Seahawks going back to Ground Chuck?

RENTON — The Seahawks didn't walk away from their questions at wide receiver Sunday.

They ran.

They ran quite frequently against St. Louis, rushing the ball more often than all but one game in the previous eight seasons.

Julius Jones gained more than 100 yards for a second consecutive game and Seattle finished with 245 yards rushing against St. Louis, the team's highest total in nearly three years.

Quicker than you can say Ground Chuck, Holmgren was being asked about the increasingly pedestrian nature of his offense.

"I've never been accused of being ground-anything," he said.

Will that change this season when Seattle gets receivers Bobby Engram and Deion Branch back on the field? Not necessarily, Holmgren said. It gives the team a chance to get back to the ratio the coach would prefer, which is more an even split between runs and passes.

"Balance, that's when we're at our best," Holmgren said.

But balance is something the Seahawks offense hasn't found too often recently. Halfway through last season, Holmgren conceded that his team wasn't going to be able run the ball, threw up his hands and had his offense throw the ball around the field.

There were four games in 2007 in which Seattle attempted at least twice as many passes as rushes. Even in the season opener in Buffalo this year, passes drastically outweighed the runs.

"I told you I pulled away from the run too fast in that first game," Holmgren said.

These past two games, Holmgren turned to the ground out of necessity with Branch and Engram already out and receivers Nate Burleson and Logan Payne suffering season-ending injuries.

And all of a sudden, the Seahawks found some traction with their ground game. Thirty-four carries against San Francisco produced an average of 5.0 yards per rush. Forty-six carries resulted in an average gain of 5.3 against St. Louis. Holmgren said he has never had his offense lean so heavily on the run as in the past two games.

"But again, that's tied directly into the situation at wide receiver," Holmgren said. "That was a unique situation. I've never had that before."

Engram and Branch are expected to be available for Seattle's next game, which will be at the New York Giants on Oct. 5. Koren Robinson may be available, too.

Expect the Seahawks offense to revert to a more equitable distribution between run and pass.

"I would like it to be pretty close to the same," Holmgren said.

Consider those 46 carries against the Rams a step forward for a running game that skidded off course last year. Just don't think it indicates a wholesale change in direction for the Seahawks offense.

"It's too early in the season to make that determination right now," Holmgren said. "We ran the ball well, and that's encouraging."

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com