The Seattle Seahawks (7-5) will host the Minnesota Vikings (6-5-1) on Monday (5:15 p.m (PT) as both teams look to create some separation from the other in the battle for an NFC Wild Card playoff spot.
PETE CARROLL LAST PRACTICE PRESS CONFERENCE
(Opening Statement)
“As it is on Mondays, seems like forever until we get to the game. This is Friday for us and the whole week went great. We had a terrific preparation, guys worked really hard and we’re ready to go. The question is can we get the fans jacked up and get the 12s ready to rock and roll and light this place up. We’ve got to do it by our play and so you’ll see our special teams rolling and hopefully the juice will be there. We’d love to have a big night at the stadium – it’d be fun to celebrate with them. It’s going to be a big challenge. The Vikings are really good and they’re good across the board. There’s no weaknesses of this team at all. It’s a great matchup for us. If we can be fortunate enough to get a win it’ll be very meaningful.”
(On Doug Baldwin’s status)
“He’s just barely making it through the week right now. It’s going to be all the way up until game time before we know.”
(On what Doug Baldwin’s injury is) “He’s got a groin issue.”
(On if Doug Baldwin’s groin injury is the same as the one sustained earlier in the season)
“It’s a little bit different than what it was, but it’s related. It’s not the same injury.”
(On what Doug Baldwin has shown him through injury adversity this season)
“It’s been a really hard year for Doug. He’s a guy that doesn’t miss anything. He’s had to learn how to just get through the weeks and survive. He’s had a number of things that have bothered him during the season. His attitude is just ridiculously strong. You can’t imagine how competitive he is and how he will just will his way back on the field. We can’t pass judgment on anything until the last second with him because he’s just been a phenomenal competitor to get out on the field. It has been hard on him. It hasn’t been the year at all he had hoped to have. He’s ready to jump in there and do whatever he can as soon as he can get that done.”
(On how Mychal Kendricks has worked back in)
“(Mychal) has had a really good couple of weeks. This is the third week he’s been with us and he’s been aiming towards this game the whole time. He looks really good on the practice field. Like when he played for us, we really felt his quickness. You could see the plays that he can make and the savvy that he has adds to it. It’s going to be a while before he’s truly comfortable in the playing mode just because it’s happened so fast. His awareness really allows him to jump back in and we’re going to expect him to be active and be apart of it and play a lot in the game.”
(On the Seahawks defense not forcing three and outs)
“It’s been a little bit of ropey-dope defense. We don’t really like it that way, but you got to call it how it is. We’re letting them move the ball on us and then we’ve been really good when we get down close. We’ve taken the ball away from teams well down there and played just pretty stiff down there in the red zone. It’s not the way we want it, we’re still working. We’ve had some really good games, but we just haven’t found the consistency yet. This is a very difficult bunch to find your consistency against, but we’re going to see if we can get that done again.”
(On K.J. Wright’s injury progression)
“Today was his first day of really running – I don’t know what the result was. Leading up to it, all of the ramping up has been really on point. He’s felt no discomfort at all. That’s a really positive sign for him to get right. It’s going to still be a bit because we got to get him back into shape and all that because he’s missed some time.”
(On if there are any updates as to how long D.J. Fluker will be out) “No.”
(On if D.J. Fluker will play in Week 14 against the Vikings) “
He won’t make it this week.”
(On Jordan Simmons) “
We’ve been really surprised that Jordan was available – because we don’t know why he was out there – because we think he’s really a legitimate candidate to be playing. He’s played well, he’s got size and movement and strength and awareness and smarts – all those things. He fits in really well. We have no hesitation in playing him. We played him against the toughest three-technique you can play against and he held his own pretty well. We’re going to expect him to do it again. He’s got a very tough group to go against here now, but he feels more comfortable about it. Having the whole week of preparation was really important for him and he’s just going to keep getting better. We’re looking out after him hopefully and we’re expecting him to play really hard.”
STATS MATCH UPS
| CATEGORY | SEAHAWKS | VIKINGS |
| Record | 7-5 | 6-5-1 |
| Total Yards Gained | 4,239 | 4,331 |
| Total Offense ( NFL Rank) | 353.3 (19) | 360.9(16) |
| Rush Offense | 148.1(1) | 86.1(30) |
| Passing Offense | 204.4(26) | 274.8(27) |
| Points Per Game | 26.6 (9) | 22.9(18) |
| Total Yards Allowed | 4,409 | 3,933 |
| Total Defense | 367.4 (19) | 327.8 (5) |
| Rush Defense | 116.8 (17) | 247.6(T26) |
| Pass Defense | 250.7 (19) | 228.6(9) |
| Point Allowed/Game | 21.6(9T) | 22.5 (14) |
| Possession Avg | 30:52 | 29:37 |
| Sacked/ Yds Lost | 37/263 | 30/192 |
| Sacked Made/Yds. Lost | 31/190 | 36/254 |
| Interceptions By | 12 | 11 |
| Penalties/Yds | 89/736 | 68/575 |
| Punts/Avg | 55/48.7 | 54/43.9 |
| Turnover Differential | +11(T2) | +1(T16) |
