Percy Harvin. Along with Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch, Harvin is one of the three players that most people could probably identify on the Seattle Seahawks' offense. Heck, you might only know one or two of them. Unfortunately for the Seahawks, names don't make plays; players make plays. Harvin, who was acquired by the Seahawks from the Vikings in 2013, was traded today to the Jets for a conditional 2015 draft pick (2nd-4th round). I'm sure a fair amount of Seahawk fans will view this trade as puzzling, but this actually has the makings of a turning point move in a positive way for Seattle.
What Has He Contributed?
Seriously. What has he done? The excitement surrounding Harvin exploded in the opening game against the Packers as they essentially force fed him the ball leading to seven receptions for 59 yards, and four rushes for 41 yards. I watched that game and it seemed like he was in motion for a jet sweep or fake jet sweep on every other play. It seemed like they wanted to make a point about not being wrong by trading for him. Despite moving the chains in that game, he has done very little since.
Their second game was the Antonio Gates-Phillip Rivers show where the Chargers beat the Seahawks. Harvin advocates will point to his 51 yard TD run in the first quarter, although that run should not have even counted. For the rest of the game, Harvin pulled off a great disappearing act and registered one catch for exactly five yards. Harvin then put up an active stat line in the Denver game, but did very little to stand out. Lynch and Wilson were the two main catalysts on offense that day, particularly down the stretch.
Washington, their fourth game, saw multiple Harvin TDs called back. Tough break. Even tougher was the 27 total yards he put up. Then, this past weekend, he hit a new low. America's Team, the Dallas Cowboys, bottled up Harvin like no team has before. He had three catches for zero yards and three rushes for negative one yards. That means that me, sitting on my couch on Sunday, gained more yards than Harvin. I'm available for contract talks, NFL teams!
To summarize, that's 225 total yards and one TD that shouldn't have counted. And people still consider him one of the most dynamic and dangerous players in the league? Really?! By comparison, 31 year old Greg Jennings, the current WR1 in Minnesota has 268 total yards and one TD while having to deal with the QB trio of Matt Cassel, Christian Ponder, and Teddy Bridgewater. Yikes. His name may be feared league wide, but he's doing very little to justify anyone being scared of him.
Offensive Gameplan Issues
It's hard to blame Harvin in Seattle's wins, so let's take a look at their two losses. Harvin's three total touches in the San Diego game weren't the problem, it was the 10 total touches (six carries) by Lynch that was the issue. The same thing happened in the Dallas game as Lynch only received 11 total touches while Harvin received six for negative yardage. The Seahawks were in both of those games, so it's not like they were in comeback mode and needed to abandon the run. The problem was that this offense now relies on deception, which mostly consists of moving Harvin every which way, and Wilson's ability to make spectacular plays out of nothing. That's not the current generation Seahawks' style of football.
They are at their most dangerous when they are grounding and pounding teams into submission with Lynch. Wilson is at his best when the run game sets up play action. He's an extremely dynamic play maker, but as shown in the Dallas game, he is simply an okay QB if you contain him and force him to throw from the pocket. Apart from his nine yard TD scamper, he was basically a non factor as he was held to 126 yards, one interception, and 12 total rushing yards. Without the threat of a running game, the still not elite Dallas D shut down the Seattle offense.
Having a home run hitter like Harvin is great, so long as it is not a detriment to the team. With him gone, I think the Seahawks go back to a more smash mouth approach on the offensive side of the ball. This team doesn't need all that crazy deception, sweeps, and quick screens. Their mantra should be that we're going to run Lynch, you know that we're going to run Lynch, and have fun trying to stop him. They seem to have gotten away from that since Harvin came on board, particularly this year (he played hardly any offense, or football for that matter, last year).
Looking Ahead
The good news for Seattle fans is that they seem to have identified their mistake early and addressed it. Often times, in an effort to not be wrong about a player, teams will hang on for too long and ultimately wind up hurting their team in the short term and the long term. Not only will running Lynch help their offense, but it will swing the time of possession back in their favor, giving their defense some time to rest. San Diego possessed the ball for a ridiculous 42:15, while the Cowboys held the ball for 37:39. I don't care if you're the Legion of Boom, the '85 Bears, or the Steel Curtain, that time of possession is going to wear on you. Ball control needs to be priority number one for this offense rather than trying to make SportsCenter's Top 10.
As far as their schedule goes, this is the calm in between the storms. They've already faced four of the best teams in the NFL (Broncos, Packers, Cowboys, Chargers) and went 2-2. They get a four week reprieve until Week 11 when they may have the most daunting six game stretch in the history of football. They go to Arrowhead, have a home and home with Arizona, have a home and home with San Fran, and go to Philly the first weekend in December. They will need to have a running game established by then.
The last thing about this trade that should not go overlooked is the draft pick they acquired. It will be in the 2nd-4th round range and, recently, Seattle has had pretty good success there. Since 2007, the Seahawks have drafted Brandon Mebane, Red Bryant, Max Unger, Golden Tate, Walter Thurmond III, K. J. Wright, Bobby Wagner, and Russell Wilson in that pick range. Obviously there's no guarantee, but if I'm putting my money on a team to make the best pick for their team, regardless of the round, Seattle would have to be pretty high up there.
Despite the pedestrian numbers put up by Harvin so far, this was a bold move for Seattle. They gave him a big contract and traded away draft picks just to acquire him. Even though I pointed out that he doesn't fit the Seahawks' system, he is still an electric player in terms of raw speed and elusiveness. It's a bit odd that the Jets wanted Harvin as I doubt any one player in the entire league, no matter how talented, could turn that team around this year. Seattle, even with Harvin, was one of the best teams in the NFL, and I think they just got a bit better. If they make another deep run into the playoffs, expect this trade to stand out as one of the reasons why they remain a contender for the Super Bowl.
Matty O
