Seahawk fans are going into the bye week asking, “Where has the running game gone?” The running game was supposed to carry the Seahawks this season. An explosive running back, a young developing offensive line, and an altered offensive scheme instead have produced nothing the past four weeks. Seattle has averaged just 77 rushing yards in its first four games this year, after averaging 113 yards last year.

Coach Jack Del Rio can pay lip service to being committed to running the ball, but the former defensive coach has all but abandoned the run in a pass-happy league. The Seahawks threw 42 more times than they ran over the first four games. “Every time you come out with a loss and you don’t have a lot of production in the running game, you second-guess all your calls,” Del Rio said. “If we don’t have that part of our offense going, you see what kind of troubles we have — we end up having to rely on our defense.”

Seattle gained only 34 yards against the Bucs Sunday. The Seahawks were forced to pass rather than run and ended up in a lot of second-and-long situations. “You know, when you’re in second-and-4s and 5s as opposed to second-and-8s and 9s, you can really get into a rhythm calling plays,” Del Rio said. “Second-and-8, your playbook shrinks a little bit. Third-and-8, it shrinks a lot more.”

Maybe the eventual return of second year speedster Quintaze James will give the running game more room, James was hurt the first game of the year with a strained hamstring. Without James in the line-up, opposing defenses were cheating up to stop the run without fear of being burned on big plays. “I think [throwing downfield] will open our running game now that we have James back and will allow us to take some shots downfield,” Del Rio said.

After going 2-2 the first four games, the Seahawks need to reboot. If they can’t run better on first down, they may have to commit to being a more pass-oriented offense. Which may lead the Seahawk faithful to ask, “Where have the wins gone?”