Bumpus: The formation the Seahawks should use on offense in ’23
Jun 30, 2023, 3:45 PM
Geno Smith of the Seattle Seahawks hands off to Kenneth Walker III against the New York Giants at Lumen Field on October 30, 2022. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
(Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The Seattle Seahawks’ offense was much better than expected last season with Geno Smith running the show and Russell Wilson in Denver.
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With Smith under center and Shane Waldron in his second year as offensive coordinator, the Seahawks were 13th in yards, 12th in passing yards, 18th in rushing yards and, most importantly, were ninth in scoring.
As the Seahawks enter Year 2 with Geno and Year 3 with Waldron, what kind of wrinkles can they add to the offense in 2023? Former NFL receiver Michael Bumpus shared a specific formation he’s looking for the Seahawks to utilize.
“I want to see Geno under center with split backs,” Bumpus said during Thursday’s Bump and Stacy on Seattle Sports.
For those who don’t know what a split-back formation is, Bumpus broke it down as it’s not something the Seahawks have used much of in the past.
“So split backs is that you’ve got two running backs (on the field at the same time),” he said. ” … One running back to the right and one to the left.”
So what exactly does that do for the Seahawks’ offense?
“What that allows Geno to do is it increases the deception of the play-action, and it allows you to use misdirection,” Bumpus said. “Say you’re running a zone (run) to the right, you (can) fake it to one running back and the other running back gets it, and then you block the edge – the (defensive) end because you typically leave that guy unblocked if you’re trying to read them or whatnot.
“I want to see split backs. I want to see (Smith) under center (with) split backs, and I want to see shotgun split backs. Because it makes the offense hold the defense accountable. And there’s so many things you can do. You can split zone, you can do split counter, you can do lead zones, lead power. There’s so many things that you can do and I think they finally have the running backs to do it.”
Seattle returns 1,000-yard rusher Kenneth Walker III and also added rookie second-rounder Zach Charbonnet to the backfield mix this offseason. Those two can both run the ball and also set up the pass game, too.
“I’m thinking about the possibilities when it comes to this new personnel that they have over there. I want to see some split backs, man. The play-action can be nasty out of that, the deception can be nasty out of it,” Bumpus said.
Listen to the second hour of Thursday’s Bump and Stacy at this link or in the player near the top of this story.
