ALAMEDA, Calif. -- On one hand, running back Marshawn Lynch has not been the impact player the Oakland Raiders hoped he would be in coming out of a one-year retirement.
Lynch, after all, is averaging just 3.76 yards per rush this season, as he did in 2015 before taking a break, after averaging 4.54 yards in 2011-14 with the Seattle Seahawks.
Except ...
Lynch has been a chain-mover when he gets a full head of steam.
Consider: His 2.51 yards after contact per rush, per ESPN Stats & Information, is his second-best such mark over his past eight seasons.
And that has gotten the attention of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
“He’s as good as any back in the league in terms of yards after contact,” Belichick said during a conference call with Bay Area media Wednesday ahead of Sunday's meeting with the Raiders (4-5). “He’s got great balance, great lower-body leg strength. He looks good on every run: inside, outside, cutback, downhill. It doesn’t matter. He can run everything.”
Imagine, then, if the Seahawks had run him from a yard out against the Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX ... but I digress.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr said before the bye that Lynch looked refreshed in Miami after serving his one-game suspension for making contact with an official. Lynch had two touchdowns in Oakland's victory over the Dolphins to double his season total.
“His helmet came off a couple of times; that stood out to me,” Carr joked. “I told him he might need to cut his hair. He said, ‘No chance.’
“Having him back there the way he can run physically, how gifted he is with his vision, as you saw on the trap play, he got up into the second level, third level. He can make somebody miss and go. The more we can help him do that and those kind of things, it’s going to be better for our offense.”
Then there’s this: While Lynch is pushing the pile after contact, his 1.24 yards before contact per rush is not only a career worst, it is also the worst of any qualified rusher in the NFL this season.
Is it scheme? Lynch not being used properly?
“Each back has their own style,” Raiders offensive coordinator Todd Downing said. “One thing that we don’t want to do is get pigeonholed into only doing certain runs with certain players. There are schemes that certain backs on our roster are a little bit more effective at. We want to be able to give them a chance to highlight their skill sets, certainly, and Marshawn is comfortable in certain segment of schemes.
“So we’re going to give him an opportunity to be as successful as possible for us. That’s my job as a coordinator to identify who we should have in and at what times.”
No better time than Sunday in Mexico City against the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots (7-2), right? Maybe Lynch has a chance to close out the game with a touchdown from the 1-yard line.
Again, I kid. Kinda.