Fluker is a beast, but the Seahawks run game hasn’t skipped a beat without him

D.J. Fluker has been a godsend for the Seahawks offensive line. But Jordan Simmons has settled any fears of a huge drop-off without the road grader.

It’s no secret that the Seahawks offensive line was, let’s say, not the best over the past couple of years. We expected them to improve under Mike Solari, and they’ve done even better than we anticipated. At this point it’s pretty obvious they’re good enough to make the playoffs. There are plenty of reasons for their improvement, but probably none bigger – literally – than D.J. Fluker. So when he went down before the rematch with the Rams, the concern in Seattle was understandable.

As it turned out the Seahawks coaching staff knows a thing or two about football. Ethan Pocic filled in for Fluker in the first two games of the year. I like Pocic, but I do have to mention a couple of facts. Fluker weighs in at 342 pounds (and is probably over 350), while Pocic tips the scales at 320. That’s big, but Fluker is massive.

With Pocic at right guard, the Seahawks rushed for 64 and 74 yards in their first two games. Granted, that was by design, for reasons I’ll never understand. Perhaps the coaching staff only ran the ball 16 times in Denver precisely because they didn’t think Pocic was able to block that well.

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Regardless, the run game kicked into high gear when Fluker hit the field in week three. With Fluker driving opposing linemen into the ditch, Seattle averaged just under 160 yards on the ground. Then Fluker said some rowdy stuff about the Rams defense, everyone was sky-high for the rematch, and the Seahawks mastodon was out with an injury. Immediately, 12s had visions of Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh living in the Seattle backfield.

Pete Carroll and Mike Solari had other ideas, though. Instead of going back to Pocic, they plucked  Jordan Simmons off the practice squad and installed him at right guard. Hey, it’s not like it was his first action ever; he did get onto the field for six snaps on special teams against the Cardinals. The reason for putting in a player this raw against monsters like Donald and Suh? They liked his size.

Simmons was a great fit for the Seahawks line

Turns out they were right, as the Seahawks ran all over the Rams for a spectacular 273 yards. That was the most they had allowed since 2011. Simmons was a pretty good substitute after all. Just to prove he wasn’t a fluke, but maybe a Fluker clone, he had another excellent performance last week against the Vikings, as Seattle piled up 214 yards on the ground.

Yes, a lot of that was Russell Wilson’s nifty feet. But Minnesota had allowed an average of just 99 rushing yards per game. Take away Wilson’s 61 yards, and Seattle still ran for 153, barely missing the most the Vikes allowed all year.

I think it’s safe to say that Simmons can run block. It’s also safe to say he needs to keep his temper in check on the field. He was called for unnecessary roughness, a call that was initially made on Germain Ifedi because the refs know is number by heart. That took the Seahawks out of field goal range, and the score was still just 3-0 Seattle. He has to be smarter than that.

I’m not saying Simmons is the answer and the Hawks can let Fluker walk after this season. Fluker is a beast, a pure beast. He’s great in the locker room, and has truly helped Ifedi clean up his own game. Seattle needs D. J. Fluker. But it’s a fact that Seattle has had their two best rushing performances with Simmons in the lineup. I’m happy to see him in the lineup if Fluker can’t go.