Bump dives into nuances of Seahawks’ play-calling debate

Two weeks ago, the Seattle Seahawks’ sputtering rushing attack exploded for its best performance of the year.

It didn’t carry over.

After rushing for a season-high 176 yards on 31 carries against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 8, the Seahawks have combined to run for just 139 yards on 31 carries in their ensuing back-to-back losses to the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings.

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In both games, Seattle largely abandoned the run. The Seahawks had 42 designed pass plays to just 14 designed run plays against Green Bay, followed by 47 designed pass plays and just 13 designed run plays in Sunday’s crushing 27-24 loss to the Vikings.

It continued a season-long trend for the Seahawks, who rank 23rd in the NFL in yards per carry (4.1) and 30th in rushing yards per game (91.9). They have run the ball on just 36.1% of their offensive plays, which is the fifth-lowest rate in the league.

Seahawks Radio Network analyst and former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus would have liked to see more dedication to the ground game on Sunday, but acknowledged the reality of the situation: The Seahawks’ past two opponents are among the best run defenses in the league. The Vikings rank second in yards allowed per carry (3.9), while the Packers are sixth (4.2).

“It’s all about matchups,” he said Monday on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy. “I’m not making excuses. I’m just telling y’all what football is. When you are throwing the football, you can manipulate what the secondary is doing – with your route combinations, with your spacing, with your depth, with all that good stuff.

“When it comes to running the football, you’re not manipulating anything. … You’re saying: ‘Can my bigs beat their bigs and their linebackers?'”

Far too often this season, the answer to that question has been no. The Seahawks rank just 27th in Pro Football Focus’ run-block grading and 28th in ESPN’s run-block win rate.

“Personnel influences everything that you do,” Bumpus said. “There’s a reason why (they’re) throwing the football as much as (they’re) throwing it.”

The logic behind Sunday’s play-calling

In looking at Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings, Bumpus said he could understand the Seahawks’ game plan of attacking the middle of the field through the air. That’s because Minnesota’s defense blitzes at a league-high 36.1% rate, which is 5% more than any other team, according to Pro Football Reference.

“They blitz like crazy. And what opens up when you blitz like crazy? The second level, the middle of the field,” Bumpus said. “And if you look at the way (Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb) was attacking the defense, he was attacking that middle of the field. He was attacking the places that they were sending guys from.

“So the logic behind it makes sense to me. I still feel like there are sometimes that you just need to be stubborn with it and just run the football.”

One play call that’s drawn criticism is the costly sack Geno Smith took in the closing minutes of the game.

After completing back-to-back passes that drove the Seahawks to the Minnesota 37-yard line, Smith dropped back to pass on first down and was sacked for a 6-yard loss. That put Seattle behind the chains and resulted in a longer field-goal attempt for Jason Myers, who then missed a potential game-tying 60-yard kick with 1:55 left.

Bumpus said he would have preferred a run in that situation. But once again, he understood the idea of using the Vikings’ heavy-blitz tendencies against them. And as Bumpus pointed out, wide receiver DK Metcalf would have been wide-open if he had broken off his route.

“The tendency from the Vikings is that they blitz on those early downs,” Bumpus said. “So I’m assuming this is what Grubb is thinking: ‘They’re gonna blitz on these early downs, we’re gonna attack the middle of the field and we’ll be fine.’ And if DK sits down, it’s a first down and we’re not even talking about this.

“Would I love to see a run in that moment? Most definitely,” he added. “But I understand what (Grubb) is thinking after looking at the film. … He threw into the places they were blitzing from. If the receivers run tight routes and win, everyone’s giving Grubb all the praise in the world.”

Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

More on the Seattle Seahawks

• What loss to Vikings means for Seattle Seahawks’ playoff hopes
• Two untimely penalties prove costly in Seattle Seahawks’ loss to Vikings
• Observations from Seattle Seahawks’ crushing 27-24 loss to Vikings
• Seattle Seahawks Instant Reaction: Wyman & Bob on loss to Vikings
• Rost: Seattle Seahawks’ loss to Vikings leaves two big questions

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