The Seahawks are back to work following a short break coming off a Thursday game, and after diving into some of the issues that have hurt them in losses this season, they are, as head coach Mike Macdonald put it on Monday, "definitely more aligned as a team than we were a few days ago, and I'm excited about where we can go."

Next up is a tough test against the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs, but before we turn our attention to that game, it's time once again to open up the mailbag and answer some questions from you, the fans.

As always, thanks to everyone who asked questions this week, and apologies if I wasn't able to get to yours this time around. And remember, the mailbag is always open for submissions at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

From Twitter/X

@NancyKoontz47 asks, "Which players is doing the most useful work that doesn't show up in the stats?"

A: The first name that immediately comes to mind with this one is Cooper Kupp, who in so many ways has been, as head coach Mike Macdonald calls it, a “force multiplier” since joining the team last year.

Kupp is still a darn good receiver in his 10^th season, but the ball doesn't find him as much at it might if not for the fact that he happens to be teammates with the best receiver on the planet, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Even so, Kupp is still productive when called upon, and he was the team's leading receiver in two of three postseason contests, including Seattle's Super Bowl LX win. But what Kupp has meant to the team the past two years goes so far beyond the numbers. As "Hard Knocks" did well to illustrate, Kupp does so much more than a typical receiver, sitting in on quarterback meetings, acting as an advisor to Macdonald, being a trusted veteran voice in the locker room and so much more.

"I think he's taught me more than I've taught him, which is pretty awesome," Macdonald said before the start of the season. "You just talk about force multipliers, not only is he a productive player on the field, high leverage moments, I think that's when we saw the best version of Coop last year… (The "Hard Knocks" scene with Kupp and Macdonald in the coach's office)  really gave you a window into what he's like every day. Talk about a force multiplier, just how you're able to help all these different areas of our team. It's like, 'Dude just keep doing it.' People need it and he's able to unlock those things which I think is really, really awesome."

The other answer to this can always be any lineman playing at a high level. On both sides of the ball, aside from defensive linemen who pile up sacks, good line play is often overlooked for how valuable it is to the team.

Lastly, I'd also point to cornerback Devon Witherspoon, who in some games might not put up many stats, but is such a crucial piece of Macdonald's defense, not to mention a tone-setter with his energy and physical style of play.

@Seahawksbrasil asks, "Trade for a running back?" @KingSp5der5 asks, "Is John Schneider on the phone with the Colts?" And others asked about some specific trade scenarios.

A: Given the Seahawks' recent issues in the running game and with fumbles, I totally get the question, but one issue with potentially trading for a back is figuring out how it will shake out with Zach Charbonnet expected back soon, possibly this week, and with first-round pick Jadarian Price not far behind. The Seahawks will always look at every option, but that position won't seem like as much of a need in the next couple of weeks as it might at this very moment.

The Colts part of this question comes from the fact that Indianapolis just moved on from long-time GM Chris Ballard, meaning assistant GM Ed Dodds will now run the personnel department until the Colts hire a new GM. Dodds, of course, was a longtime Seahawks scout under John Schneider, so there's an obvious connection there. Schneider takes pride in being involved in every possible transaction or trade that can possibly help his team, so whether or not Dodds were in charge, Schneider would be calling up the Colts if he thought there were good players to be had, via a trade, but having a good relationship with Dodds certainly can't hurt. Then again, Schneider has a good relationship with damn near every personnel person in the NFL a this point, so I'm not sure how much of a difference it really makes who is calling the shots.

As for any particular trade targets on the Colts or any other team, I don't want to see Seahawks.com caught up in a tampering investigation, so I won't comment on those questions, sorry.

@jaxonsnjigba asks, "Are we putting too much confidence in Zach Charbonnet coming back to fix our run game?"

A: Depends on what your expectations are? The Seahawks' inconsistencies in the run game go beyond just the running backs, so you're right that it's not fair to expect Charbonnet to just come in and turn the Seahawks into the best running team in the league. But good running backs do make a difference, and Charbonnet can help the Seahawks get better, to be sure. How soon he's back—Macdonald said it could be as soon as Sunday's game against the Chiefs—and how big of a workload he'll be ready for upon his return, are factors, but it's fair to think the run game should be better with Charbonnet a part of the equation. Having Anthony Bradford back at right guard should also help the Seahawks run the ball better.

@Meyonic4 asks, "Do you think it was smart to let K9 go?"

A: Wait, you're telling me fans are going to ask questions about Kenneth Walker III with the Chiefs coming to town? No way!

