Wow, what a week this has been! The 12th Man have seen the Seahawks on T.V. more in the last six days than the last two years combined. Unfortunately it’s for a call that, at first glance was blown, but now several outlets have analyzed the frame by frame pictures to determine that the official actually (and with blind luck) made the correct call. However, the rest of the nation has forgotten about the other 59 minutes and 52 seconds of the game. The Seahawks (2-1) could stay in the forefront of ESPN’s coverage with a convincing win when they travel to St. Louis to take on the Rams (1-2) this Sunday.
Earl Thomas leads one of the most talented secondaries in the NFL
The Seahawks have been devastating on defense so far in this young season. Seattle is 4th in total team defense, #2 in rush defense, 10th in passing yards allowed and #1 in points against with a total of 39. The offense so far has struggled to do much at all. They are 32nd in team passing with 383 yards, 4 touchdowns and 1 INT. The Seattle offense, on the other hand, has rushed reasonably well. They are 7th in the NFL with 103 attempts, 424 yards, and 1 score. RB Marshawn lynch leads the NFC with 305 total rushing yards. Head Coach Pete Carroll has hinted that he plans to open up the offense a bit more this Sunday and give rookie QB Russell Wilson more opportunities to show what he can do.
St. Louis’ defense has been mediocre so far this year. The defense is 19th in total defense, 16th in passing, 20th in rushing and 20th in points against. The Rams’ offense, while better than Seattle’s, has not performed to expectations either. St. Louis is 27th in team passing with 575 yards, 4 scores, and Q.B. Sam Bradford has tossed 3 INT’s. The running game is also mired in the middle of the pack ranking 21st in the league with 287 yards on 70 attempts with no rushing TD’s. The Rams may also be without RB Steven Jackson who had only 29 yards on 11 carries due to a groin injury from the Redskins game 2 weeks ago.
Keys to Victory
PLAY SMART: The regular refs are back and you can be sure that they were watching defenses take advantage of the replacement guys. The Seattle Secondary must play hard and fast but limit contact past the 5 yard mark. I have a feeling that the boys in stripes will be paying close attention to that. Playing smart will limit penalties that extend drives.
Throw the Ball: It’s time to really utilize the play action pass. The Seahawks are known to be a running team and I think the Rams will load the box to stop it. A few well timed play actions will force the defense to be honest and will in turn open some running lanes.
Special Teams: Keep doing what you are doing. Be aggressive but disciplined, stay in your lanes and get after it. This unit was a key to the Dallas win and will need to play an important well Sunday if
the Seahawkswant to get out of there with a win.
Seattle would be 3-1 with a win at St. Louis and they have won 13 of the last 14 games against the Rams. If the defense keeps up the pressure and the offense can limit mistakes I believe that the Hawks win this one pretty handily by a score of 24-10. However, 10 am games have been a curse to this team in recent years and if they have a MNF hangover the game could be very tight. This is a big early season test and if passed, the Seahawks will take another step towards being relevant again.
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