Seahawks Rushing Performance by Hole Location

[NoCal Hawk Fan]

Previously I have posted Receptions by Location and YAC by Location so it is time to look at the Seahawk's ground game by location, or more specifically by "hole". Using data from ProFootballFocus, we will take a look at Attempts, Yards, and Yards per Rush by hole.



38% of the Seahawks rushing attempts came between the Center and the Guards. Not surprising considering the power running game approach of the coaching staff and the skill set of lead back Marshawn Lynch.

While rushing to the outside of the guards, the Seahawks were extremely balanced in their running rushing 161 times to the outside of the left guard compared to 158 times outside of the right guard.



Despite the "3 hole having only the 3rd most amount of attempts, this hole is the leader in yardage. All 5 "runners" in the above chart had their best yards per carry in this hole. For the amount of attempts in the "2" hole I would have expected a larger return in terms of yardage. The revolving door at RG certainly is reflected in the yardage performance here.



The "8" holes shows up as the best performer in yards per carry. That number is obviously enhanced by Wilson's 105 yards but surprisingly, at least to me, Lynch performed exceptionally while running to the right end. Keep in mind that 77 of his 200 yards in this hole comes from one run in the Week #8 game vs the Lions.

Keeping the focus on Lynch as he accounts for the large majority of carries, in general he had more success running to the left. A data element that I would love to know is the breakdown on how many times he when he ran left was it the "strong" side of the formation or whether they were in double TE set.

Despite not having a more granular look at the results (ie. by personnel, by formation, etc) I think some interesting information can be found here. It was a very successful season rushing the ball however the team could stand to get more consistency from the RG position.

http://hawkmetrics.com/rushing-by-location/

[Bill Assumpcao]

Thank you,
BillA

[Major Seahawk]

I need to start tracking my performance by hole location

[Malik Hawk]

I need to start tracking my performance by hole location

Do you use all eight holes? I think your states show how good our LT R. Okung is.

[FullMetalSeahawk]

I don't know how I missed it, but I always thought Lynch was a better runner inside. He's got some outside juice, for sure! Turbin, not so much.

[NoCal Hawk Fan]

I don't know how I missed it, but I always thought Lynch was a better runner inside. He's got some outside juice, for sure! Turbin, not so much.

Its why I do this stuff. Sometimes the numbers surprise me. I always just my eyes more than pure stats but it is interesting to see sometimes how perception matches the numbers. Lynch had a couple of BIG runs to the outside and with not as many attempts in those zones his yards per carry can be inflated but in general he performed better wide than I would have thought.

[Fulchalin]

1 for 77 yrds and a TD will scew the numbers a bit

[Attyla the Hawk]

however the team could stand to get more consistency from the RG position.

This is one of those cases, where I think we can get that without having to actually add personnel. Sweezy is going to be the starter and I think we can all see that. I think it is safe to expect considerable growth from him particularly this season.

Its why I do this stuff. Sometimes the numbers surprise me. I always just my eyes more than pure stats but it is interesting to see sometimes how perception matches the numbers. Lynch had a couple of BIG runs to the outside and with not as many attempts in those zones his yards per carry can be inflated but in general he performed better wide than I would have thought.

It's why I like looking at them too. For me, I often find that looking at the numbers often sheds new light on elements that don't imprint on my memory as well. Often times I look at them, get surprised by them, then go back and look at games and change my opinion based on that re-examination.

For example, I'd always assumed that SF drafted pretty poorly outside of the early rounds. But looking at their drafts in more detail and relative to everyone else in our division -- they've not fared too poorly. They've had some really spectacular hits on guys that I didn't really give them credit for.

Analysis of the statistics to me are the confirmation for conventional wisdom.

I'm not shocked at the productivity inside, due to the strech zone scheme we run. I'd be curious to know if those holes are based on where the OL line up, or simply which side of the OL the RB runs when he cuts upfield. Because a run in the 2 hole off the left of the RG for us could be where the 6 hole is when they line up. In a normal scheme, those holes remain pretty static. But in the ZBS scheme they are fluid.