Seahawks Vs. Rams: Getting To Know The Opponent
Sunday. It’s so, so close to being Sunday, and on Sunday there will be Seattle Seahawks football. That’s something there hasn’t been in, like, a lot of Sundays. So many afternoons and evenings spent sitting on the couch staring at a blank television screen. But fear no more, for this Sunday will be different. This Sunday there will be football on the television screen.
Seattle Seahawks: The Roster, Ranked (#14-#1)
The Seattle Seahawks open their regular season on the road against the division-rival St. Louis Rams. The game will be played at 10:00am PST, and so you will watch this one in your pajamas while drinking a nice, disgusting bloody mary. Or coffee. Or both. Either way, it’s none of my business. You’ll be watching football! We like football!
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So the Rams. The Rams are that one team in the NFC West who is always on the verge of decency. And if you set the “decency” bar low enough then perhaps they’re already there! At the least, this is an inoffensive team. They’ve got all the parts necessary for NFL success that they seem destined to never find. It’s always supposed to be the year the Rams break through. And it never is.
It’s been ten years since the Rams played a postseason game, giving them the fourth-longest such current drought in the NFL. The teams who have gone longer without playoff play: the Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns, and Oakland Raiders. For comparison, the Seattle Seahawks have won the NFC in each of the last two seasons. You think the Rams have stunk, but then compare them to our favorite team and they’ve really stunk!
For years the Rams have been led into battle by either a) Sam Bradford, or b) whoever’s playing in his place because he’s hurt. This year should be more of the same, except for sub Nick Foles in as option A. Foles had a nice run with the Philadelphia Eagles, and is probably superior to Bradford. But he’s no safe bet to stay healthy all season long, which might well put the Rams back in the same position they’ve found themselves in so many times before.
Wide receiver Tavon Austin returns at St. Louis’s top target, and he could prove to be a dreamy match for Foles. He’ll be a test for the Seattle defense, which, unsurprisingly, is probably a lot better than the Cardinals’ offense. The Seahawks take top targets and shut them off entirely. So maybe the Rams have to wait a week or two before they can see what their offense can do with a new QB.
The Rams in years of late have featured a strong defense, and they return much of the same unit in 2015. The Seahawks have notably struggled against St. Louis, losing two of their last three games there (and the win was an ugly one). These teams are quite similar, really, just that the Seahawks are a little better at most everything. It’ll be fun, if anything.
If the Seattle Seahawks want to win the Super Bowl, they’ll have to spend their season fighting off the St. Louis Rams. The Rams are a young, talented team of up-and-comers who have what it takes to really make that big leap into the NFC’s upper echelon. Or they’ll win seven games. They’re probably going to win seven games. I’ll be surprised if they win more than seven games. Go ‘Hawks.
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