I like this offense better without Lynch

[politicalfootball]

It seems we can do more then just pound the ball into the line til they wear out in the fourth. Rawls is more electric and versitle. It also allows Wilson to do more.

[obiken]

Takes guts to say that. I liked Rawls from the very beginning however, IF Marsawn was at full power, you are better off to have him than not to have him.

[Hawktawk]

I'm not quite ready to dump on Lynch. We had some damn big days with him in there too. Rawls is definitely the real thing as a big time tailback with quick's. power, moves and speed but lets see if he holds up. We know he needs to be careful holding on to the ball. A turnover in scoring position is a killer vs the great teams. I love Rawls so far, amazingly good but lets see how he and the Hawks finish this out before crowning him.

[RiverDog]

I'm not going to go so far as say that our offense is better without Lynch, but there is damn sure very little drop off with Rawls in there.

And Hawktalk, brilliant minds must think alike because I thought of ball security with Rawls, too. We really have to see a few more games to make sure that he's not going to be a turnover machine.

[Hawktawk]

And Hawktalk, brilliant minds must think alike

Yeah they do and so do yours and mine

I'm comfortable saying the offense has been better.The stats bear it out. Lynch 3.8 ypc Rawls 5.6. Rawls is a true one cut zone read runner. put your foot in the ground and boom. no dancing. He has excellent vision and sets up defenders well.Hes been amazing in short yardage and we all know the issues with 1 to go scenarios and Lynch the past couple of years. I'm not sure Rawls has missed one of those including bailing out a couple where he was hit in the backfield.
His numbers haven't been quite as gaudy lately as teams are well aware of him now but still very solid. Its a good problem to have if Lynch comes back rested and refreshed about playoff time.

[Hawktawk]

http://sea.247sports.com/Bolt/Report-sa ... s-41796315

A little gasoline on the fire.

[c_hawkbob]

The offense has been better, no question about it, but I'm not at all ready to say that Lynch was preventing us from being able to do what we're doing now and Rawls is some how the catalyst that is allowing it to happen now.

If you ask me Rawls is surprisingly an adequate replacement for Beast. A tad quicker to the hole and very difficult to bring down, if not quite in Marshawn's league (who is?) ... but the very big difference between then and now is all up front. The Offensive line is the reason Rawls' numbers are so good as well as the reason Russ is suddenly back on the upward trajectory to truly elite he was on before this season.

When Beast comes back we'll have two (at least till the end of the year) and 2 is always better than 1.

And Florio's just trying to prove himself right for having implied Marshawn had a hard on for Russ over the Percy thing to begin with. Even if there is 10% truth in there somewhere, it has nothing to do with why Russ is playing so well now.

[EmeraldBullet]

3.8 ypc is great when you have a hernia. Lynch had some big gains this year that got taken back because of penalties too.

That said, I like what I've seen from rawls. He has some ball security questions to be answered and he need to learn to catch the ball while in motion rather than having to come to a complete stop but his burst is ridiculous, he is incredibly quick, and he finishes his runs too!

[Oly]

This offense with Lewis and Rawls is better than the one with Nowak and an injured Lynch. But the key words in that sentence are "Lewis" and "injured," not "Rawls" and "Lynch."

[Hawktawk]

This offense with Lewis and Rawls is better than the one with Nowak and an injured Lynch. But the key words in that sentence are "Lewis" and "injured," not "Rawls" and "Lynch."

Not to quibble a great deal but in a handful of career starts Rawls has twice rushed for more yards, 169 and 209 yards, than Lynch ever did in any game of his career with a high in the mid 150 yd range.And a healthy Lynch played some games behind Lewis and probably a better line in the past couple of years as well.

Rawls 255 yards from scrimmage with a receiving and rushing TD earlier this year was an all time record for a rookie much less an undrafted free agent.

No question Beast has been banged up pretty bad this year but even at his best the statistics and eye test tell me Rawls may have a higher ceiling which is scary....Time will tell.

[Hawktown]

I find it funny you guys talk about ball security woes with Rawls and he only fumbled once. Lynch fumbled twice his rookie and 2nd season to go on to 3 or more each year since except for 2010, he only had 1 fumble. That is Lynch's only year with just 1 fumble.

I personally recall every season with Lynch as a Hawks yelling at him to hold onto that ball in fear of him losing it while not having it secured to his chest!!!

With that said, I see no difference in concern for fumbles between the 2, the only difference is Rawls is a rookie and we can't predict the future.

I would still take a healthy lynch with Rawls backing him up and preserving his (Rawls) body for the future. At least for now.

