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Julius Jones And Seattle's Next Great Running Back

It's short subject Monday at Field Gulls. I have a lot of little thoughts, blurbs, stubs or whatever that've sat on the backburner I'd like to clear out.

Tim Ruskell is notorious for his heavily back-loaded contracts. That's one of the reasons I took notice when he signed Julius Jones to a front-loaded contract. You don't expect a 4 year, 12 million dollar contract with 4 million guaranteed to pay 5.5 million in the first year. That means Seattle could be free of Jones with little or no penalties as soon as 2009. I mentioned in my rundown of Jones that though I didn't think he was better than Maurice Morris, I did think he better fit Holmgren's system. It could be that Ruskell is signing Jones as a stopgap. A Holmgren guy for Holmgren's final run.

I mentioned after the hiring of Mike Solari and Bill Lazor that the Seahawks could be setting the foundation for an Air Coryell offense. Supporting that hypothesis is Seattle's recent scouting of Limas Sweed. Sweed is a 6'4" burner best suited for a downfield passing attack.

Many saw the signing of Julius Jones as an indication that Seattle would not be looking for a running back in the upcoming draft, but Ruskell has never shied away from taking best available talent even if that player sits his first season. It wouldn't be surprising if Seattle drafts a rusher that fits their next system this year. Even as early as the first round. The Air Coryell prefers a power rushing attack. Backs available in the draft who could fill that need: Jonathan Stewart, Rashard Mendenhall, Tashard Choice, Chauncey Washington and Ryan Torain.

0 recs | Comment 13 comments

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This team won't change to a Air Coryell
as long as Matt Hasselbeck is the Quarterback. If it does happen then it will go down as Tim Ruskell's worst GM decision in his Seahawks career.
Coach Owens = Scruffy's spell check

by Scruffy Lefty on Mar 24, 2008 11:02 AM PDT   0 recs

Well, Seattle's been looking at a lot of...
quarterbacks in recent weeks, so you might see Beck on the block in 2009.

by John Morgan on Mar 24, 2008 11:17 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I would be shocked if that was the case
Hass has at least 4 good years left in him (barring injury). I guess we will know after the draft based on what type of QB they take. If its JDB then it makes even less sense to goto the Air Croyell.

Have to remember to that Mora is a West Coast coach and wanted to use a true west coast system in Atlanta but Vick was to big of a mental midget to learn the offense.

PS - I will have a hard time watching this team if they adopt the bastard retardation that is the Air Croyell offense. Its like watching paint dry.

Coach Owens = Scruffy's spell check

by Scruffy Lefty on Mar 24, 2008 11:38 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I'm not a fan of the AC, either...
but will live with it if it works. I know Mora is a West Coast adherent now, but after all that talk about learning from his mistakes in Atlanta, I could see him embracing almost any offense.

by John Morgan on Mar 24, 2008 11:46 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

This is all true as well
Coach Owens = Scruffy's spell check

by Scruffy Lefty on Mar 24, 2008 12:07 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

I hate that old-school offense too
I would prefer seeking out a great offensive coord who can take players he has, and design systems around them. Like Walsh and Spygate did.

by blackhalobender on Mar 24, 2008 11:48 AM PDT   0 recs

Any good primers out there for offenses?
I am looking for a good primer on the various offensive styles out their and their requirements. I have a pretty decent idea of the general styles of play you see in a West Coast or Air Coryell, but nothing that would tell me you have to have a power runner in the AC or something similar. Any suggestions?

by brokejumper on Mar 24, 2008 11:59 AM PDT   0 recs

Honestly, not that I know of.
But after the draft I will be running a whole series explaining football from the basics all the way to advanced strategy like the Fire Zone and Air Coryell. It should be pretty damn comprehensive and my goal is to make it simple and straightforward enough for anyone to understand it.

by John Morgan on Mar 24, 2008 12:50 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

This
Is why I love you.  As someone very familiar with advanced baseball metrics, and desiring the ability to get deeper comprehension of football in the same way, you've been monumentally helpful to me, John.  There are people who I can go to about specific questions (my brother, Pip, etc), but between you and some breakdowns over at FO I've learned so much in the last couple of years.

Yay!

Phildopip = Jimmimoose's body check

by jimmimoose on Mar 24, 2008 1:42 PM PDT to parent up   0 recs

Jones
The first thing I thought when I saw that Julius had a front loaded contract was that he was an insurance policy in case Stewart (or Mendenhall, but theres no chance of that) didn't make it to the Hawks.  This way their running game isn't dependent on the draft and they can take a guy later and let him develop, like a Charles or someone else. I don't think that Ruskell feels like these two backs are the answer, just that they can be far more productive than what they had last year.

by Nate Dogg on Mar 24, 2008 12:40 PM PDT   0 recs

Now, why is it
that you don't like Sweed?  You mentioned that you don't, but I don't recall that you said why.

by The Ancient Mariner on Mar 25, 2008 8:30 AM PDT   0 recs

He looks fragile.
He's unrefined and I don't know if his game will translate.

by John Morgan on Mar 25, 2008 9:21 AM PDT to parent up   0 recs

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