Warren Has Slash, Dash And Jolt
No two of his runs look the same. On first down, Chris Warren might take a straight handoff and simply muscle forward.
Then, on second down, he might take a pitchout to the left and accelerate around the corner.
Warren has a dozen different speeds and a dozen different spins. He scored Sunday’s final touchdown backwards, breaking four Washington tackles, then turning and churning, making a 5-yard run look like a tug of war that he wins.
“That touchdown that Chris ran,” said Seattle deep snapper Trey Junkin,”he just willed himself into the end zone. It was phenomenal.”
Sure the NFL has its Emmitt Smith and its Barry Sanders; its Ricky Watters and its Thurman Thomas. All are lethal, but none is any hotter, any more grooved, than the Seahawks’ Warren.
“He’s not underrated. He not rated at all because he’s in Seattle,” said Washington linebacker Rod Stephens, a former Seahawk. “You hear people talking about Barry Sanders; well, you have to put Chris up there, too.”
Warren doesn’t explode into a game. He eases into it the way a jazz musician eases into a set. He takes a few hits and delivers a few. He probes between the tackles for seams. He searches for possible cutback lanes.
In the first half against Washington, he ran for only 38 yards. The score was tied at 10. Then Warren began to make his move.
“Chris makes things happen,” coach Dennis Erickson said after Seattle’s 27-20 win. “He seems to get better as time goes on in a game.”
“With Chris it’s like he goes body punch, body punch, body punch, then when he gets you tired, boom he gets you in the head for the knockout,” wide receiver Brian Blades said. “He’s very special. He’s a power runner, but he also has the speed to take it the distance.”
Warren had 98 yards in the second half for a total of 136 in 29 carries, his fourth 100-plus-yard day in his past five games and his sixth this season.
There is nothing flashy about him. He is more relentless than spectacular. He runs with the patience of a monk, waiting, waiting, waiting for a hole to open, then shifting into some higher gear most backs don’t have and sprinting away.
With the size of a linebacker and the speed of a wide receiver, Warren can beat you with his muscle or his miles per hour.
“I blocked for Freeman McNeil, who I thought was a great back, but Freeman was more of a slashing type,” said center Jim Sweeney, a 12-year veteran. “But this guy will hit you and slash. It’s a treat to block for him.
“He’s a lineman’s dream. He gets stronger as the game goes on. He helps us wear the defenses out because when he’s getting tackled, he’s punishing the guys who are tackling him.”
After a half season of searching, the Hawks have discovered their offense. In this mild three-game winning streak, they’ve scored 104 points.
The pass-catching of Joey Galloway and Blades has assured Warren won’t be running against eight-man lines stacked solely to stop him.
There is life in this Seahawks season. Seattle is riding a winning streak. Granted the wins have come against the Moe, Larry and Curly of the NFL. But these are building-block wins for a franchise weary from losing.
The other Stooge from New York, the Jets, comes to Seattle on Sunday. If they win that game, the Seahawks will be 6-6, alive in the wild-card race and looking at a worthwhile December with Philadelphia, Denver, Oakland and Kansas City.
The Seahawks will pound and probe the Jets with Chris Warren. No juking. No jiving.
“Early in the game, Chris just tries to pound it up in there. He likes to get physical,” tackle Ray Roberts said. “After about 19 to 20 carries he starts to soften up the defense, starts to find his little spots to make the cutbacks.”
Body punch, body punch. Knockout.