"Tell the Truth Monday," a day that has the Seahawks rehash what went right and what went from the previous week's game, took place on a Tuesday this week with Seattle's practice schedule pushed back a day because of their upcoming Monday Night Football matchup with the Detroit Lions.
Despite Seattle netting a 26-0 shutout of the Chicago Bears in Week 3, Tuesday's truth session revealed a few areas of improvement for the Seahawks offense, which Doug Baldwin outlined in a seven-minute meeting with the media. Those offensive adjustments Baldwin spoke to lead our list of three things we learned from the Seattle wideout:
1. The Offense Needs To Be More Consistent
Consistency was the word of the day for Baldwin, who emphasized the Seattle offense was not as efficient as it needs to be in Sunday's win over the Bears, when the team scored one offensive touchdown on a 30-yard pass from quarterback Russell Wilson to tight end Jimmy Graham, but saw four other drives end in field goals.
"We're not moving the ball consistently," Baldwin said. "We have a lot of mental errors and mental mistakes that we need to correct."
Part of the problem, Baldwin said, was the team's lack of conversions on third down, where the Seahawks went 0-for-6 in the first half before finding a bit of a rhythm in the second half to finish the game 5-of-16 (31 percent).
"We're last in the league in third-and-three-to-six right now, and we didn't do too well," Baldwin said. "We had two mistakes on third-and-short this week that we should've gotten."
Baldwin admitted the offense started to click more in the second half against Chicago - just as it did against St. Louis and Green Bay - when the unit put up 20 of its 26 total points. Moving forward, he's hoping that type of production can come sooner in games rather than later.
"We've shown the propensity to be able to do that the past three games," Baldwin said. "We just want to be more consistent. I think that's the general message that we're all preaching and receiving right now, is that we need to be more consistent."
2. It Was "A Little Bit" Weird Playing Without Marshawn Lynch
Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch left Sunday's game against the Bears with a hamstring injury after gaining 14 yards on five carries. It was a strange moment for Baldwin, who said it was "a little bit" weird being on the field without No. 24.
"I don't think I've ever been out there without Marshawn, probably since my rookie season," Baldwin said. "Like I said, we've got great guys that he's taught up, that he's coached up, that are able to come in there and do what they're coached to do. Not only by our coaching staff, but also by Marshawn. So yeah, we missed him in the huddle, but it's always the next man up."
In this case, the next man up was an undrafted rookie in Thomas Rawls, who wound up having the most productive outing for the Seahawks this season on the ground. Rawls ran 16 times for 104 yards, good for 6.5 yards per carry.
"That kid has been busting his tail since the beginning of camp, even in OTAs," Baldwin said. "So I'm not surprised and extremely happy for his success, because he earned it."
3. What Has He Seen From The Detroit Lions?
The Seahawks welcome the Detroit Lions to Seattle in Week 4 for a Monday Night Football matchup. The game marks the first time former Seahawks wideout Golden Tate will set foot in CenturyLink Field since he signed with the Lions in free agency after Seattle's Super Bowl XLVIII-winning season in 2013.
Baldwin said he still keeps in touch with Tate, who earned Pro Bowl honors in Detroit last season after leading the team with 99 catches for 1,331 yards.
"I got to see him at Jermaine [Kearse's] wedding, so it wasn't too long ago that I got to see him," said Baldwin. "We still text pretty regularly, so it will be good to see him."
Detroit finished 2014 with an 11-5 record, falling to the Dallas Cowboys in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs. The Lions sit at 0-3 to open 2015, their worst start since 2010 when the team finished the season 6-10. But Baldwin said he's not letting Detroit's tough start to the year influence the way he'll prepare this week.
"Regardless of their struggles on paper, they're still professionals," he said. "So I don't take that for granted."
