NFC West Title Showdown: Seahawks vs. Rams

January 2, 2011

There are many important games on Sunday that involve playoff implications, but none is more important than when the when the Seattle Seahawks host the St Louis Rams in what is essentially a winner take all situation. Football experts around the league are up in arms about the fact that neither of these squads has a record of .500 or better. The NFC West is clearly the weakest division in all of football as the entire league’s record is a combined 23-37 on the year. At this point it’s fair to say that the Rams or Seahawks care about what NFL handicappers think, and are strictly focused on winning Sunday night.

The Seahawks are in their first season under new head coach Pete Carroll, and were expected to win 6-7 games this year by many sportsbooks and NFL experts. However, they never anticipated being in a position to win their division with that number of wins. They will have their chance to do just that due to the fact that they will hold the tie break edge over St Louis in division and conference record with a win.

Seattle has actually played better than their statistics indicate. They currently rank 28th in the league in total offense and 30th in yards allowed on defense. They have very little to offer, and don’t scare teams on either side of the ball, but somehow they have wound up with a home game in the last week of the season to get into the playoffs.

Matt Hasselbeck’s better days are long behind him. He doesn’t have the arm strength, mobility and pocket presence anymore to move an offense with any type of consistency. Hasselbeck doesn’t have a ton of quality wide receivers to throw to, but his 73.2 passer rating has more to do with the lack of protection he receives from his offensive line. The 17 interceptions thrown to just 12 touchdowns, shows that he isn’t capable anymore of making good decisions under pressure. The Rams may have just 1 more win than Seattle, but they are far better defensively, and will put constant pressure on Hasselbeck all game long.

The Seahawks running game consists of several players that would be 2nd or 3rd string players on most other teams. Marshawn Lynch was brought in late in the season, and has provided some stability to this running game, but his 3.4 yards per carry average will not get the job done over the long haul. Justin Forsett and Leon Washington don’t have the shiftiness to turn a lack of line protection into yardage. This team will “flat-out” need to get lucky Sunday if they are to walk away with the NFC West title.

The Rams have a much better team on paper, but always find a way to lose games despite the tremendous amount of effort they put forth week after week. Steven Jackson is a work-horse, but hasn’t been utilized nearly enough this year. Much of the reason why is due to the amount of faith the coaching staff has in rookie quarterback Sam Bradford’s ability. Bradford has had a very solid year for a first year starter. His passer rating may not paint the entire picture, but he has thrown 18 touchdowns this year, and is on pace to throw for over 3600 yards.

The first time these teams met, the Rams won by a 20-3 margin. Believe it or not this game was somewhat of an offensive shootout with neither team taking advantage of their opportunities. This has basically been the story all season for both teams. Regardless of how bad things have been, one of these teams will be playing a wildcard team next week when the playoffs begin. Tune in Sunday night as the Seahawks and Rams fight for the NFC West.

Written by Glenn Andrew · Filed Under NCAA Football

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