Terry Mosher
I don’t think I have ever seen a football game like the one that occurred last Sunday in St. Louis, and I have seen thousands of them. The team that is supposed to be the prime contender to make the Super Bowl – The Seahawks – were completely shut down in every facet of the game and, yet, won.
How can that be?
St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher is a brilliant coach. He doesn’t have the horses yet in St. Louis, but he gets the most out of what he’s got, and he showed that Sunday. He clearly outcoached Pete Carroll, and I have not seen one story yet that reveals that truth.
The Rams’ defensive front never gave the Seahawks’ little man at quarterback, Russell Wilson, time to throw downfield. And the few times he did get time, his receivers were covered like a wet blanket.
Offensively, the Rams tore apart the Seahawk front with a smashing running game, and backup quarterback Kellen Clemens played pretty well for somebody who was dogged by every media and social outlet in America.
The Rams should have won this game. No question. If the Rams had made the one missed field goal they would have had a chip shot field goal for the win with four seconds left. Instead, a poorly designed pass play – and a poor pass by Clemens – fell incomplete and the Seahawks escaped from St. Louis with a win in a game that was embarrassing for them.
What I can’t figure out is why when the Rams got close in those dying seconds they went away from the running game and tried to score by pass. The Rams were gashing the Seahawks on a little counter play to the left for five, six and seven yards, and when they needed less then that for a touchdown, they want to the pass. That was really stupid play calling. The Rams deserved to lose just based on that.
The Rams also went away from a little curl pass to the outside that the Seahawks never did stop. Two receivers would flank right, one receiver would make a double move and streak downfield on a post pattern and the other receiver would delay a couple seconds, then curl in behind the other receiver. He was always wide open for a 10-11-yard gain.
Yet, when the Rams got into position to win, they never went back to that play. Amazing.
Bottom line is the Seahawks are not as good as they are made out to be. If they can allow talent-poor St. Louis to give them that kind of scare what are the Falcons, Saints, 49ers, Giants and, yes, even the Rams in their next meeting going to do to them?
I have said this before, but if Wilson continues to get pressured and hit like what the Rams did, he won’t last the season. The Seahawks will get their two starting tackles ‑ Russell Okung and Breno Giacomini – back soon and that should help.
But the NFL does not sit still. Coaches get paid a lot of money to figure out how best to beat opponents and it appears to me that Seahawk opponents have figured out how to beat them.
Future foes will go at it like Fisher and the Rams did. They will load up the box with eight defenders and man-up on receivers. The Seahawks will have to figure out how to run against that kind of defense with Marshawn Lynch or get throttled by teams much better than the Rams.
Of course, the Seahawk counter is Okung and Giacomini back in the lineup to slow down pass-rushers. The Rams have two excellent pass rushers in Chris Long and Robert Quinn. Those two made Wilson’s day miserable. And if future foes can do the same with their pass-rushers, Wilson will be facing more misery.
So we will see.
If the Seahawks can make the necessary adjustments to what the Rams did to them – get the running attack going again, is the first priority – they still have a tough road ahead of them to get to the Super Bowl.
Most fearful in the NFC is the Saints, 49ers, and Packers. Carolina is not too shabby, either. Also, the Lions could be a big factor.
To escape with the NFC title is not going to be an easy task. It would help tremendously if the Seahawks win home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. They are extremely tough to beat at CenturyLink Field. But if they don’t gain that advantage, I don’t know if they can reach the Super Bowl.
So, again, we will see.
Based on the Rams’ game, I would not go and bet the house they will get to the NFL championship game. What will be interesting is to see how winless TampaBay plays the Seahawks Sunday. Will the Bucs mirror what the Rams did? And will the Seahawks make the necessary adjustments if the Bucs do mirror the Rams?
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.