Christine Michael Has Given the Seattle Seahawks a Great Problem

As far as titles for resurgent preseasons go, The Awakening feels like it's pulled straight from a Hollywood movie set.

That's because it is, so which one better describes what we're seeing from Seattle Seahawks running back Christine Michael: Dominic West's version with the child ghost, or the evil-spirit version starring Charlton Heston?

Let's go with neither. Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was describing a different sort of supernatural phenomenon when he told ESPN.com's Sheil Kapadia that Michael is experiencing "an awakening."

He was referring to a running back who has brushed the dirt off himself and dug his career free from its deep grave. At a position where talent is beaten up, pummeled by a physical gauntlet and then often tossed aside, it's rare to see a runner realize his potential while entering his fourth season.

Bevell was also characterizing a running back who was deemed worthy of a second-round pick in 2013 (62nd overall) after his 3,113 yards from scrimmage and 35 touchdowns over four seasons at Texas A&M. Michael earned that draft slot and was selected only one spot later than Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy, the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2013.

Then Michael couldn't beat out Robert Turbin for touches. During his first stint in Seattle, which lasted two seasons, he was given just 52 carries. He was a lumbering, plodding, indecisive mess, which led to just 254 rushing yards between 2013 and 2014.

Most of all, Bevell was referring to the running back who became expendable when the Seahawks signed Fred Jackson in September 2015. Yes, the Fred Jackson who was 34 years old at a time when Michael would turn 25 a few months later.

Running backs who are repeatedly buried on depth charts usually don't get their shot at redemption with the same team that pulled the plug originally. But with his preseason play, Michael has given the Seahawks the beginning of a problem—the best sort of problem, one championship-caliber teams gladly welcome.

Head coach Pete Carroll is eager to heap praise on Michael while speaking to anyone willing to listen. There are a group of beat writers who get paid to listen every day, and he recently said this:

That came the day after Michael's best preseason eruption, during Week 3, also known as the only week of August football that kind of matters. He was running with one-cut authority while posting 58 rushing yards on only seven carries (8.3 yards per carry).

Earlier that same week, Carroll spoke confidently about another running back. This running back was an upstart rookie in 2015, one who made Marshawn Lynch a fading memory and finished his season with his 906 yards from scrimmage over just seven starts.

You remember Thomas Rawls, right? Of course you do, because his franchise rookie record-setting 209 rushing yards in Week 11 of 2015 is etched deep in your football memories of awesomeness. The 169 yards he finished with in Week 5 against the Cincinnati Bengals and their seventh-ranked run defense was rather memorable too.

As was the severe ankle injury Rawls suffered that cut his rookie season short, landing him on the physically unable to perform list to start training camp. He returned to full team drills on Aug. 15, and although he saw minimal preseason action (two carries), Carroll said Rawls will be ready once the scoreboard matters, per the team's Twitter account:

That brings us back to the best problem a head coach could ever deal with. Carroll has an abundance of leg-churning downhill runners who are the butter knives cutting through holes opened by his power-rushing-oriented offensive line.

Rawls will surely hold down the starting spot in the early going, but Michael should still have a significant role because he's earned one.

In the short term, that means he'll be available to help ease Rawls in following his eight-month ankle recovery. In the long term, he might take a sizable bite out of the presumed starter's workload, and the Seahawks offense as a whole would be better for it.

"He's an explosive, dynamic athlete," Carroll told reporters in mid-August when asked about Michael's rise. "We're just going to keep going with him. When Thomas gets back out there, those two guys give you a little one-two punch that we're excited about."

Often, that will also double as a knockout punch with two running backs who share a similar skill set. There will just be a switch of hammers whenever Michael enters, as he's the slightly larger punisher.

The common ground between the two lies in their ability to make the ground beneath their feet shake. They both run with overpowering aggression, which creates missed tackles and tacks on valuable added yardage at the end of runs. More importantly, the two can combine to give the Seahawks a reliable chain-moving tandem.

They both have a decisive running style that allows them to exploit holes immediately and then generate added gains in the second level through pure physicality. We saw a glimpse of that from Michael even before the 2016 preseason, when he made his return to Seattle late in 2015.

He appeared in the final three games of the season and averaged 4.9 yards per attempt on 39 carries. The root of his success was how often he ricocheted off a defender...or three. Michael averaged 3.41 yards after contact, the league high during that three-game stretch, per Kapadia.

When that number is put through the ol' digits-to-film converter to see what Michael's viciousness looks like in live action, we get this:

Sure, that does show a massive lane, but you shouldn't overlook what Michael does with said lane.

He stayed disciplined and patient while waiting for the play to develop. Then Michael identified the hole and blasted through, which is all easy enough. What came next is the skill that separates difference-makers from serviceable running backs.

On the 1st-and-10 run during the third quarter of Seattle's Week 3 preseason game, Michael had the agility to juke, plant his foot and subtly change direction, all in the open field while maintaining full speed.

That's far from routine for a 221-pound back.

We also don't expect to see those nimble feet from a running back who had to wipe the rotted banana peels off his forehead after being pulled from the position's junk heap.

He turned a solid first-down run into a spectacular tackle-shedding pinball imitation. Michael did that by having the instinct and anticipation to see which way Dallas Cowboys safety J.J. Wilcox was leaning.

After he executed a quick course correction, Wilcox was set up to be a walking missed-tackle statistic.

Michael surged ahead to his left. Wilcox could only dive and whiff.

At that point, Michael had slashed and cut his way downfield for 12 yards. He didn't allow himself to be slowed enough by Wilcox's tackle attempt, though, and the former Big 12 freshman of the year kept falling forward while pumping his legs. The result was another eight yards added after contact.

Michael led the preseason with his 157 rushing yards after Week 3. That included four 15-plus-yard runs and 80 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus.

That means 51 percent of Michael's preseason rushing yards came after contact. The sample size there is tiny because that's always the case with August football, but getting just over half of your yards after contact still shows physical dominance over any 24-carry stretch.

It's not hard to see a near-future when the Michael-Rawls pairing will have defenders reaching into the freezer for packs of peas to rest on their throbbing bodies.

Rawls also runs like contact, rather than food, is his life-sustaining source of nourishment.

He averaged 3.08 yards after contact in 2015, per PFF, which ranked third among all running backs who were given at least 25 percent of their teams' carries. Overall, he finished with 459 post-contact yards (55.3 percent of his 830 total rushing yards), which is a massive output considering the 23-year-old received a modest 147 carries while starting just those seven games.

His bruising nature is what led to Rawls' 5.6 yard-per-carry average in 2015 (tops among all backs with at least 100 attempts). The same thirst for inflicting pain on opponents can also lead to missed time for Rawls.

Michael's awakening has given the Seahawks insurance in case Rawls struggles upon his return or if his violent running style results in further injury. If he continues to rise from his slumber, Michael would force his coaching staff to mull over a difficult question every offense would embrace: Who should lead?

Perhaps the best answer is option c: both.