And look, I get that fans have certain feelings about how the offseason went with Walker, especially given that he's off to such a great start with the Chiefs. But I'm not sure it's accurate to say the Seahawks "let K9 go" rather than he made the choice to leave. The Seahawks loved what they got out of Walker and, for the right price, would have surely wanted him back, but if Walker was able to get more money on the open market while also getting a chance at a bigger role, it's hard to fault him for taking that opportunity. And when it comes to making decisions in free agency, it's not just about one year—or in this case, a third of a season—Schneider is looking at the entire roster years down the road, thinking not just about the moves happening last March in free agency, but also future extensions, moves like signing Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Devon Witherspoon, Derick Hall and Leonard Williams to extensions, or like future extensions for players such as Byron Murphy II or AJ Barner after this season.

I will add that, for all the consternation about how the Seahawks used Walker compared to what he's doing in Kansas City, it's worth noting that a big reason why the Seahawks wanted to split carries and snaps between Walker and Charbonnet was to have both players be fresh and healthy for a whole season, and the end result was Walker being at his best for a playoff run that ended with Walker being Super Bowl MVP, so it's hard to fault how the Seahawks handled that situation last year.

@MrEd315 asks, "At the one-third mark of the season, what's your overall grade for the Seahawks?"

A: Can I go with "incomplete" since we're only six games into the season? No. OK, fine. Nobody with the Seahawks is content with a 3-3 record, so there's definitely improvements to be made, but players and coaches alike know that this team can be a heck of a lot better, especially if they just get out of their own way and stop turning the ball over. The Seahawks have committed 10 turnovers in their three losses, and lost those games by a combined eight points, so it's not like they're just being outclassed in losses. That being said, the turnovers have happened so you can't just pretend that they didn't, and that something the Seahawks need to figure out if they want to be the team they're capable of being. All of that being said, I'll call it a B for now, with a lot of room, and time, to improve that grade.

@MicahisOgreIt asks, "Will we see the throwback uniforms again soon?"

A: You will. In fact, you'll see them again on Sunday night vs. the Chiefs. The Seahawks will also wear their royal blue throwbacks in Week 13 when they face the Cowboys on Monday night.

@FroderbergJeff asks, "What is the plan? Y'all are missing your goals by a mile."

A: By a mile?  Three losses by a total of eight points is "by a mile?" Nobody thinks what the Seahawks have done over the past four weeks is good enough, but this idea that the Seahawks have totally lost their way, eight months after winning the Super Bowl, is a little silly to me. The Seahawks have things to clean up, particularly on offense, to be sure, but they also have a lot of really good things going for them, in all three phases, and 11 games left to get to being the team they want to be. It's very, very rare for an NFL team to be on top of its game for 17 straight weeks, some rough patches are all but inevitable, and the Seahawks have plenty of talent and great coaching to still make this a great season.

From Instagram:

@bukc.s asks, "Why aren't we starting Drew Lock?"

A: Not any time soon, unless something happens to Sam Darnold. And look, I get why a lot of you asked about the quarterback situation—Drew Lock was great in two games in relief of Darnold, and Darnold, as he pointed out after Thursday's game, has thrown too many interceptions this season. But the Seahawks aren't going to pull the plug on their Super Bowl-winning quarterback, a player who went 31-7 as a starter, postseason included, over the previous two seasons, because of a few bad throws early this season. You'd think winning a Super Bowl less than a year ago, and getting there with an incredible quarterback performance in the NFC championship game, would buy Darnold a little more grace from fans, but apparently that's not the case for everyone.

And Darnold is the first to say that he needs to be better—he was very hard on himself after Thursday's loss—but the Seahawks also need to be better around him, particularly when it comes to the run game and pass protection.

"There are things that we can all do to help Sam play better football," Macdonald said. "We trust Sam, we believe in him. We feel like he's definitely part of the solution in terms of us playing better football on offense and at quarterback.

"We have a lot of faith in Sam. Sam has played great football for us. He's done a lot of great things this year. He's obviously turned the ball over more than we want to. There are things on our end that can help him play better football and he's part of the solution rather than the opposite."

@ltg_dy1an asks, "How are you going to prevent turnovers moving forward?"

A: First and foremost, as mentioned above, Darnold can be better, and the running backs and receivers can do a better job of protecting the ball. But there are also ways the Seahawks can help Darnold stay out of the situations that have led to some of the interceptions by protecting him better and by being better on early downs, be it running the ball or in the passing game, to avoid third-and-long situations.

