Doug Baldwin knows he's fortunate to have spent eight years in the NFL

RENTON Germain Ifedi Color Rush Jersey , Wash. (AP) — and to have established himself as one of the better players on several elite teams.He also knows he's fortunate to have gotten this far without having a season defined by obvious injuries affecting his play — until this year."I was talking to some friends about it the other day in the league and it feels like every player who is fortunate enough to play a long time in the NFL has a year like this where they cannot knock the injury bug," Baldwin said. "It's just part of the game, part of the lifestyle." The Seattle Seahawks haven't gotten the production this year that they have come to expect from a player who has been their top receiver for most of his career since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He has just 41 catches for 465 yards and four touchdowns entering Sunday night's game against Kansas City.Those are decent numbers but not up to Baldwin's standard. Baldwin hasn't had fewer than 66 receptions in the past four seasons. The fact injuries are the main reason he's struggled this season makes it even more frustrating."It's been pretty difficult. Really difficult," Baldwin said.Baldwin hasn't gone through a year like this with injuries since early in his career.It started in training camp with a knee problem that forced him to the sideline for most of the preseason. When he returned for Week 1 against Denver, he almost immediately suffered an injury to his other knee when he was tackled awkwardly. He missed two games and ultimately had other problems that have hung over his season."I think the knee was the trigger for everything," he said.For the past six weeks, it's been either a groin or hip injury that has slowed Baldwin. He missed Seattle's win two weeks ago against Minnesota during which Russell Wilson threw for a career-worst 72 yards, in part because the Vikings didn't have to worry about Baldwin being on the field.Six days later with Baldwin again healthy enough to play, he caught two touchdowns in a 26-23 loss to San Francisco."That was great to see him have a big game and look so effective for us," coach Pete Carroll said. "It's just been frustrating for him. He just has not been able to get it going with the consistency he knows he can do and we know he can do, so it's a big deal. You can see he and Russ were really hooking up and made some great plays (against San Francisco) — crucial third downs and big plays and all that. It's good to have him back in action."The hip problem popped up two days before the Seahawks played San Francisco in Week 13. He was still able to play that week against the 49ers Patrick Kerney Color Rush Jersey , but needed a week off to recover. He's spent seemingly as much time in the training room as on the practice field.The injury issues have raised questions about his future, how much longer he wants to play and whether that future will be with the Seahawks. He's 30 and is signed with Seattle through the 2020 season. But his salary cap hit is more than $13 million in each of the next two seasons."If you know me I have a plan for everything. There is a method for the madness," Baldwin said.For now, he's enjoying being on the verge of clinching a playoff berth and believes the style of play Seattle has employed this season can make the Seahawks dangerous in the postseason."I think a lot of us are getting healthy at the right time. We're coming into our own at the right time and I'm really looking forward to obviously securing our playoff berth first but then getting into the tournament and being able to show what we're capable of against playoff-level talent. I'm really excited about our chances," Baldwin said. WATFORD, England (AP) — Doug Baldwin wants to catch a few more passes and play a more vital role in the Seattle Seahawks‘ passing game.As he sees it, the one reception he had in the loss to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday just isn’t going to cut it.Baldwin, Seattle’s leading receiver each of the past four years, should be able to return to his reliable ways in a favorable matchup against the Oakland Raiders this weekend at Wembley Stadium.“I just look at it as another opportunity,” Baldwin said. “I’ve got to go out there and do my job and get open, and if the ball comes to me Steve Largent Color Rush Jersey , it comes to me. That’s really what it comes down to. I’m not worried about it. I’ve got to focus on my job and do the best I can with the opportunities that I get.”The Raiders (1-4) will statistically be the worst defense the Seahawks (2-3) will have faced so far, having allowed 8.35 yards per reception, the second-worst average in the NFL, and 277.2 passing yards per game, good for 23rd.Baldwin had his lone catch on the Seahawks’ second play from scrimmage in the 33-31 loss to the Rams, marking only the second time since the end of the 2013 season the wide receiver had fewer than two receptions in a game.It was Baldwin’s second game back after he sprained the medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the season-opening road loss to the Denver Broncos. Both he and coach Pete Carroll said earlier this week that the knee is healthy, removing the injury as an excuse.The Seahawks have been trying to play more to their strengths, emphasizing their running game behind Chris Carson and Mike Davis. Carroll, though, insisted that despite the emergence of second-year wide receiver David Moore, Baldwin’s role has not changed.“Because the ball didn’t get to him has nothing to do with anything Mychal Kendricks Jersey ,” Carroll said. “That’s not part of any evaluation at all on our side. Sometimes that happens. We only completed 13 passes last week in a real productive offensive day. Doug will be right in the middle of that. He’s one of our best players and he’s been a great performer for a long time. There’s nothing to change that thought at all.”Quarterback Russell Wilson attempted only 21 passes against the Rams, the fewest he’s had in a game this season. The Seahawks could afford that, and hand the workload to the running backs, because they controlled the game for much of the first three quarters.Several big gains also helped. Seattle had five plays of 30 or more yards against Los Angeles, two of which resulted in touchdowns — a 39-yard pass by Wilson to Tyler Lockett in the second quarter and a 30-yard catch by Moore in the third.Baldwin, though, was conspicuously absent, with Wilson failing to throw to his longtime top target at any point after the third minute.“Doug’s always phenomenal,” Wilson said. “He’s one of the best in the world to do it. He’s always been a superstar, so the more times he can get the football, the better. That’s a great thing for us.”A two-time Pro Bowl selection — including last season Earl Thomas III Color Rush Jersey , when he played in the game as an injury replacement — Baldwin’s omission isn’t the only issue the Seahawks have in the passing game.They have not ranked among the bottom third of teams in total offense since Wilson was drafted in 2012, though they were among the six worst passing offenses in the league during the quarterback’s first three years.They will enter the game against the Raiders ranked 27th in both categories, but after winning two of their last three games, and having a 100-yard rusher in each, Baldwin believes the offense is starting to take shape.“(Running the ball) balances us pretty well,” Baldwin said. “It makes it easier on the quarterback and the receivers when there are eight in the box having to respect our run game. It’s going to open some things up in the passing game, and as we go along in the season, I think it’ll make a lot of things easier for us going forward.”