[RiverDog]

I find it funny you guys talk about ball security woes with Rawls and he only fumbled once. Lynch fumbled twice his rookie and 2nd season to go on to 3 or more each year since except for 2010, he only had 1 fumble. That is Lynch's only year with just 1 fumble.

I personally recall every season with Lynch as a Hawks yelling at him to hold onto that ball in fear of him losing it while not having it secured to his chest!!!

With that said, I see no difference in concern for fumbles between the 2, the only difference is Rawls is a rookie and we can't predict the future.

I would still take a healthy lynch with Rawls backing him up and preserving his (Rawls) body for the future. At least for now.

We weren't talking of it in terms of a problem, or at least I wasn't. Ball security is an unknown quantity with Rawls. He doesn't have all that many carries to conclude with any confidence that he's not a fumbler. Last Sunday's fumble brought that unknown element to the surface. One fumble could have been an anomaly or it could have been the start of a trend. Only time and a hundred or so more touches will tell which one it was.

Beast is back to practicing and his status is week to week, but it sounds like he might be ahead of schedule in his recovery. Good news.

[Hawktown]

I hear ya there RD and that is pretty much my point. I personally won't even consider it as a thought until he proves to have fumbling issues. 1 is not enough to even be having these concerns, IMO. Obviously others are free to have their concerns, I will just refrain for now.

[NorthHawk]

According to Spotrac, Lynch has 2 years on his existing contract.
2016 Base Salary of $9,000,000 + Signing Bonus of $2,500,000
2017 Base Salary of $7,000,000 + Signing Bonus of $2,500,000 + Roster Bonus of $3,000,000
That's a total of $24,000,000.

They might be able to guarantee a lesser amount and thus keep him as well as lower the Cap hit.
Just pulling numbers out of the air, how about guaranteeing $15,000,000 over 2 years?
That would lessen our Cap hit by about $4,500,000 per year and give him financial security for 2 more years.
He's made about $30,000,000 since he's been in Seattle from football alone, so he may say he's done and walk away, but he might look at it and say that's 25% more money in 2 years where he doesn't have to carry the full load and can actually heal or stay healthier because of less beatings.
It all depends on how much they value what he brings beyond the field and how confident they are in Rawls.

Regarding Rawls, it seems his style of running complements the OL at this stage of their development.
Usually young OL's aren't real good at sustaining blocks, so a RB can have success if he hits the hole quick and hard when the hole opens.
A lot of RBs dance around a bit and that is their downfall early in their careers.

[obiken]

This is Lynch's last year you can already see he is not the RB he was 2 years ago. You gotta cut him loose.

[Oly]

Not to quibble a great deal but in a handful of career starts Rawls has twice rushed for more yards, 169 and 209 yards, than Lynch ever did in any game of his career with a high in the mid 150 yd range.And a healthy Lynch played some games behind Lewis and probably a better line in the past couple of years as well.

Rawls 255 yards from scrimmage with a receiving and rushing TD earlier this year was an all time record for a rookie much less an undrafted free agent.

No question Beast has been banged up pretty bad this year but even at his best the statistics and eye test tell me Rawls may have a higher ceiling which is scary....Time will tell.

Higher ceiling, perhaps, but Lynch was doing his thing against defenses whose #1 priority was stopping him. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this hasn't been true for Rawls (although it's probably changing). Every sport is full of stories of a rookie coming in and playing lights-out until there is enough tape on them for defenses to really gameplan on stopping him, and they usually do.

Now, when watching him play, I also think he might have a higher ceiling, but he brings a somewhat different set of skills to the table. What makes Marshawn great is his consistency and ability to turn 1 yard losses into 3 yard gains. He can do that better than anyone I've ever seen, and that's such a crucial part of a running/ball control offense. I don't think that's what Rawls' game will be, and so the question is whether or not the feature of Rawls' game (to me, it's the explosive runs between 5-15 yards) will be as resistant to gameplanning as Lynch's ability to get solid positive yards no matter what the defense does.

[RiverDog]

This is Lynch's last year you can already see he is not the RB he was 2 years ago. You gotta cut him loose.

I think that the days of him getting 20+ touches a game are over, but that doesn't mean he can't be a solid contributor for another year or two. It all depends on his attitude. If he wants to stay he'll have to surrender more and more touches to Rawls. IMO the ball should be in his court as to whether or not he comes back. It's not like we'll be putting all our eggs in one basket as we did with Shaun Alexander when we resigned him at the end of his career.

[savvyman]

Marshawn is the all time most inspirational Seahawk. While we are all thrilled with Rawls and happy he is on the team - Lets not forget that the Future Legend Marshawn Lynch could return in time for a stretch run and if he does he will contribute.

