RENTON, Wash. - Just two days after Ken Walker III received a total of five carries for 19 yards in a 29-20 loss to the New York Giants, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb took the sword for the lack of a run game and the inability to feature one of the team's most dynamic players.
Speaking with reporters following Tuesday's walk through practice at the VMAC, Grubb indicated Seattle planned to incorporate the run more into Sunday's game plan, but he lamented not doing a good enough job mixing those calls in as the game progressed and limiting the opportunities to put the ball in Walker's hands as a difference maker on offense.
"I'll own that. Gotta get ball to Ken [Walker] more. And I think we had plenty of run game in the plan. Didn't have anything to do with not having enough calls for that, just didn't get called. And for us, you know, we leaned on the wrong thing. And I think if we get Ken 10 more touches, 15 more touches, things are going to look different. So that's 100 percent on me. And my job is to make sure I get all our guys in the best position possible to win the game, and I didn't do that."
For a second straight game, Grubb dialed up a pass-heavy script with quarterback Geno Smith ultimately dropping back to throw on 15 out of 17 first half plays. As for Walker, the explosive back had just two carries for two yards, and unlike previous games where the Seahawks were able to get him more involved after halftime, he only had three carries in the final two quarters, finishing with a meager 19 rushing yards as the team ran designed run plays on just 12 percent of their snaps.
This one-dimensional attack left Smith vulnerable, as the veteran signal caller wound up taking a whopping seven sacks from an aggressive defensive line, including a trio of sacks from defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. When asked about the play of Seattle's offensive line, Grubb again took the sword, saying that the group played better than the sack numbers would hint and that he didn't give them "enough tools to tee off" on New York's front line, specifically running the ball more.
The lack of a run game also made the offense far too predictable in key situations, which couldn't have been better illustrated than a 4th and 1 conversion attempt in the fourth quarter in Seahawks territory.
As game planned during the week, Grubb called a rollout pass for Smith, believing it would work well against the Giants defense based on what they had seen on film. However, edge rusher Brian Burns shot directly into the backfield, showing absolutely no respect for the possibility of a run play given the few that the Seahawks had called all day long, leading to a critical turnover on downs and a field goal for Greg Joseph that extended the lead to 10 points.
In hindsight, Grubb called the failed play an "awful call," acknowledging he put Smith in a difficult spot without a better alternative to move the chains on a decisive fourth down in Seattle's own territory.
"Felt like we had a good game plan on it. The head coach wants to go for it right there. Totally supported Mike [Macdonald] on that, and I probably have 10 calls on the call sheet that are better than that. Put Geno in a really crappy position, and I didn't give him an out to get to a better play. And that's, first and foremost, very few times where you pin me in a corner and make me have one call, so that that part is certainly on me."
In the midst of his first season as an NFL offensive coordinator, Grubb fortunately didn't have long to dwell on a rough afternoon with another game coming up against the 49ers on Thursday Night Football. Like his players, he had to turn the page quickly, and based on his comments on Tuesday, it should be expected that the Seahawks will make a concerted effort to get the ball into Walker's hands more often early and force the opposition to respect both the run and pass game as a means to protect Smith better under center.
To make that happen, with prior experience bouncing back from games where he didn't feel he did a good enough job as a play caller to help his team win, Grubb intends to turn back to Seattle's bread and butter plays and focus on scheming to get the football into his best players' hands as much as possible against a talented defense in prime time.
"I think it's just falling back on the stuff that your guys can do well and finding, just examining, you know, where's your offense at? The DNA. What are the things that, when you go out and it's training camp that these guys can execute? And then again, going back to what I said previously, players over plays, how do we get these guys the ball, even if it's in a competition? Like it's a one on one setting? And so you just try to find those niches that are available, which they certainly are."
