ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 22, 1996 TAG: 9609230111
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: NFL NOTES
SOURCE: From Associated Press, Baltimore Sun and Newsday reports
Chris Warren looks at his own statistics and finds them hard to believe.
Three games into the Seattle Seahawks' season, he doesn't have 100 yards rushing - much less a 100-yard game - and his team is looking for its first victory.
``It seems like a misprint in the paper,'' said Warren, who was held to 6 yards on 14 carries in a 35-17 home loss to Kansas City on Sept.15.
It's hard to make a 6-foot-2, 226-pound running back disappear, but it's happened. The three-time Pro Bowl performer from Ferrum College is averaging 2.2 yards on 41 carries and doesn't have a touchdown. His longest run of the season is 14 yards.
Warren has been given precious little running room by the Seahawks' offensive line. As a result, there have been no results.
``Everybody wants to know why,'' said Howard Mudd, Seattle's offensive line coach. ``I don't have any abracadabra.''
``We have to have success running the ball to win games,'' said Bob Bratkowski, the offensive coordinator. ``Chris has to get his yards.''
Like Warren, second-year Seahawks head coach Dennis Erickson is disappointed and frustrated at his team's 0-3 start after a 6-2 finish left Seattle with an 8-8 record in 1995. The Seahawks thought they had a chance to make the playoffs this year.
``Chris hasn't had a lot of space to run in,'' Erickson said. ``That's basically what's happening.''
In 1996, Warren has been a marked man. Teams have stacked their defensive fronts against him, and Seattle's offensive linemen often have been pushed aside by defenders intent to get Warren in the backfield.
``They're just determined not to let me beat 'em,'' said Warren, who has 19 100-yard rushing games, including eight last season when he ran for 1,346 yards and a club-record 15 touchdowns. ``They'll let anybody else beat them except me.''
Lamar Smith, Warren's backup, who had 73 yards on eight carries against Kansas City and is averaging 8.6 yards per attempt through three games.
In Seattle, people are even starting to whisper that Warren has stopped running hard.
``People can say what they want,'' he said. ``They don't know how hard I work. I've never quit on anything. When we were 2-14, I was still going out and busting my butt every day, every week.''
In 1992, when the Seahawks had a franchise-worst 2-14 record, Warren ran for 1,000 yards for the first time in his career. He set a franchise record by rushing for 1,545 yards in 1994.
He's Seattle's second-leading career rusher behind Curt Warner (6,705 yards, 1983-89) with 5,095 yards.
Warren refuses to point fingers.
``We're all out there working hard,'' he said. ``I'm doing the best I can. We all make mistakes. You can't say it's the offensive line. You can't say it's the quarterback [Rick Mirer].''
But Erickson said: ``He needs some room to get going. We've got to give him some space and give him some opportunities to run. Once he gets going, he's very difficult to tackle.''
Seattle will be at Tampa Bay (0-3) today, trying to avoid its first 0-4 start since 1977, the second year of the franchise.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB