Does Forsett fit the scheme?
Pete Carroll said he’s set to begin the offensive evaluation Feb. 1 and he’s already confirmed one player’s return in Matt Hasselbeck.
The rest? It’s up in the air.
Carroll said he’s going to focus on building a successful running team and that he’s going to evaluate every player to determine how they fit in the zone blocking scheme.
“The easiest formula is to get the running game going,” Carroll said. “A great deal of our passing attack comes off the running game.”
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The zone blocking scheme assigns linemen a zone to block. This differs from the traditional power running game, which Mike Holmgren mostly ran, where linemen are assigned specific players.
And one of the biggest factors in the zone blocking scheme is the running back. They must excel in certain qualities to be successful, such as vision, cutbacks and burst.
Carroll said he’s going to take a hard look at Seattle’s running backs to determine if they fit the scheme.
“Is Julius going to do a nice job? Is Forsett going to be able to do a good job?” Carroll said. “That’s a big issue, is to make sure that that part of the ball, the offensive function of the line, the style of the athlete and then the runners that compliment, that has to come together.”
Luckily for Seattle, Carroll landed the godfather of zone blocking in Alex Gibbs, who pioneered the scheme in Denver with Terrell Davis. From 1996 to 1997, Denver’s offense ranked no. 1 in offensive yards with the most successful rushing attack in the league.
He’ll be arriving in Seattle Feb. 1 to begin the evaluation process on the future of Seattle’s offense.
Of the two running backs, Forsett may have the advantage after familiarizing himself with the system last season, averaging 5.4 yards a carry and finishing with 619 yards after potentially being under utilized. Forsett's low center of gravity perhaps improves his cutback ability, and he also showed greater speed hitting the hole than Jones did last season. However, his top-end speed leaves something to be desired. He won't outrun anybody.
Jones finished the season averaging 3.7 yards a carry and 663 yards total. Jones is a better blocker than Forsett but sometimes appeared sluggish making his cutbacks and didn't regularly break tackles. It wasn't uncommon for Jones to be gobbled up by the defensive line for a minimal gain.
Forsett's size is a liability. At 5-8, 193 lbs, he just can't take the type of beating bigger backs can. If Seattle retains Forsett, they'll need a bigger complementary back.
Reach Aaron Weinberg at nextseasonsports@gmail.com
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