In the Playoffs, every yard gained on the ground is physically earned with a significant price paid by the player who gets them. Marshawn has throughout his career gotten the tough yards against the best defenses - more so than any other player that I know of - and many of his tough yards are gained single handily after every other running back would have been taken down - There is no one like Beast Mode period.

I would be thrilled for us if Marshawn can return and Bring Beast Mode along for another wild ride.

[politicalfootball]

With Lynch weget those 10 yard runs and its fun to watch him but Rawls has a more total game. So it seems like Wilson also has the opertunity to be more involved too and even pass it to Rawls.

[NorthHawk]

I think Lynch is better in passing situations and could still be used for that in the future while running less in total.
Like said above, he's an inspirational component that has in the past been the key to a number of wins.

[Zorn76]

A healthy Lynch does nothing but help us, period.

I'm thrilled with Rawls, but Beast is the one who has delivered - and then some - in the playoffs.
He understands how to handle the pressure and, in fact, thrives on it.

SR I'm sure will be fine in the postseason, but if Marshawn is back to near 100% and rolling, then I'd understand why he'd be getting the lion's share of the carries after the regular season ends.

Having both is a great combo anyway, and each force our opponents to gameplan for them.

[EmeraldBullet]

Hate to be the first to bring this up, but no one has mentioned it yet. What happens when Rawls takes a real solid hit? He hasn't been hit that bad yet and he is fresh still (in terms of carries). Once he gets popped real good he might not be the same. He shows such incredible quickness so far and his fresh legs have undoubtedly helped his yardage to this point. Once you get popped and worn down your game changes. It's too early to expect him to be great and take the reins from Lynch. Lynch has done it year in and year out. Unfortunately, I think Lynch is about done, I'm glad to hear he is healing well but a hernia is not something that should be rushed, and with his running style!!!!! If things work out peachy lynch will be healthy and stay for another year and Rawls will take over the everyday back duties, I think lynch would be ok with this mentally, lynch is incredibly chill and a team player (just gets a bad rap for hating the media, but who can really blame him there?).

On a side note, I have a cursed fantasy team (making the playoffs, 11-2 so far) where I have had J Charles, J forsett, A foster, d lewis, c Johnson. All out for the rest of the year. I grabbed Rawls early on as a backup...Hopefully he is a curse breaker.

[Hawktawk]

raldBullet » Sat Dec 12, 2015 11:01 pm
Hate to be the first to bring this up, but no one has mentioned it yet. What happens when Rawls takes a real solid hit? He hasn't been hit that bad yet and he is fresh still (in terms of carries). Once he gets popped real good he might not be the same.

Hey EB you been watching the games?Rawls is in the top 20 in yardage and could be in the top 5 after today. The man is leading the NFL in yards per carry and is pretty much perfect in short yardage and you think he hasn't "gotten popped"? Hasn't been hit that bad?LMAO

You are correct.Its been the defenders getting popped actually. We have lost nothing in terms of a punishing running style with Rawls in the game and I dont see that changing.

As for Lynch I hope he makes it back for a deep playoff run because short of a collapse or injury to Rawls he will never suit up for Seattle again after this season unless he takes a huge pay cut.

[EmeraldBullet]

$#!T, my RB curse continues. Def more sad about the loss to the hawks than my fantasy team....$#!T!!!

[obiken]

I cant believe it, just when we find someone he gets torched.

[RiverDog]

I cant believe it, just when we find someone he gets torched.

Still think that this is Lynch's last year?

[monkey]

Still think that this is Lynch's last year?

You weren't asking me but, I do.
IIRC it's somewhere around 12 million saved against the cap next year without Lynch.
Also, I bet Lynch is going to retire.

[NorthHawk]

I get the feeling he will retire, too.
That is unless there is more guaranteed money to tempt him, but the years have taken a toll for sure and he's made $30,000,000 since he got here before endorsements so money shouldn't be an issue for him to retire. I suspect it could depend on if he still has the "fire" inside to do the off season work required to prepare for the season.

[EmeraldBullet]

Still think that this is Lynch's last year?

Unfortunately, yes.

[mykc14]

You weren't asking me but, I do.
IIRC it's somewhere around 12 million saved against the cap next year without Lynch.
Also, I bet Lynch is going to retire.

We would save around 5.5 mil by releasing Lynch. If I had to bet I would agree with you about him not being on the team next year, but that could change with Rawls shelved, especially if a healthy Lynch tears it up upon his return.

[obiken]

Yes too much money