After the Seahawks’ offense mustered only 225 yards, nine points, and no touchdowns on Sunday, safety Earl Thomas spoke his mind.
“Man, it’s been like this for eight years, man,” Thomas told reporters on Sunday. “We understand that sometimes the offense isn’t in rhythm like they need to be.”
So does that kind of talk create issues between the offense and defense? Receiver Doug Baldwin addressed the topic during a Tuesday visit to PFT Live.
“You guys know this,” Baldwin said. “We’re very open with each other and vulnerable in our locker room. We speak truth. It’s very important to us is that we hold each other accountable and we’re honest with each other. Earl was being honest, and if I’m being honest he was speaking truth. It has been like this for a lot of years.”
There’s a business reason for it, as Baldwin sees it.
“The reality of the situation is that the majority of our money is spent on the defense,” Baldwin said. “They are gonna be tasked with pulling more of the weight because that’s their job. Offensively, yes, that’s not an excuse offensively. We have our job and our weight to pull as well. We didn’t play well last Sunday and we’re gonna get that corrected. But he’s right. Our defense has always led the way. Pete Carroll is a defensive-minded coach. So it’s important that our defensive guys feel that and understand that.”
It’s a theory that hasn’t previously been articulated to explain the gap between the team’s offense and defense, but there’s some merit to it. Especially as it relates to the money spent -- or not spent -- on the offensive line.