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COMMENTARY | On Sunday, September 30, the St. Louis Rams will host the Seattle Seahawks in their first NFC West battle of the year. If the Rams can pull off the victory, they would have a surprising 2-2 mark a quarter of the way through the 2012 season.
Here are three thoughts on the game:
Gut-check time for the Rams
Let’s be honest here: the Rams offense has been awful at times this season. Yet it has also had its successes. The team looked great in the second half of its opening game against the Detroit Lions, and it was even better against the Washington Redskins in Week 2. However, the Chicago Bears took advantage of St. Louis’s weakened offensive line and locked down the Rams last Sunday.
The biggest difference in all three of the Rams’ games has been in the trenches. The Bears have a dominant defensive line, which completely overran the Rams and forced quarterback Sam Bradford to make multiple mistakes throughout the game. Now the Seahawks come to town with an outstanding defensive line of their own. They do an excellent job rushing the passer and stopping the run. The Rams will have to find a way to win in the trenches if they are going to have a chance at beating the Seahawks. It’s not an option for the Rams; it’s gut-check time.
Home field advantage
One thing is clear about the Rams under Jeff Fisher: they have a definitive home field advantage. The team has averaged 31 points-per-game in its three games (two preseason and one regular season) played at the Edward Jones Dome in 2012, including a solid comeback victory over the Redskins two weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure why there has been that much of a difference from the team’s home and road performances, but that’s what we’ve seen thus far.
Look for the Rams to do everything they can to get the home crowd involved early. I’d be very surprised if Fisher didn’t take some shots down field early in the game. I’m also expecting the defense to present multiple blitz packages in an attempt to force Seahawks’ rookie quarterback Russell Wilson into making some mistakes. The Rams have two outstanding pass rushers, Chris Long and Robert Quinn, who can disrupt the Seahawks on the edges. The team will use them to create opportunities for other blitzers.
If the Rams can implement their gameplan early in this game, I think the crowd will be in it. It’s just a question of whether or not they can get the job done.
Defending Marshawn Lynch
One of the biggest problems the Rams have had in the past couple of seasons is their run defense. Last season, the team finished 31st against the rush, including two awful performances against the Seahawks and running back Marshawn Lynch.
The Rams have been better against the rush this season. They held the Bears’ Michael Bush to 55 yards last week, which completely surprised me. Bush is the type of running back who has given the Rams problems in the past. He’s a big, strong rusher who simply wears down defenses. Lynch is the same kind of back, but he also has a bit more speed in his arsenal. Stopping him will be a tough task for the Rams, but if they can do it, then St. Louis will beat the Seahawks.
Prediction:
This is going to be a hard-fought game. The Rams have a lot to prove, especially after last week’s poor showing in Chicago. I think they will give Seattle a fight, but I doubt that they can contain Lynch for the entire game. The Seahawks should win this 20-10.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, GatewayMMA.com and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports)
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COMMENTARY | On Sunday, September 30, the St. Louis Rams will host the Seattle Seahawks in their first NFC West battle of the year. If the Rams can pull off the victory, they would have a surprising 2-2 mark a quarter of the way through the 2012 season.
Here are three thoughts on the game:
Gut-check time for the Rams
Let’s be honest here: the Rams offense has been awful at times this season. Yet it has also had its successes. The team looked great in the second half of its opening game against the Detroit Lions, and it was even better against the Washington Redskins in Week 2. However, the Chicago Bears took advantage of St. Louis’s weakened offensive line and locked down the Rams last Sunday.
The biggest difference in all three of the Rams’ games has been in the trenches. The Bears have a dominant defensive line, which completely overran the Rams and forced quarterback Sam Bradford to make multiple mistakes throughout the game. Now the Seahawks come to town with an outstanding defensive line of their own. They do an excellent job rushing the passer and stopping the run. The Rams will have to find a way to win in the trenches if they are going to have a chance at beating the Seahawks. It’s not an option for the Rams; it’s gut-check time.
Home field advantage
One thing is clear about the Rams under Jeff Fisher: they have a definitive home field advantage. The team has averaged 31 points-per-game in its three games (two preseason and one regular season) played at the Edward Jones Dome in 2012, including a solid comeback victory over the Redskins two weeks ago. I’m not entirely sure why there has been that much of a difference from the team’s home and road performances, but that’s what we’ve seen thus far.
Look for the Rams to do everything they can to get the home crowd involved early. I’d be very surprised if Fisher didn’t take some shots down field early in the game. I’m also expecting the defense to present multiple blitz packages in an attempt to force Seahawks’ rookie quarterback Russell Wilson into making some mistakes. The Rams have two outstanding pass rushers, Chris Long and Robert Quinn, who can disrupt the Seahawks on the edges. The team will use them to create opportunities for other blitzers.
If the Rams can implement their gameplan early in this game, I think the crowd will be in it. It’s just a question of whether or not they can get the job done.
Defending Marshawn Lynch
One of the biggest problems the Rams have had in the past couple of seasons is their run defense. Last season, the team finished 31st against the rush, including two awful performances against the Seahawks and running back Marshawn Lynch.
The Rams have been better against the rush this season. They held the Bears’ Michael Bush to 55 yards last week, which completely surprised me. Bush is the type of running back who has given the Rams problems in the past. He’s a big, strong rusher who simply wears down defenses. Lynch is the same kind of back, but he also has a bit more speed in his arsenal. Stopping him will be a tough task for the Rams, but if they can do it, then St. Louis will beat the Seahawks.
Prediction:
This is going to be a hard-fought game. The Rams have a lot to prove, especially after last week’s poor showing in Chicago. I think they will give Seattle a fight, but I doubt that they can contain Lynch for the entire game. The Seahawks should win this 20-10.
Derek Ciapala has been following the Rams since childhood. He has been published on Yahoo! Sports, GatewayMMA.com and multiple other websites. You can check him out on Facebook or Twitter @dciapala.
Source: Pro-Football-Reference.com
(Originally published on Yahoo! Sports)
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