Percy Harvin: Super Bowl X-Factor?

It’s been an up and down year for Percy Harvin. He went from a high (being traded to a championship contender and receiving a contract extension) to a low (needing hip surgery) to another high (coming back ahead of schedule) back to a low (having a hip flare up with the potential to end his season) to another high (coming back for the playoffs) to a low (concussion) to a high (playing in the super bowl). On less than 10 targets/touches this year he’s had a 58 yard return, a one handed catch, a high-leaping jump ball catch, a beautiful run on an end around, and 2 hits take him to the locker room.

He’s playing only 6 quarters this season, yet the argument could be made he will be the most important offensive player in Super Bowl XLVIII.

The Return Of The Run

I don’t need to tell you how Pete Carroll and the Seahawks offensive staff feel about running the ball. They want to run the ball. I also don’t need to tell you how the Seahawks offense ran the ball the last quarter of the regular season. They didn't.

One of the big concerns for the Seahawks in the playoffs was if if they would be able to get pro-bowl runningback Marshawn Lynch going for the playoffs. When facing the abominable conditions of January (and hopefully February) football, a team’s proficiency in running the football is an invaluable skill and often the reason a game is won (or lost).

Saturday, against the New Orleans Saints, the Seahawks seemingly remembered how to run the ball, and regained their previously existent dominance on the ground. While facing winds up to 50 mph, the Seahawks simply decided to run the ball on a hefty 62.5% of their offensive plays, and Marshawn Lynch picked up 140 yards in the process.

Looking back at the tape there were a bevy of reasons for the vast improvement in execution and success in the running game. Sure, the Saints blitzed often, which opened up holes in the running game, but the Seahawks line blocked significantly better than they had in past games and Lynch was frequently able to find holes that were nonexistent in previous games.