There's been a lot to love about the Seahawks' offense under first-year offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb.
The Seahawks have been versatile and aggressive in the passing game, Geno Smith is having a fantastic season, the running game has been explosive at times, and just over a week ago, the Seahawks set a franchise record with 38 first downs while gaining 516 yards.
And yet, as Grubb met with reporters following Tuesday's practice, he offered a rather blunt assessment of his performance, particularly when it comes to the Seahawks' imbalanced attack the past couple of weeks. In Sunday's loss to the Giants, Kenneth Walker III carried just five times for 19 yards, while Zach Charbonnet had two carries for 11 yards, and Seattle's only real rushing attack came from Smith's 72 yards on four carries.
A week earlier in Detroit, Walker had three touchdowns and a big second half, but in the first half he carried just four times. Through four games, Seattle's 105 rushing attempts are tied for the fewest in the NFL, and the other team with that number, Tennessee, has played one fewer game thanks to a Week 5 bye.
There are plenty of reasons that the Seahawks have been so pass-happy so far. Sometimes a defense can dictate that by playing with a heavy box to stop the run, or sometimes Grubb or Smith just might like the matchups in the passing game. And of course, the Seahawks have played from behind for much of the past two weeks. But regardless of the reasons, Grubb said it ultimately falls on him to get the running game more involved.
"I'll own that," he said. "Got to get the ball to Ken 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, 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."
With Smith playing as well as he has so far this season, and with so many weapons available in the passing game, it's not hard to fault a play-caller for wanting to lean on the passing game, but Grubb said its on him to get the offense more balanced going forward.
"It's just falling back on the stuff that you know guys can do well and just examining where your offense is at, the DNA," he said. "What are the things that when you go out and at training camp that these guys can execute? Players over plays. How do we get these guys the ball, even if it's in a competition, or it's a one-on-one setting. And so, you just try to find those niches that are available, which they certainly are."
Grubb's rather blunt accountability also applied to his description of Seattle's failed fourth-down attempt in the fourth quarter. On the play, Smith was sacked by an unblocked Brian Burns, and the play call was one Grubb wishes he had back.
"Terrible call," he said. "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 in the call sheet that are better than that. I put Geno in a really crappy position and I didn't give him an out to get to a better play."
That Grubb is this hard on himself while the Seahawks currently rank seventh in total offense and 11th in scoring is a good sign going forward. Recent hiccups aside, Seattle has done a lot of really good things on offense through five weeks of the season. But in Grubb's mind, the past two games, and lack of run game in particular, have shown there's still room to grow.
"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," Grubb said. "And I didn't do that."
The Seahawks held a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8 to prepare for their upcoming matchup vs. the 49ers on Thursday Night Football.
Seahawks safety Coby Bryant (8) and tackle Stone Forsythe (78) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Jamie Sheriff (44) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks center Jalen Sundell (61) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Patrick O'Connell (52) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (19) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Faion Hicks (30) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Pharaoh Brown (86) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Tyreke Smith (59) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf (14) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Zach Charbonnet (26), running back Kenny McIntosh (25) and running back Brittain Brown (34) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Myles Adams (95) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Ezekiel Turner (47) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Artie Burns (23) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive coordinator Aden Durde and Seahawks linebacker Tyrel Dodson (0) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr. (1) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Devon Witherspoon (21) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown (22) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith (7) and wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks running back Brittain Brown (34), running back Kenny McIntosh (25) and running back Zach Charbonnet (26) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell (6) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Tyler Mabry (85) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks quarterback Jaren Hall (15) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks nose tackle Jarran Reed (90) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks defensive end Myles Adams (95) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Trevis Gipson (50) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Dareke Young (83) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe (53) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tackle Jason Peters (73) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Pharaoh Brown (86) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks tight end Noah Fant (87) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks wide receiver Cody White (82) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks cornerback Tre Brown (22) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks guard Laken Tomlinson (70) and guard Anthony Bradford (75) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
Seahawks safety Julian Love (20) participated in a walkthrough on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center.
