For many years under former head coach Pete Carroll, it was very clear the Seattle Seahawks were committed to running the football.
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As the NFL continued to evolve more toward the passing game during Carroll’s tenure, the Seahawks remained committed to running the ball. That was made evident oftentimes during the NFL Draft when the Seahawks were never shy about taking a running back early. However, the results on the field haven’t shown that sort of commitment in recent seasons.
Former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus would like to see the Seahawks regain their mojo on the ground, and he explained why Wednesday during Four Down Territory on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
“You have to be able to run the football,” Bumpus said. “When you look back at the glory days, or just the days when this offense was really moving, when (former Seattle RB) Chris Carson was doing his thing, they were well over 2,000 (rushing) yards, around 2,220 to 2,300 yards. Now I need that to happen, and I also need this team to have an 1,100-yard rusher.”
The Seahawks ranked 28th in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,580 total yards and 92.9 yards per game. The team did manage a respectable 4.1 yards per carry, which was in the top half of the league, but it ranked 31st in rushing attempts. Just two of the bottom 10 rushing teams in the NFL reached the playoffs last season. Seattle wasn’t one of them.
