Gil Haskell was spouting off about something that went without saying.
“He can’t win the game by himself,” the Seattle Seahawks’ offensive coordinator said earlier this week of starting quarterback Seneca Wallace.
“The running game must help him. And if that happens, we’re OK.”
And with that, the Seahawk Nation might as well have let out a collective: Uh-oh.
Seattle’s offense hasn’t looked capable of winning games on the ground this season, as evidenced by the 25 teams that rank above them in rushing yards per attempt (Seattle averages 3.5 yards per attempt; Atlanta has a league-best of 6.1). The Seahawks average just 99.7 rushing yards per game, which ranks 20th in the league and is the franchise’s lowest clip since 1999.
Chances are, the team’s streak of eight consecutive years with a 1,000-yard rusher will be snapped in 2006.
“We’re struggling,” coach Mike Holmgren said earlier this week. “The problem is we’re comparing it with what we did last year, and last year we were so good. Now, obviously, we don’t have Shaun (Alexander); everyone knows that. I still expect us to do a little bit better than we’ve done.”
The questions are as obvious as the answers are complex.
Is it all about Alexander’s injury?
Does the team really miss Steve Hutchinson that much?
Where are the running lanes that were so prominent in 2005?
“If everything’s working the right way, it can be working just like it did last year,” said running back Maurice Morris, who has filled in for Alexander in the past three games because of the Pro Bowler’s injured right foot. “But we’re still jelling.”
Six games into the 2006 season, the Seahawks are struggling to find any consistency in the running game. Even when Alexander was healthy, the results were subpar. The 2005 rushing champion had just 51, 89 and 47 yards in his three games before the injury.
“Neither one of them have a great average,” running backs coach Stump Mitchell said, referring to Alexander and Morris. “It’s just us, as a whole.
“We’ve been a pretty good running game in the past because we had some parts that remained the same. When you get new guys in there, we have to work together. We have to develop some continuity with the new guys, and that’s going to develop before long.”
For at least one more week, Morris is the starter. And he hasn’t shown much in Alexander’s place, failing to average more than 3.2 yards per carry in any one of his three starts. Going back to the New York Giants game in Week 3, when Morris had 15 carries in relief of Alexander, the fifth-year player has averaged just 44 yards per game on the ground.
“I just need to be patient and continue to try to get positive yards,” said Morris, who has not gotten into the end zone yet this season. “It might not be the longest run, but I have to keep pounding it in there.”
Morris has looked tentative at times, and he hasn’t shown the something-out-of-nothing ability that Alexander often displays because of his patient running style.
The soft-spoken Morris is candid about the problems plaguing the run game, taking part of the blame himself.
“Every back wants a big play,” he said, “but sometimes you have to just stick your head in there and get what’s given to you.”
If Morris continues to struggle, the team could start giving some carries to Marquis Weeks, a former practice squader who led the team in rushing during the preseason.
Blocking also has been a big part of the problem, not just by the linemen but also by fullback Mack Strong and the tight ends. The entire unit has had trouble with one-on-one matchups, particularly on the interior, and linemen have often gotten clogged up with the speedy Morris while pulling on sweep plays.
“We’re doing some things in there that I don’t like,” Holmgren said, “and we don’t seem to be able to correct (them).”
The Seahawks had better correct them fast, otherwise Wallace’s first NFL start could get ugly rather quickly.
“We’ve got to get the running game going, regardless of the quarterback situation,” Mitchell said. “It would be nice to take some of the pressure off of the passing game, like we did last year, but whether we have Matt or Seneca, we’re working to get better.”
NOTES: Right tackle Sean Locklear was downgraded from “probable” to “questionable” on the latest injury report. He has missed two days of practice with a sore left ankle. Tom Ashworth has been practicing in his place. … Offensive lineman Floyd Womack returned to practice Thursday, but he remains questionable for Sunday’s game. Womack has not played since Week 2 because of a knee injury. … Wide receiver Bobby Engram attended practice in uniform but did not participate. He’s still building back strength after missing two games with a thyroid condition.
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