RENTON — The Seahawks returned to the practice field Monday afternoon fresh off their bye week.
They hope a week of rest will serve them well for the long haul of 10 games in 10 weeks to end the 2025 regular season.
While the Seahawks find themselves in a good spot as they ended their bye — 5-2 and tied with the Rams for first in the NFC West — coach Mike Macdonald hopes that his staff found a few answers for a couple of glaring issues during a week in which he said the team was able to do an extensive self-scout.
“We’ve put ourselves in a position to really attack this second half of the season, and we know we can improve,” Macdonald said. “Numbers support that, tape supports that. The great thing is, I don’t think we have to reinvent ourselves. I think we’re a team with an identity. We know who we are. We just have to go be that team every day, and when we do that, we give ourselves a really good chance to win.”
Maybe the most specific area where the Seahawks need to get better is a rushing attack that is averaging just 3.7 yards per attempt, 31st in the NFL and markedly down from the 4.2 of last season during Ryan Grubb’s only season as offensive coordinator. The only team worse is the 49ers at 3.4.
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The Seahawks hoped that hiring Klint Kubiak as Grubb’s replacement and installing an outside zone rushing attack would liven up the run game.
While there have been moments of effectiveness, there’s been more of exasperation as the inconsistent rushing attack has been one reason the Seahawks have had to work a harder than seemed necessary to close out its last two wins against Jacksonville and Houston.
Asked what he learned about what needs to get better about the running game, Macdonald said, “It’s everything.”
But that everything doesn’t appear to include making any changes to the starting offensive line.
Asked if the team is considering making any personnel changes up front, Macdonald said. “Um no. No.”
Macdonald said he felt like there were reasons to feel optimistic when looking at the Houston game, a 27-19 win in which the Seahawks rushed for 118 yards on 33 carries, 3.6 yards per attempt.
Kenneth Walker III had 56 yards on 10 carries in the second half to finish with 66 on 17, while Zach Charbonnet had 49 yards on 12 carries including two short touchdown runs.
“I think we’re on the right track,” Macdonald said. “We have probably a better understanding of what we do well, what we don’t do as well, how we build things, who is out there that sort of thing.
“But I don’t think we need any wholesale changes. We need to keep attacking it. There’s detail involved, there’s operation involved. Game-plan, scheme. Kind of all of the above is room for improvement, and I think we saw last game we took a stride. We’ve just got to keep moving in that direction.’’
The last two weeks Seahawks have also developed a third-down problem on offense.
After converting 12 of 23 third downs against Arizona and Tampa Bay, the Seahawks have converted just 3-of-26 the past two games, including 2 of 14 against Houston.
One issue was a preponderance of third-and-longs. The Seahawks needed six yards or more on nine of their 14 attempts against Houston. They picked up only two of those. That meant they failed on all five third downs of four yards or shorter.
The struggles the last two weeks means the Seahawks have converted just 27 of 81 third downs, 33.3%, 27th in the NFL.
“We’re not there yet,’’ Macdonald said, adding that “having less and shorter third-down distances helps. A great third down offense is one that really isn’t out there on third down.”
Which circles back to being a better running team on early downs. The Seahawks had 10 runs of 3 yards or shorter on first-and-10 against Houston.
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“I think it’s kind of like the run game,’’ Macdonald said of the third-down issues.
“There’s a lot of great stuff. We’re not there yet, but I think what we are doing is good and sound. Guys are executing. We’ve just got to do everything better. We’ve got to scheme a little bit better, execute a little bit better. I think once we start doing that we’ll start getting better returns.’’
Could Seahawks be active in trade market?
The trade deadline is a little over a week — it hits at 1 p.m. Seattle time on Nov. 4.
As of Monday afternoon there had been no significant rumors linking the Seahawks to any specific moves.
Asked if the Seahawks will be involved in any trade talks, Macdonald gave what has been the standard answer for the team since John Schneider arrived as general manager in 2010.
“We’re always active,” Macdonald said. “You know how John rolls. We’re in everything. We’re constantly trying to do what’s best for us. Sometimes that’s through acquisition.”
No word on injuries
Macdonald said he would refrain from talking about injuries since the Seahawks don’t have to release an injury report until Wednesday.
Macdonald said last week he expected that three defensive starters who have been sidelined of late — safety Julian Love (hamstring), cornerback Devon Witherspoon (knee) and rush end Derick Hall (oblique) would all be back on the practice field this week.
Witherspoon and Hall were on the field as practice began Monday during a portion of the workout open to media. Witherspoon was not on the field but could have arrived later as some players had not yet taken the field before the media viewing portion ended.
Ouzts returns to practice
As expected, the team listed rookie fullback Robbie Ouzts as returning to practice off injured reserve after he sat out the last four games with an ankle injury.
Ouzts can practice for three weeks before he has to return to the 53-man roster or back on IR for the rest of the season.
Macdonald said it was too early to say yet when Ouzts will play again but said his return Monday “was great. Wasn’t a long practice but got some good reps in, good individual work and we’ll take it from there.”
Bob Condotta: bcondotta@seattletimes.com. Bob Condotta is a sports reporter at The Seattle Times who primarily covers the Seahawks but also dabbles in other sports. He has worked at The Times since 2002, reporting on University of Washington Husky football and basketball for his first 10 years at the paper before switching to the Seahawks in 2013.