http://www.fieldgulls.com/2015/8/11/9132289/seahawks-position-battle-preseason-denver-broncos
The battle at running back
Marshawn Lynch will not play, in all likelihood. This means that we get to see what Robert Turbin and his two surgically-repaired magic hips can do when running against portions of a first-team defensive line. We'll get to see whether or not Christine Michael can carry the ball in his left hand when running to the left side of the field. We'll get to see Will Tukuafu truck a foo' or two. Hopefully.
For Turbin, pay close attention to his balance and lateral agility, two areas in which he's struggled over the last two years. Were his hip issues to blame? Perhaps. For Michael -- look, we all know he can run, but the thing keeping him in third place on the depth chart is mastery of the little things. I'll be looking at his blitz pickups, his ball security, his pass catching -- these are the areas that he must improve in to make a dent this year.
Past those three relatively known commodities, I'm particularly excited to see what the highly-lauded Thomas Rawls can do. He's a powerful and violent runner, but does he have the lateral agility and explosiveness to catch on to this roster? I think it will be interesting to see Rod Smith too. Smith is a different type of runner than Rawls -- he's 6'3 and 230 pounds and looks more like an h-back than a running back, but he runs with authority and is deceptively fast. He's also a good receiver out of the backfield, from what I've heard.
My impression of Rawls based on his college tape is that he likes to bounce plays outside -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing if the opening is there -- but with NFL defenders' speed, sometimes the best thing to do is to read your blocks, make your cut upfield, shift your weight forward and pick up an extra yard rather than try to get outside and end up losing a few. That said, I don't think Rawls fears contact remotely, so that bodes well. With Smith, his leverage will be something to watch. He's 6'3, much taller than most running backs, so he's a little more upright -- when he's hitting the hole, does he have good forward lean and deliver a punch? Or, does he get stood up easily and pushed backwards at contact. Smith was Ohio State's goal-line back so my guess is that he knows how to adjust his pad-level when he needs to, but that's something to confirm.
Good things have been written about both players in camp, and this game gives them their shot at showing coaches and fans whether the hype has been warranted.