The Seahawks opened their 2023 season with a disappointing result, losing to the Rams 30-13 at Lumen Field. And while a review of the game film showed a lot that the team needs to clean up before Sunday's game in Detroit, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said they did see some positives the team can build on moving forward.

"We found some things, on a day of frustration, that we could find positives to build on and to work towards improving," he said. Carroll then also acknowledged, "Third down was just a disaster for us on both sides of the ball. That really was the story of the day. We ran the ball all right on offense, and stopped the run on defense, so when it came down to it, we've got to get off the field, and we didn't do that."

In addition to that assessment of the game, here are six takeaways from Carroll's Monday press conference:

1. Jamal Adams will practice this week.

While Jamal Adams made enough progress in training camp to come off the physically unable to perform list before the start of the season—staying on PUP heading into Week 1 would have required him to miss four games—he so far has not been able to participate in practice. Adams has been able to do the team's walkthroughs before practice and is working hard with athletic trainers, but after missing the opener, he is now on track to take part in practice this week.

"He should be on the practice field this week taking snaps," Carroll said. "First time."

That doesn't necessarily mean that Adams will be a full-go in practice this week or is on track to play in Detroit Sunday, but it's still a positive development in his continued comeback from a torn quadriceps tendon.

"Let's take it one day at a time," Carroll said. "He's going to have a limited amount of plays as he gets back and re-enters, but he'll get individual work and start getting some of the basic stuff just to get him back out there."

2. Devon Witherspoon preparing to play; starting tackles will be day to day.

While Adams is just returning to practice this week, another important member of the secondary has been practicing for the past two weeks, and rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon is on track to make his NFL debut on Sunday, presuming all goes well in practice this week.  

"That's the way we're approaching, we'll see if that works out," Carroll said. "We've got to get through the days, but he's anxious to go. He practiced really hard last week, and if you watched him, you would have thought he could have played, but we just wanted to make sure we got through another week of preparation to secure it, so that's where we are."

As for tackles Abraham Lucas and Charles Cross, who both left the game with injuries, Carroll didn't have much of an update other than to say that they'll evaluate the situation further when players return Wednesday following a day off Tuesday.

"I don't have much for you," Carroll said. "We're going to go day-to-day once we get back Wednesday and see where we are. Abe came walking in today and he was walking all right and all that, so we'll hold a good thought. Charles is making it around, but it's going to take a little bit before we know."

While Cross is dealing with a new toe injury, Carroll said Lucas has an old knee issue that has flared back up. 

"It's a patellar area soreness," Carroll said. "He's had all of the tests and we've seen all the stuff, and there's nothing to do for it right now. He's just got a sore knee."

3. A veteran option for depth at tackle?

With the status of both tackles uncertain, the Seahawks will be considering all of their options for depth behind Stone Forsythe and Jake Curhan at that position this week.

One option the team is looking at, Carroll confirmed, is veteran tackle Jason Peters, a 41-year-old former Pro-Bowl and first-team All-Pro tackle during his time with the Eagles and Bills. Asked about a report from the NFL Network that Peters was coming for a visit Tuesday, Carroll said "He's not here yet, so I don't know that until he gets here… But we have talked to him."

When asked if taking a look at Peters had to do with the severity of the injuries to the starting tackles, Carroll said, "Well, both tackles left the game, so we're a little concerned."

4. Bobby Wagner and Jordyn Brooks both impressed Carroll with their play.

Two players who stood out in the effort to limit the Rams to just 2.3 yards per rush attempt were inside linebacker Jordyn Brook and Bobby Wagner, both of whom were also the feel-good stories of the game.

Brooks was starting less than eight months after having surgery to repair a torn ACL, and recorded 12 tackles. Wagner, meanwhile, was playing his first game back with the Seahawks after spending last season with the Rams, and had 19 tackles, one shy of the franchise record he shares with Brooks.

On Brooks, Carroll said. "I thought he played really well. I liked his improvement in the pass game, as well as his consistency on his (run) fits. I thought he played one of his better games, and to come out the first time out and do that is really encouraging. He was fast and physical, he looked good."

Of Wagner's game, Carroll said, "He played a really good football game. He did a great job. He was all over the place, really active, physical with his tackles, controlled the show—we did a lot of movement stuff up front that he had to control, and he did a great job of all of that. A couple of coverage opportunities that he could have gotten a little tighter on, but other than that he did a nice job. He had a real nice pass rush one time, one of the better rushes we had. So he's back. He's really frustrated about not getting this win for all the obvious reasons, but he'll bounce right back with us."

5. The Seahawks need to get more out of their pass rush.

A big reason why the Rams were able to enjoy so much success on third down, converting on 11 of 16 opportunities, was that the Seahawks weren't able to get to quarterback Matthew Stafford. On 38 drop backs, Stafford was not sacked and was hit only two times, with one of those coming on a blitz by nickel corner Coby Bryant. Carroll said the improvement needs to come both from players winning their one-on-one battles, and also from the coaching staff calling up pressures that can help players get to the quarterback. And with another prolific passing offense coming up against the Lions this week, Carroll knows the improvement needs to happen in a hurry.

"We're disappointed that we didn't get more activity from guys on the edge," Carroll said. "We've got to get to where we cause problems, and we have to create the problems with our calls as well. We did a lot of different things in the rush, different types of pressures, but we need to do more probably to get it going. Particularly with a really good quarterback coming up—very similar in style, very similar in system. You've got to make Jared Goff move also. They're very similar. So we have to do a good job finding our way."

6. The run defense was a definite bright spot.

While nobody is happy with a defensive effort that saw the Rams score 30 points, including 23 the second half, and produced 426 yards of total offense, one bright spot in that effort was the play of the run defense throughout the game. The Rams managed only 92 yards on 40 carries (2.3 yards per carry), and Cam Akers, who ended last season with three consecutive 100-yard games, managed only 29 yards on 22 carries. Again, the final result wasn't what Seattle wanted, but playing that type of run defense was meaningful for a team that put a big emphasis on that phase of the game throughout the offseason and training camp. 

"We've seen some consistency in the preseason as well, carrying it over here," Carroll said. "It was big emphasis to try to shore that up, that was a real strength in the game."