Originally published Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Comments (0)
E-mail article
Print view
Changes forthcoming for the Seahawks' backfield
Three running backs — Maurice Morris, Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett — will share the load this season for the Seahawks.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Seahawks @ Buffalo, 10 a.m., Ch. 13
RENTON — One thing is certain about Seattle's backfield this season. It's going to be different. ¶ Fullback Mack Strong, who played 14 seasons, is retired, and Shaun Alexander, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, is unemployed. The Seahawks added free agents Julius Jones and T.J. Duckett, brought back Maurice Morris and Leonard Weaver, and drafted Justin Forsett and Owen Schmitt.
It was an overhaul the Seahawks hope will answer the problems they experienced a year ago, but four days before the regular-season kickoff, the specifics of just how it will be different remains an open question even for the men who'll be carrying the ball.
"I don't have an idea as far as carries or playing time," Morris said.
OK. How about Jones, does he know what to expect?
"No clue," he said. "Your guess is as good as mine."
Morris will start Sunday's game in Buffalo, coach Mike Holmgren said Wednesday, but don't read too much into that. Holmgren is expecting to use heavy doses of both backs, and Jones could very well start in Week 2.
This will be quite a change for Holmgren, who could fill out his backfield lineup with a permanent marker when Alexander was the tailback, Strong was the fullback. That has been Seattle's opening-day backfield since 2002.
"If they weren't tired or hurt, that's who was going to be in the ballgame," Holmgren said.
Now, Strong and Alexander are gone and Holmgren has a number of combinations he can choose from, whether it's alternating between Morris and Jones or using Duckett as a big-bodied option in short-yardage situations.
The Seahawks won't use the I-formation nearly as much as they did the past few years. That was a favorite of Alexander, a gliding runner who was always looking for the cutback and liked the perspective he got lining up behind the fullback. Expect more split-back formations this season. There will be times a back will line up as a wide receiver.
Don't expect a new playbook, though. Holmgren's not reinventing his offense after more than two decades in this league.
"Our bread-and butter-stuff, it'll look kind of the same," Holmgren said.
Holmgren said that in some ways, the options he has at running back this season will make his job easier.
"I don't have to think so much about protections, I can just call the play," Holmgren said. "I don't have to think so much about the pattern because they're very good pass receivers."
Translation: Alexander's presence meant that certain plays stayed absent because he wasn't known for his ability to pick up blitzes or catch passes. Morris and Jones are expected to be upgrades in both respects.
Any other changes expected in the running game?
"I hope you'll see more yardage gained," Holmgren said.
The Seahawks averaged 3.8 yards per rush last season, the team's lowest since 1999, Holmgren's first season in Seattle. Only five teams averaged fewer yards per carry than Seattle last season, and none of those teams made the playoffs.
Now, there's a little uncertainty about who will be on the field and how much and there's a whole lot of opportunity.
"Everybody is able to run the ball," Weaver said, "and we're all able to catch and it's going to be a great atmosphere to be around."
Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
E-mail article
Print view Share:
Digg
Newsvine
![]()
Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
Jerry Brewer: Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
Brett Favre has masterful performance against Seahawks
Good day for Vikings defenders

Raw Video | Real Salt Lake receives the MLS Cup trophy
Real Salt Lake is handed the 2009 MLS Cup trophy at Qwest Field, November 22, 2009.
nwjobs

Post a comment

Michelle Goodman blogs about work/life balance.
How to tell your office you're gravely ill
Post a comment
nwautos

Choosing a new sedan? Weigh the impact of your choice on your wallet and on the planet.
Post a comment
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- Craigslist adoption ad: A plea by young mother-to-be? A scam?
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Snow piles up on Cascade slopes
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Husky Men's Basketball Blog | Saturday's Pac-10 games in review
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
134 - Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
129 - Palin excitement builds in Tri-Cities
123 - Tight Senate vote launches health care over hurdle
122 - Cutting through breast-cancer confusion
90 - Prosecutor requests life in prison for Amanda Knox
89 - Historic health care bill clears Senate hurdle
83 - Game thread
70 - New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
63 - Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
54
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Washington state wines make annual best-of list
- Banff: powder, peaks & purity
- Chase shrugs off loss of CD investors
- Protect yourself from baggage loss
- Denny Triangle gains skyline, but tenants slow to come
- Northwest Living | On Whidbey, a unified home from multiple recycled parts
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'










