Seahawks’ Christine Michael: Backfield success is ‘bigger than me’
Dec 20, 2015, 5:14 PM | Updated: Dec 21, 2015, 11:24 am
Christine Michael led the three Seahawks tailbacks with 84 yards on 16 carries vs. Cleveland. (AP)
(AP)
If Sunday’s win is any indication, the Seattle Seahawks’ running back carousel may be led by Christine Michael. But that’s not how the former castoff sees it.
“It’s going to be a running back by committee, and who’s ever in there and who’s ever the hot hand, that’s who will go,” he said. “We just to try to get the team wins and congratulations to us for going to the playoffs.”
The Seahawks finished with 184 yards on the ground in Sunday’s 30-13 win over the Browns, marking the 25th consecutive game they’ve topped the 100-yard threshold. Michael led the tailbacks with 84 yards on 16 carries. He, Bryce Brown and fullback Derrick Coleman accounted for 136 yards total, with the rest coming from Russell Wilson.
Recap | Wilson playing like MVP | More TDs for Baldwin | Okung injured | Photos
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he was pleased that the backs were able to maintain the team’s desired rhythm and credited Brown and Michael for “pounding the football.” While Coleman received a majority of the first-quarter carries, Carroll did as he said he would, riding the back with the hottest feet, which happened to be Brown and Michaels. But that doesn’t mean he wants his backfield viewed as a running back by “committee.”
“We’re not using that word. We don’t know that word,” Carroll said. “We’re just going to go one day at a time and see how it goes. I was really happy that those guys were productive, and the guys up front did another fine job for us and I’m really fired up that they continue to show consistency.”
Michael, whose rocky season started with a trade from Seattle to Dallas and included a stint on Washington’s practice squad, said it was an easy transition back into the offense after the Seahawks signed him back Wednesday.
“I never really lost what I knew for the Seattle playbook or how they run the offense,” he said. “It was pretty easy getting back into it. Just a little review and just hop right back into it.”
Like Carroll, Wilson said he was impressed with the way Michael ran.
“He’s always been a great runner, but he brought the fire to
