Seahawks need to avoid that rundown feeling

By Chris Cluff  |   Friday, July 20, 2007  |  Comments( 2 )

Seattle Seahawks
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The Seattle Seahawks got run over last year. Gored. Gashed. Gutted.

Everyone from Frank Gore to Chester Taylor to Larry Johnson to Tatum Bell to LaDainian Tomlinson to Julius Jones left the Seahawks with that rundown feeling.

After ranking fifth in the league in run defense (94 yards per game) when they made their run to the Super Bowl in 2005, the Seahawks fell to 22nd at 127 yards per game in 2006.

The big difference? The absence of 320-pound run stuffer Marcus Tubbs. A knee injury ended Tubbs' season in October, and the Seahawks suddenly couldn't stop any running backs. In the five games Tubbs played, Seattle surrendered just 82 rushing yards per game. But in the 13 games he missed, including playoffs, opponents averaged almost 138 yards. Tubbs' absence was basically worth 56 rushing yards per game to enemy teams.

The Seahawks will need Tubbs to rebound well from microfracture surgery on his knee if they are going to do a better job against the run in 2007. If Tubbs can't get back to his 2005 form, the Hawks will need a standout performance from third-round pick Brandon Mebane, a smaller (6-foot-1, 305) but very effective run stopper.

The Seahawks face only three rushing teams in 2007 that ranked in the top 10 in 2006: Atlanta (first), San Francisco (sixth) and Pittsburgh (10th). But they also will see a lot of other accomplished running backs.

Last year, Gore was the guy who gashed and gutted the Seahawks more than anyone. In two games, he rushed for 356 yards -- 212 on 24 carries in November and 144 on 29 attempts in December -- as the 49ers swept the NFC West champs. The Seahawks certainly will focus on stopping the league's best breakout player from 2006.

They'll also have to be concerned about guys like Pittsburgh's Willie Parker, Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson, Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook, New Orleans' duo of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush as well as division runners Edgerrin James (Arizona) and Steven Jackson (St. Louis).

The Seahawks saw Parker in Super Bowl XL, where he busted off a record 75-yard touchdown run in the Steelers' 21-10 victory. On that huge play, Parker and the Steelers took advantage of the Seahawks' inexperienced No. 4 safety. Seattle has much better safeties heading into this season than it had then, but "Fast Willie" is still dangerous.

Johnson surpassed 1,300 yards for the third straight year last season, but he averaged only 3.8 yards per carry. The Bengals lost star guard Eric Steinbach to Cleveland and center Rich Braham to retirement in the offseason, so the running game might fall off a bit more this season.

Westbrook finally surpassed 1,000 yards last season, gaining 1,217 on 240 carries while also catching 77 passes for 699 yards. The soon-to-be 28-year-old is one of the best all-around backs in the NFL, and the Seahawks will have their hands full against him.

The Saints ranked just 19th in rushing last season (110 yards per game), but McAllister and Bush are one of the best two-headed attacks in league, and Bush became a better runner as the '06 campaign progressed.

The Cardinals were one of the worst rushing teams in the league last season, ranking 30th at about 84 yards per game. But they improved late in the season, while new coach Ken Whisenhunt and line guru Russ Grimm are committed to running the ball. James tallied just 64 yards on 18 carries in the first game against Seattle in 2006, but he gained 115 yards on 26 attempts in December. After a horrible start, James finished with three 100-yard games in the final five. And that's reason to believe the Cardinals will be a challenge to stop this year.

Jackson didn't burn the Seahawks like others did last year, but he rushed for 1,528 yards and will be a threat, especially with franchise left tackle Orlando Pace coming back from a triceps injury suffered in the second Seattle game last season.

The Seahawks will face other big-name runners in 2007 as well -- Cadillac Williams, Jamal Lewis, Cedric Benson, Willis McGahee, Warrick Dunn and the Carolina DeBacks (DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster).

If Tubbs, Mebane and the rest of the defense aren't up to the task, the Seahawks will get run over again. Gored. Gashed. Gutted.

Get more on the Seattle Seahawks at RealFootball365.com
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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