Another loss, another poor rushing performance
Sitting at his locker, frustrated at another dismal rushing performance, Marshawn Lynch began to answer the question: Why did the offense stall on Sunday against Cincinnati? Then he paused, bowed his head and laughed to himself, before offering an answer.
“Here’s what I got for you,” Seattle’s starting tailback said. “See where our offense is at? I know where we want to go, I know those guys up front are going to push for that, to take us there, and I’m going to ride the wave and I’m going to ride the ship. Today was not one of our best days for offense, as you can see from the start of the game.”
For the fifth time in eight games, Seattle failed to rush for more than 100 yards, grinding out 61 yards on 20 attempts. If not for a 28-yard carry by Leon Washington on the final play of the game, the Seahawks would have finished with 33 rushing yards. That total would have been the team’s second-lowest of the season, barely ahead of the 31-yard output in a 24-0 loss at Pittsburgh.
Lynch, who finished with 24 yards on 16 carries, claimed responsibility for the poor offensive performance, especially in the first half, that sent the Seahawks (2-5) to their second loss in a row.
“You just gotta man up and say I didn’t execute the way that I should have executed on those plays,” he said. “I kind of feel I put us in a hole for the play-calling and, maybe if those plays go the right way, we’re in a different position here.”
There was plenty of blame to go around, but Lynch didn’t dish it out.
He didn’t point at quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, who was relieved by Tarvaris Jackson after three ineffective offensive series, an offensive line that allowed four sacks, or head-scratching play-calls by the coaching staff.
No, he fell on the sword and offered reasons to believe the Seahawks can turn around their season.
“All I can tell you is I believe, I’ve been here,” Lynch said. “It’s not the greatest thing going right now, but it gives hope, it keeps fire in me to keep going. I know we went to a playoff last year with a 7-9 record, so I am a believer. And I believe this team right here will get … what we deserve when we put the effort in and that’s the explosive offense that we’ve been waiting for.”
The Seahawks have the players to do that, Lynch said, they just need to figure out the best combination.
“There’s no missing piece,” he said. “We’ve got all pieces we need. Just got to put them together and play with them.”
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271
doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks
