The Seattle Seahawks protection is blazing with momentum, the offense has a half-dozen fascinating storylines, however one piece that’s gone below the radar this season is DeeJay Dallas and the kick return recreation.
Pete Carroll loves “Groups” as he calls them, and particular groups has been some extent of emphasis round Seattle for years. However DeeJay Dallas is doing his finest Geno Smith impersonation and revitalizing his profession this season in an enormous method.
The group’s RB3 has been kick returner primary all season, and has made a exceptional leap ahead in his fourth season.
He’s added three yards per kickoff return, however the different enhance is astounding – Dallas has basically doubled his punt return common from final season. He’s gone from 7.3 Yards per Return to 13.6 YPR, and it’s not a small pattern measurement. If Dallas returns two punts on Sunday he’ll tie his quantity from final yr.
The end result has been implausible area place for the Seahawks this yr.
Surprisingly, Dallas is barely seventh within the NFL at common yardage. I’ve hooked up the highest checklist under, primarily to focus on a few options. First, the Denver Broncos have half the returns that Seattle does, and people will doubtless stability out quickly.
Secondly, the Saints, Bengals, Ravens and Jets are bolstered by large 65+ yard returns, when accounting for roughly 10% of the whole carries is important. Dallas’ massive run in the intervening time is 32 yards, since he hasn’t damaged one previous the ultimate defender but. On a per-return foundation, he’s been among the many most constant runners within the league, which is what the sector place up above signifies.
For any who’re particularly pissed off at Dallas’ fumble towards the Arizona Cardinals, he solely has one fumble per yr for his profession. It’s not been an issue for him by any means. Sure, Week 7 is a bit on the early aspect, however I’m not involved that Dallas is ordinarily a fumble danger.
The Cleveland Browns are mildly exploitable right here. They’ve allowed nearly 10 yards per punt up to now this season. It could go a good distance towards a stingy protection on Sunday if Dallas can add to that complete.
