The message is clear. Seattle Seahawks fans want the team to give the ball to Chris Carson.
This week’s Seattle Sidelines poll concerned the Seahawks’ running game. Seattle coach Pete Carroll spoke throughout the offseason and preseason about wanting to improve its running game and get back to running the ball more. However, in Seattle’s season-opening 27-24 loss at Denver the Seahawks ran the ball just 16 times for 64 yards, and no running back received a majority of the carries.
Therefore, this week readers were asked which running back on the roster they believed should be the primary ball carrier. Here’s how you voted:
POLL: Who should be the Seahawks’ primary ball carrier? Full context, including an examination of the candidates, here: https://t.co/sdxbBj5Nlc
— Nick Patterson (@NickHPatterson) September 10, 2018
Add it all up and Chris Carson was the overwhelming selection as Seattle’s primary running back, garnering a whopping 77 percent of the vote. Rashaad Penny was a distant second at 16 percent, while C.J. Prosise (4 percent) and Mike Davis (3 percent) both received a minimal amount of the vote.
This is not a surprising result. There are multiple reasons why Carson would be the favored back. The second-year player briefly gained control of the No. 1 running back position early last season as a rookie, including one game in which he gained 93 yards, before suffering a broken leg that ended his season. He was generally the back who was spoken of most favorably during training camp and the preseason, and he led Seattle in rushing last Sunday with 51 yards on seven carries. So it makes sense Carson received the most votes.
It’s interesting that Carson received so many more votes than Penny. Penny is a player who the Seahawks invested heavily in, selecting him in the first round of this year’s NFL draft. He led the nation in rushing last year when he was at San Diego State. Yet he received scant support in the poll. No doubt much of that was based on his performance Sunday, when he gained just 8 yards on seven carries. But that’s a small sample size, and remember that he’s coming back from a broken pinkie that caused him to miss much of the preseason. I’ll be curious to see how much action he gets Monday night when the Seahawks face the Chicago Bears.
Since Prosise didn’t get a carry and Davis didn’t dress Sunday, I’m not surprised they didn’t get many votes. Talk this week has been about Prosise getting time at wide receiver with Doug Baldwin injured, so the chances of Prosise being the primary ball carrier seem non-existent, despite having had the most explosive performances in the NFL of any back on the roster. Davis could be a surprise, as although he was inactive Sunday he’ll likely be active this Monday, and he led Seattle in rushing both last season and in the preseason.
We’ll see how it plays out Monday, but it’s clear the fans hope to see a heavy dose of Carson.
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