Seattle quarterback Sam Darnold and the Seahawks said they are emphasizing consistency after a self-scout ahead of Week 7 versus the Kansas City Chiefs.
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The Seahawks said they have taken time in the days leading up to their Week 7 matchup to review what is working and what needs improvement, with quarterback Sam Darnold highlighting consistency as the biggest focus heading into Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Darnold said the team has “had a few days to look at ourselves” and evaluate the Chiefs, adding that Seattle has identified areas to improve. “The biggest thing for us is consistency. Consistency day in and day out. With these guys (Chiefs) coming in here, great defense, good players, good scheme. Have to prepare well and do everything that we can to all be on the same page and go out there so we can play decisively.”
The team has pointed to turnovers and offensive drives stalling as issues this season, while Darnold also noted that what Seattle is doing on tape does not always show in outcomes. “There’s a lot of good things that we’re doing on tape. Sometimes it doesn’t show it in the scoreboard or sometimes how it feels on the field. We need to create a little more consistency in how we’re doing it,” Darnold said. He described the need for sustaining drives by stringing together multiple plays. “That’s sustaining drives. Having six, seven, eight plays that we’re stringing together and not being able to convert a third down on that eighth play. Sustaining drives and continuing to play one play after the other.”
Offensive coordinator Brian Fleury said Seattle’s coaches spent the long weekend reviewing game film from its first six games. Fleury said the work included looking at film and evaluating performance at “every level,” including schematics and individual position areas, to determine what the team can focus on moving forward.
The Seahawks also referenced Darnold’s recent history. The team noted that last season, in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Rams, Darnold threw four interceptions and that Ernest Jones IV came to his defense. Seattle then said Darnold responded by throwing 13 touchdown passes with four interceptions over the next 10 games, including the playoffs, during which the Seahawks won all 10 on the way to a Super Bowl title. Jones said the current situation is similar to what he has seen before. “We’ve seen him fix it before. We’ve seen him go through this in certain ways or not play as well as he would like. So we’ve seen him battle back from this,” Jones said. “This is nothing new for us. We’ve been in this situation before. I’m just excited about the guys that he has around us. You got a bunch of fighters, a bunch of guys that we know we’re going to fix this thing. We’re going to turn it around and when we do, the story will be different.”
Head coach Mike Macdonald said Monday that Darnold has been trying to be part of team discussions. “Sam’s been great,” Macdonald said. “He’s been trying to be part of the conversations with us on where we can go.”
Seattle practiced at the Virginia Mason Athletic Center on Wednesday, October 21, and again on Thursday, October 22, as the team prepared for Sunday’s prime-time matchup against Kansas City.
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