Marshawn Lynch is still essential to the Seahawks even if his role has changed

Danny Kelly: Another team that’s going through a transition after losing a key starter is the Seahawks. With Marshawn Lynch already on the sidelines with an abdominal injury, Seattle lost Thomas Rawls too when he suffered a broken ankle two weeks ago. Down to their third- and fourth-string options in Bryce Brown and Christine Michael -- both of whom were signed off the street, by the way -- the Seahawks rushed for 182 yards against the hapless Browns last week, which was actually their third-best total on the year. Christine Michael looked the best out there, and while he’s bounced around due to maturity issues (plus a lack of fundamentals in some areas), he looked pretty powerful and explosive out there for Seattle on Sunday. It ALMOST makes me jump back onto the hype train that I’d been riding the first two years of his career, but I definitely do feel a little snake-bitten about that still so I am holding off before declaring him the Seahawks’ savior.

Making things even more interesting, Seattle OL coach Tom Cable had some very interesting things to say about the status of Lynch this week. When asked about whether the Seahawks are counting on Lynch to come back (he’s currently rehabbing off site, with the apparent hope to return by the playoffs), Cable gave a vague but telling response.

“I think we’re counting on him to get healthy, whenever that is,” Cable said. “And once that happens, for him to come back in and be able to adapt to this football team and the way it is and the way it acts and the way it’s moving right now collectively... that’ll be his challenge. I think if he’s right and ready to go and all that, I’ve said this before, he’s a fine football player. And so it’s his ability to adapt to us really, who we are and how we’ve come together as a group and a team.”

As for what’s changed since Lynch has been gone, Cable said:

“I see us being a little more detailed,” he said. “I see us playing at a very high tempo, accepting challenges, overcoming issues when they come up, whether it’s in a game or in practice. I think we’re growing up in a big way, and so I think maturity is probably the thing that stands out to me more than anything. And that’s across the board.”

To me, I think that really says one thing: Cable is (if you’re reading between the lines) essentially telling Lynch, “This is no longer your offense.”

Even predating the Super Bowl, there have been numerous reports about a rift between Lynch and Darrell Bevell regarding Lynch’s use. (Lynch once flipped off Bevell in 2013, or it sure looked like he did, anyway when his number didn’t get called on a goal-line play, and that quarrel was made even more famous this year when Lynch’s mother took to Facebook to criticize Bevell’s playcalling/)

I think that rift or tension even extends to Lynch and Russell Wilson. We saw Lynch’s agent tweet for Wilson to take his head out of his ass earlier this season during Seattle’s loss to the Cardinals (which was the last game Marshawn played in this year), and there has always been a little bit of awkwardness there to whose offense this really is. Right now, it’s undeniably Wilson’s offense and he’s the undisputed leader of it. So, while I might be reading too much into Cable’s opinion that Lynch will have to “adapt” to how the offense “acts” while referencing their new-found “maturity,” it does call into question in my mind whether Lynch will be back at all.

With that in mind, what did you see from Seattle’s run game on Sunday? Do you think they are plug-and-play with C-Mike and Bryce Brown, or do you think they are in trouble in that area of the game? Obviously, with Russell Wilson playing so well, they may not need the same type of contribution from their run game as in prior seasons, but can Michael and Brown carry the torch for the Seahawks in your opinion?

Stephen White: Reading Coach Cable’s quotes reminds me of how it seemed like Lynch struggled some this year with the zone running game, which was odd considering how great he had looked in essentially the exact same scheme in years past. He looked much more comfortable behind a fullback and running power plays instead. I am also reminded of the end of the Rams game where Lynch’s mom complained about them giving the ball to him on a fourth-and-short out of shotgun and with no fullback lead blocking for him. Then he goes down and this young kid Thomas Rawls is tearing it up in that zone scheme, which makes you wonder if it were Lynch, the scheme, the offensive line or a combination of both that had been holding the running game back before then.

Using that zone blocking scheme, not 100 percent of the time mind you, but a good chunk of the running game plan for sure, seemed to open up the rest of the offense as well, allowing the threat of Russell Wilson running to keep defenses on their heels. So I think when Cable says Lynch is going to have to fit in with what they are doing, what he is really referring to is that zone running scheme.

Again, Lynch has done amazing work on those plays prior to this season, so it will be interesting to see if he continues to struggle with it when and if he comes back, or if he gets back to looking like the old Beast Mode, which maybe hints at the fact that the was much more banged up early on this season than we were led to believe.

I’m hearing reports that Lynch is doing MMA training as part of his rehab, and considering how much that focuses on strengthening your core I wouldn’t be surprised if he looked even better than new when he takes the field again. My expectation is that whenever Lynch is back out there, he won’t have any problems being productive no matter what kind of running game plan the Seahawks decide to go with game to game. Considering how hot Wilson has been in recent weeks that should be a very scary thought for opposing defensive coordinators.

Danny Kelly: That’s a good thought on the zone running game. Seattle definitely has changed its style this year from primarily a read-option based run game to a full-back or I formation style power zone game. As you said, Lynch really didn’t look like himself early in the year and even though Pete Carroll said that Lynch actually prefers the I formation stuff over the read-option game, he wasn’t super effective before getting hurt. Then, in comes Rawls, and the Seahawks’ offense exploded. Christine Michael and Bryce Brown will be the bridges, likely, until Lynch comes back, but regardless of what Tom Cable meant when he made those comments, things could get really interesting for the Seattle run game as the playoffs start.

Despite concerns that Lynch could upset the chemistry that Seattle has on offense right now or concerns that he’s not going to be as effective in what type of offense they’re running right now, getting Beast Mode back for the playoffs can’t be anything but a huge boost. The offensive linemen love blocking for Lynch. His teammates look to him for that emotional boost. He brings an identity of toughness. He’s historically been the engine that drives that offense, so even if he’s not the man anymore (Russell Wilson is now), it doesn’t detract from what he can do when he gets the football into his hands.

Seattle’s been to the Playoffs five times out of the six seasons that Lynch has been a Seahawk. He’s scored nine touchdowns with a 4.9 YPC average, with 917 rushing yards in 10 games (plus 112 yards receiving). That kind of production would be a nice little bonus for the Hawks. He won’t be back this week, but I expect he’ll be back on the field for Seattle by Week 17 or the Wild Card round.

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