How good will Christine Michael be in 2014?

Recently, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch decided to holdout from the Seahawks training camp because he wanted a new contract. Lynch received financial concessions instead of signing a new contract, and decided to end his holdout.

More from Seattle Seahawks News

Lynch is known as one of the best running backs in the league, as well as a key player who has brought massive success to his team, and yet, the team refused to work out a new contract with him.

There are several probable reasons behind that rejection, beside the fact that running backs who are 30 years old or more don’t get paid much; so is it possible the Seahawks have a long-term plan such as starting Christine Michael, and giving up on Lynch when his contract ends?

By assuming the occurrence of the following plan, how good is Christine Michael?

Michael started out as an outstanding rookie. He is speedy with high athleticism, and no one can ignore his abilities, and the fact that he is totally a talented player. Also, he had an accumulation of 18 carries in 2013, 79 rushing yards, five first downs, and a rush grade of plus-1.6.

According to Brian Nemhauser of Hawkblogger.com, most of the carries by Michael in 2013 were by rattling off seven runs of seven yards or more. To clarify the following stats and evaluate them based on his presence and value on the field, that means 38.9 percent of his runs were seven yards or above, which is higher than both Lynch (20.6 percent), and Turbin (16.9 percent).

Isn’t that impressive?

Therefore, the Seahawks should involve Michael more often in their offensive plans; especially given that he has high potential and is going to develop quickly within time. Above all, it clearly seems that the coaching staff started taking care of him as coach Pete Carroll stated to reporters:

"“He’s got explosive talent and we just want to get him to fit in.” – Pete Carroll"

That being said, the second year running back fits with the team, but the issue is deciding how many carries are they going to allocate him without isolating Lynch? Matter of fact, there is no back up runner who had more than 80 carries in a season under the approach of Pete Carroll, which means a No. 2 back runner averaged around five carries only in a game.

Heading into the 2014 season, the Seahawks are going to have Lynch as a starter in the running back spot, with Michael backing him up.

Concerning Turbin, unfortunately, I don’t think he is going to earn a spot in the roster since he didn’t meet the team’s expectations, and the stats can prove that. He averaged only 3.9 yards per carry on 157 attempts, and didn’t record any touchdown in 32 games. Besides that, Michael’s numbers are better than Turbin’s and he is way more effective than him on the field.

I don’t think Michael will remain on the bench for a long time, especially given that Lynch cap number in 2014 is $7 million, and the Seahawks will never pay him $9 million in 2015.

Therefore, he will most likely depart, and Michael will seize the opportunity to be a No. 1 running back on the team. Regarding, the upcoming 2014 season, Michael will hopefully get the chance to play more often on as a preparation of Lynch withdrawal.

The Seahawks can thrive without Lynch in order to be at a championship level.

Home/Seattle Seahawks News