For many years under former head coach Pete Carroll, it was very clear the Seattle Seahawks were committed to running the football.

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As the NFL continued to evolve more toward the passing game during Carroll’s tenure, the Seahawks remained committed to running the ball. That was made evident oftentimes during the NFL Draft when the Seahawks were never shy about taking a running back early. However, the results on the field haven’t shown that sort of commitment in recent seasons.

Former NFL wide receiver Michael Bumpus would like to see the Seahawks regain their mojo on the ground, and he explained why Wednesday during Four Down Territory on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“You have to be able to run the football,” Bumpus said. “When you look back at the glory days, or just the days when this offense was really moving, when (former Seattle RB) Chris Carson was doing his thing, they were well over 2,000 (rushing) yards, around 2,220 to 2,300 yards. Now I need that to happen, and I also need this team to have an 1,100-yard rusher.”

The Seahawks ranked 28th in the NFL in rushing last season with 1,580 total yards and 92.9 yards per game. The team did manage a respectable 4.1 yards per carry, which was in the top half of the league, but it ranked 31st in rushing attempts. Just two of the bottom 10 rushing teams in the NFL reached the playoffs last season. Seattle wasn’t one of them.

Bumpus highlighted how teams that ran the ball well last season fared. Five of the top seven rushing teams – Baltimore, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit and Buffalo – reached the playoffs. Four of those five teams eclipsed 2,300 rushing yards, and other than the Ravens – who have the fleet-footed Lamar Jackson at quarterback – those teams all had a running back rush for over 1,000 yards. The Lions nearly had two 1,000-yard rushers, with David Montgomery hitting 1,015 yards and Jahmyr Gibbs reaching 945.

The Seahawks appear to have the talent at their disposal in the backfield to rival those kind of rushing numbers with 2022 second-round pick Kenneth Walker III and 2023 second-rounder Zach Charbonnet. Walker rushed for over 1,050 yards his rookie season and 905 last year. Charbonnet ran for 462 yards as the backup last season.

“If you can get a 1,000-yard rusher on your team and collectively you can rush for over 2,300 yards, your chances of making the playoffs are great,” Bumpus said. “You need to be teamed up with a good defense, though. Can’t forget that part of the equation, but this is one part of the equation that you cannot ignore: Run the dang ball and run it well and you have yourself a chance.”

Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

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