I've been a regular reader of FG for a couple years, and have done a lot of writing in the past, including being a published author. But even though I love the Seahawks, I have given little time to write about it. Now that I am an official member of FG (took long enough!) I thought I'd put up a quick thought.

First, take a look at this interesting post by Sando on "Running into a human wall". His point was about the Rams and how they desire to be more physical this year in order to overcome their low ypc against a "stacked" defensive front last season. But I think a much bigger point has to be made here, one that Sando doesn't mention but one which peaked my interest. It has to do with how Flynn will help Lynch (and the RB core) improve on last season's 2.9 ypc average against a stacked front (good for 30th on 62 carries in the NFL last season--ouch!).

Let me explain:

Tarvaris Jackson is known to be a strong armed QB that will make plays with his feet, but not known for pre-snap reads and intangibles. That means that when lining-up against a stacked front Jackson didn't have the ability to read it and audible the play at the LOS. This is huge, and I think it is why Carroll and Schneider got Flynn.

This year we will have Flynn starting (likely, and even though I prefer Wilson's potential; I am happy to wait it out) and his pre-snap reads should be as good or better than an average QB, based on what is said of him. If this is true, then Marshawn Lynch will not be forced to run such a high number of snaps straight into a defense primed to crush him, when perhaps a stretch play, play-action-pass, or screen play would take advantage of the opposing defense. This all happens before the snap, and I predict that Flynn already is miles ahead of Jackson here, and this may be the true hidden value of Flynn over Jackson (and even Wilson at this point). A weaker arm, but a sharper mind.

Now, keep in mind one more important point. The reason why Lynch was running against stacked boxes was also because of the inability of Jackson to make consistent plays in short-yardage situations, being a rather inconsistent passer in this area. The weight to make the big play when Jackson was out of sync rested on Lynch, and that is too much to ask when the whole defense is zeroed in on you like Kamikaze's! Now, this is something at which Flynn should really help Lynch with, and therefore our running game will have more opportunities to run against less defenders near the LOS. They will be a real threat of being beaten by a short and quick pass, before the blitz can get there and the secondary recover if the handoff to Lynch (or whichever RB) is a fake or a bootleg.

All this said, look for Lynch to improve on his ypc this next season, especially with a line that has coach Cable very excited about. Cable's baby, the fully revamped and very impressive O-line, now has a QB to facilitate run game, and two fully capable three-down backs in Lynch and Turbin. The O-line is a key here, because let's not forget how good Hasselbeck was at short to intermediate throws, not to mention his elite pre-snap reads. The run game under Matt failed, not because of him or the RB, but because of the small and undisciplined O-line (obviously after the monster Alexander years). All three pieces must be intact, and I do believe that we finally have them again. Go Hawks!

Therefore if this experiment works out and Seattle becomes one of the leaders in yards on the ground and ypc at the end of the year, much of this success will have to be attributed to the lacking element, Flynn's pre-snap reads (obviously attributable to watching one of the greatest at this, Aaron Rodgers).

Does this logic make sense?