Updated Jan 7, 2013 - 4:37 pm
Where would the Seahawks be without the option?
The Seahawks set a franchise playoff record with 224 rushing yards in their wild-card win over Washington on Sunday.
Almost half of those yards – 110, to be exact – came the read-option plays that have added a dangerous dimension to the Seahawks' offense. Arguably no other team has run it as effectively as the Seahawks the last six weeks. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Seattle leads the league since Week 13 with 61 rushes and 474 yards on option runs.
"It's been huge," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told "Brock and Salk" on Monday.
"We're just going to keep growing with it. The basics of it, the fundamental part is done," Carroll added. "The line knows what they're doing, the read part of it – other than the one time we mishandled the ball [Sunday] – has been executed very well. It's difficult, there's a lot of different things that happen there, but Russell [Wilson] continues to grow with it, and we're happy with the results."
It was particularly effective Sunday, helping the Seahawks' offense overcome a slow start and a few missed opportunities. Marshawn Lynch's winning 27-yard touchdown came on an option run. The Seahawks averaged 10 yards per carry on such plays compared to just 4.4 yards per carry on non-option runs, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Mike Salk adds more thoughts on the read option in the video below.
You can listen to Monday's podcast here.
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Brock Huard has co-hosted the show since 2009. After earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors at Puyallup High School, Brock went on to a record-setting career at Washington and then spent six years in the NFL, including four with the Seahawks. Brock also works for ESPN as a college football analyst in the booth and the studio. He makes his home on the Eastside with his wife Molly and their three young children.
Danny O'Neil, the new co-host of "Brock and Danny", is the son of a logger, a graduate of the University of Washington and has been a working journalist in Seattle since 1999, first at newspapers and since 2012 at 710 ESPN Seattle. He is married to Sharon Pian Chan, associate opinions editor at The Seattle Times. They live on Capitol Hill with their wrinkled, smelly dog.
Tom Wassell has produced the show since 2011 and also co-hosts "Seattle Sports at Night" with Colin Paisley and Matt Pitman. A native of Connecticut, Tom came to 710 ESPN Seattle after working at ESPN Radio's headquarters in Bristol, Conn. for five years. Tom studied communications at Indiana University, is color-blind and has a weak sense of smell.