@riqq2x._ asks, "When does big dawg Zach come back?" And @cadenwarsalla133 asks, "Will Zach Charbonnet be back for the Chiefs game?"

A: Macdonald said that Charbonnet has a chance to play this Sunday, depending on how the practice week goes. We'll have to wait and see what Charbonnet's workload looks like upon his return—it's worth remembering that he is only eight months removed from surgery—but his return, whether it's this week or sometime in the near future, should give a nice spark to the offense.

@wh0s.zer0 asks, "What is Blitz's favorite food?"

A: I checked with the bird itself, and Blitz said sushi. I'm not sure how a bird operates chopsticks, but whatever. You do you, Blitz.

@Swap the Dark Side and Legion of Boom on their respective Super Bowl teams. Who is winning by more?"

A: Ooh, this is a fun topic/debate… and I'm also not going to answer it because there's no right answer here and I don't want Richard Sherman, Devon Witherspoon, Kam Chancellor, Julian Love, Bobby Wagner, Ernest Jones IV, etc. mad at me. Sorry.

@Indn.5k ask, "Will JSN get MVP?"

A: History says no. After all, no receiver has ever earned MVP honors. That being said, if Smith-Njigba keeps producing like this and threatens/breaks Calvin Johnson's single-season receiving record, and if the Seahawks get hot and finish among the NFC's top teams, there will be a good case to be made. One thing that would help Smith-Njigba's case is that, while MVP is usually a quarterback award, he produced at a high level for a couple of weeks while the Seahawks had Drew Lock playing for an injured Sam Darnold. So if we're assuming the Seahawks get on a roll and finish with, say, 11 or 12 wins—all but a requirement for a player to win MVP—then perhaps Smith-Njigba could contend for the award for putting up monstrous numbers in a season in which Darnold missed time, hurting his own numbers for potential award consideration.

@503_marcos_7 asks, "How does Emmanwori do it?"

A: For starters, it helps that Nick Emmanworis is such a unique physical specimen, a player who is faster than most defensive backs while also being bigger than a lot of linebackers. He can blitz, he can play all of the field, he can cover, and he's a physical tackler. All of that is part of why veteran safety calls his younger teammates, "one of one," even in a league full of rare athletes.

But focusing just on Emmanwori's physical traits, impressive though they are, shortchanges the intelligence and work ethic it takes for him for him to do all the unique things he does. As teammates have noted, Emmanwori works with pretty much every position group, from edge rushers to linebackers to defensive backs, meaning he has to spend time with a lot of different coaches learning different parts of the defensive playbook. Plenty of players, no matter how physically gifted, couldn't handle that, especially in their first couple of seasons in the league, but Emmanwori has been able to, which is a big part of why he is such a special player.

"It's a beast," Love said of the mental side of the game Emmanwori is taking on. "Me for example, I might be working with some linebacker stuff and some safety stuff. For him, every level of our defense, every coach, has something for him. He might be getting six voices talking to him, and he's taking it all in stride. He's done a really good job of just being patient with himself, applying his learning to the field each day. And that goes way unspoked about how tough it is to like up at six different spots, and be affective at those spot—not just line up, but also produce. The mental can't be spoken about enough for him."

From the submission form at Seahawks.com/mailbag.

Jim from Costa Mesa, California say, "John - there seems to be a lot of hand-wringing about the 'Hawks so far this season, but in reality, they are three plays away from being undefeated (the pick six against WAS, the fumble in the end zone against SF, and Jason Myers' missed FG in Denver). Are we just spoiled from them having a dominant second half last year? Or are we seeing some regression to a less successful team this year?"

A: I'm not going to call fans spoiled—the people who pay good money to support the team are the lifeblood of the sport, and with the dollars and time fans commit to fandom comes the right to express opinions—but there's no getting around the fact that success does change fan expectation in a big way. We are literally eight months removed from nearly a million fans crowding downtown Seattle to celebrate a dominant Super Bowl victory, and now, three losses later, a lot of fans are REALLY upset about the state of the team. Are the Seahawks disappointed in the losses they've had, and in the turnovers that led to them? Of course. But it's also worth remembering that there are still 11 games left in the season, and that, turnovers issues aside, this is still an elite team. If the offense doesn't get on track soon and clean up the turnovers, then it's fair to wonder about, as the question calls it, regression, but for me at least, it's way too soon to think that's what's going on rather than just a bit of an odd, rough patch with turnovers.