Rankin File

Im excited to see what he can do. Edge sure wasn't the future of the Seahawks, hopefully Rankin will be a diamond in the rough.

This doesn't seem desperate at all.

I am getting the excited feeling. I don't know why I just feel he is going to explode. I thought he looked very good against us in the preseason. He stood out to me. Excited!

If this kid can hit the holes faster then Jones and break a few tackles it might be the spark in the running game that we need to really open up the passing game. And anything in the return game is betrter then what we been getting. I'm excited a little for the run game need momentum going into AZ i have a good feeling about that game to. They lose to the Tardinals i will officially through in the towel and look forward to the draft. Go Hawks give us something to still watch this year.

there must be some reason though he's been on the street and not on a team...

Well this is going to fail. I don't think the problem is Julius Jones or Forsett. The problem is that our offense is way too predictable.

Offensive line. That's something we don't have. Rankin is not Steven Jackson- he can't MAKE holes, our line has to create them. Something we haven't been able to do since '05

Maybe this Rankin kid is one of Knapp's rising stars from Oakland.
At least we know we've got a guaranteed win against Detroit this week. I love our easy schedule always giving us an edge over the rest of the NFL. I bet the Hawks have had the luxury of the weakest strenght of schedule of this decade.

I like this move more than I did the James signing. I'd rather we find young kids who may or may not make an impression in the league than continue to sign over-the-hill stars who obviously have nothing left in the tank. Give me hope for the future, I say, not for next week.

Jones will run on every first down, Burleson will almost make a great catch, then get hit a little and drop it, then Rankin will come in on 3rd down and we will run the screen with him.

Rankin was not "on the street", he was stashed on the practice squad of a Oakland team with a 1-2-3 punch at running back second only to Baltimore. Darren McFadden, Justin Fargas, and Michael Bush (would have been first round pick if he didn't miss his senior year with injury, some call him the bast back in Oakland) don't leave much room for any other running back. I'll take a wait and see approach but he is young and most likely eager to prove himself on a team where he actually stands a chance to crack the 53 man roster.

I agree with hawksfan,it doesnt matter how talented he is at finding holes, if there is no opening in our pathetic Oline, he wont be able to produce. See how he does this year though, if he shows promise then maybe that frees up another draft spot for next year. Although I hope we address the Oline in free agency as much as possible.

I agree building a solid oline is the key to the future. We should address this heavily in the offseason. Preferably in the draft with our 1st and 2nd rnd picks. QB can wait as can RB.

Does anyone remember him running at UW? Jesus, he was awful! How the hell is he going to produce for us now?

That is Rankin's style. He can get to the corner, he can go quickly. He isn't going to remind anyone of Stephen Jackson, but he is good in the open field and he will give his all on every play.

I am not excited about Rankin, I am curious. This move cannot hurt- unless Jones gets injured and is out for the year. But Jones has had trouble getting past the edges and into the second level. Maybe Rankin can seize this awesome opportunity. In this scheme, if we can block for it, maybe! I've seen lesser backs run for 1,000 yards in Denver...

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Hawks could have Adrian Peterson back there, wouldn't matter. They need an OL that opens up some holes.

I agree with the sentiment that it can't hurt to try somebody young. I remember him during the preseason game against the Raiders and thought he looked good, and bigger than when he was with the Huskies. However, I seem to recall that he fumbled in that game. Does anybody else remember that?
The fact is it is pretty pathetic that anybody is getting excited about him. It is similar to desperate Hawks fans losing sleep during the last cut down about who is going to be the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster. That is what is such a joke about the three players that the Hawks cut this week...like it was their fault we've been blasted the last two games.

burlesonbeast: are you nuts!?!?rankin was a beast at UW!!! what huskies were you watching? i think he had the 4th most rushing yards in a season in UW history in his last year there!

4th most rushing yards in a season? for UW? that's something to get excited about? lol...pathetic..

I agree with tacomahawk. Unless we fix the o-line, we don't have a running game.

Seahawker,

While it may seem "pathetic" now, the Huskies have quite a history of being good, even though they aren't great right now.

Griffin

What will be out there in FA that will be an upgrade? And will they be a short term fix like most FA are?

While it is certainly an indictment of Ruskell's personnell moves at the RB position and the entire OL, the fact that our running game is so poor that we are left to pin our hopes on achieving something resembling competence on a young untested RB just promoted from the practice squad,is hardly a knock on that RB. Rankin played pretty well for UW at a time when the team pretty much was disintegrating. Also, I dont think UW ran a ZBS and Rankin seems a perfect fit for the ZBS to me.

So, we have a young, tall, fast and definitely tough RB who seems a good fit for the ZBS who is being given some playing time. This is a great opportunity for him, and a way to perhaps light a fire under J Jones' butt. How exactly is that a bad thing for Seattle?!

Rankin doesnt have to set the world on fire to improve our run game--4 yards a carry, 50 yards per game, one TD would blow Jones' production away. And at this point, any improvement would be a reason to celebrate during this dark time.

So why all the grumbling? Yes, it looks as if TR's OL and RB decisions for the last four years have finally proven to be wrong beyond all fears. That doesnt mean he cant learn from his mistakes, and it doesnt mean its a bad thing for Rankin to get some carries.

BIllt and others have wanted the young guys to get some game time when the season was lost, so whats wrong with this? We arent going to the playoffs, Jones isnt a great or even a good back, so what the heck is wrong with seeing what Rankin can do? Hell, he might turn out to be a heck of a find, and a bright spot in this dismal season. And honestly, can he be worse than Edgerrin James?!

Rankin doesnt have to set the world on fire to improve our run game--4 yards a carry, 50 yards per game, one TD would blow Jones' production away.

Uh, Jones is averaging 50 yards per game and 4 yards a carry. And unless they provide Rankin with goal-line oppurtunities, it's highly unlikely he will get TD's either. He wasn't anywhere near the back that JJ was in college, so I wouldn't expect a whole lot out of him.

Jones is averaging 50 yards a game because he ran for over 100 against two HORRIBLE teams. His mean is a better judge than his average. Its below 50 yards, and he's disappeared in the last four games.

The biggest thing Rankin has to offer is speed and toughness. Jones seems to have lost his speed, and just gets tackled too easy. Not that he isnt trying, he just isnt getting it done.

I fully expect Rankin to be a better NFL back than he was a college back. It happens.

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