One of the most surprising aspects of Seattle’s recent 3-1 run has been the absence of Doug Baldwin. For years, Baldwin has been an integral piece of Seattle’s offense.

However, thanks to a knee injury that is still lingering, Baldwin’s impact has been limited this season. Additionally, Seattle’s commitment to a run-heavy offensive attack has limited opportunities for Baldwin to get targeted.

“I think with Doug, there is the timing element,” offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer commented on Thursday. “There’s been not a lot of practice, there’s been maybe limited with some of the stuff he’s been doing. It’s just us calling plays and you got limited passes. Sometimes he’s getting doubled, other times he’s not open – he won’t admit that, but there’s other times he’s not open. He won’t admit that, you can tell him I said that. He’ll deny it, he’ll say show me the video.”

Baldwin has played in four games this season, hauling in 12 catches for 133 yards. Most of that production came in London, when Baldwin had six catches for 91 yards.

Baldwin is healthy now, or at least as healthy as he is going to be, and is no doubt ready to resume his role as Seattle’s go-to offensive option.

However, against a quietly excellent Lions secondary, Seattle may be inclined to run even more than usual – which could keep Baldwin limited once again.

Still, Schottenheimer acknowledges that a healthy Doug Baldwin is a big part of this team’s success.

“I think he’s feeling better and when he’s feeling better, that helps us,” Schottenheimer concluded.