'Von Miller can play even better' - NFL.comVic Fangio has long been one of the smartest defensive minds in football. And in Von Miller he inherits one of the league's best players. The new Broncos coach believes Miller's best days are still ahead.Leonard Fournette, Tom Coughlin meet to clear air - NFL.comA week after Jaguars executive vice president Tom Coughlin openly criticized RB Leonard Fournette, the two sides met to smooth things over and are prepared to move forward amicably, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports.Reports: Nick Rapone, Kevin Garver to join Buccaneers coaching staff – ProFootballTalkBruce Arians is continuing to get the band back together in Tampa. Wide receivers coach Kevin Garver is leaving the Arizona Cardinals to re-join Arians with the Buccaneers, according to Josh Weinfuss of ESPN.com.Alshon Jeffery thinks Adam Gase will turn Sam Darnold into MVP candidate – ProFootballTalkPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver Alshon Jeffery only spent one season with Adam Gase as his offensive coordinator in Chicago. That short stint left a strong impression with Jeffery and has him predicting big things for Gase and quarterback Sam Darnold in New York.