It was right around this time last season when Alvin Kamara saw an increase in touches out of the backfield and the Saints transformed from a pass-happy squad to a smashmouth, run-first offense. Those fantasy football owners who wisely picked up on the trend added Kamara, invested in trades for Mark Ingram and ran straight toward their championship.
Though we might not have another Kamara this season, we are witnessing the transformation of another team’s offensive game plan and, once again, have a new backfield in which to invest. Welcome to the renaissance of the Seattle Seahawks.
When Pete Carrol had Russell Wilson throw a 1-yard pass instead of just handing the ball off to Marshawn Lynch, he not only lost Super Bowl XLIX, he transformed the Seahawks into a pass-first team. The next three seasons saw a massive spike in pass attempts, and though Wilson’s numbers were clearly improving, the overall results were lacking — the Seahawks went from being a dominant 12-win team to barely a 10-win club that saw nothing but early exits from the playoffs.
This season, despite a lack of healthy receivers and a clear absence of pass-protection, Carroll and Wilson were at it again. The quarterback threw 35 times per game for an average of just 262 yards over the first two weeks. Though Wilson had five touchdown passes, he also threw three interceptions and the team lost both contests. Fortunately, someone woke up the coach.
Over the first two weeks, Seattle running backs carried the ball an average of 11.5 times for 58 yards per game. In Week 3, Carroll finally opted for a different path and suddenly the team’s backfield rushed for 107 yards on 35 carries and the team won. The Seahawks rushed 30 times for 150 yards in Week 4 for another win. Though they dropped a heartbreaker to the Rams this past Sunday, they rushed 32 times for 184 yards and torched what was supposed to be one of the top defenses in the game. A return to the ground-and-pound approach is exactly what this team needed.
For fantasy owners, it puts another pair of running backs on the availability list. The tandem of Chris Carson and Mike Davis is alive and well, and fantasy owners need to take notice. In many leagues, at least one of them is on your waiver wire, and grabbing either or both is a must.
Winning is about making the right adjustments. The Saints did it last year. This year it is the Seahawks. The next move is yours, fantasy owners. Time to adjust and win.
Howard Bender is the VP of operations and head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on Twitter @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 4-6 p.m. Go to FantasyAlarm.com for all your fantasy sports advice and NFL player rankings.
