2015-16: Who Will Win - Seahawks @ Rams

[MHSL82]

I am doing a poll series this year. I'll see how long I can keep it up, but no guarantees. Even if this seems obvious, please vote, for this and other polls, as I will compile winners somehow at some point. (No penalty for wrong choices, just no credit. (Those who vote most have best chance of winning, right? Reward is props, sorry I'm not offering more.) I would appreciate real voting and not troll voting, as I want to see what SportsHoopla record is on these predictions. Also, votes are public, so we know those who troll.

First up was Pittsburgh Steelers at New England Patriots
Second was Baltimore Ravens at Denver Broncos.
Third was New York Giants @ Dallas Cowboys.
Fourth was Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears.
Fifth was Detroit Lions @ San Diego Chargers.

Next is Seattle Seahawks @ St. Louis Rams, who wins? I'm not putting tie as an option, it's just not practical, though possible.

Voting ends an hour before kickoff. You CAN change your vote, but the poll is public and you can only view after voting. So make your best guess, if public favorite changes your mind, feel free to change.

 

[cdumler7]

This to me could be one of the toughest games on the Seahawks schedule. They are still trying to figure out the OL which is going against maybe the best DL in all of football. Throw in now knowing good chance Kam is not in this game and Thomas has yet to take a snap in the preseason. Not sure if he is going to play in this one or not haven't looked. So that could be 2 gone from the LOB leaving only the one. I went with St. Louis in this one but Seattle is going to be a tough win for anybody this year. St. Louis is going to have to play a flawless game to make it happen.

 

[Tainthappening]

I hate divisional games to open the season... Seahawks vs Rams and Packers vs Bears. These games should wait until October in my opinion.

 

[flyerhawk]

This to me could be one of the toughest games on the Seahawks schedule. They are still trying to figure out the OL which is going against maybe the best DL in all of football. Throw in now knowing good chance Kam is not in this game and Thomas has yet to take a snap in the preseason. Not sure if he is going to play in this one or not haven't looked. So that could be 2 gone from the LOB leaving only the one. I went with St. Louis in this one but Seattle is going to be a tough win for anybody this year. St. Louis is going to have to play a flawless game to make it happen.

Thomas is playing but says he is still not quite 100%. Kam is almost certainly out.

Wilson will be running a lot in this game. He always does with the Rams.

The question for the Rams is whether they have anyone who can cover Graham. That has been a problem for them for the past few years.

Rams won this game last year on a couple of improbable plays. Don't see that happening again though.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

This to me could be one of the toughest games on the Seahawks schedule. They are still trying to figure out the OL which is going against maybe the best DL in all of football. Throw in now knowing good chance Kam is not in this game and Thomas has yet to take a snap in the preseason. Not sure if he is going to play in this one or not haven't looked. So that could be 2 gone from the LOB leaving only the one. I went with St. Louis in this one but Seattle is going to be a tough win for anybody this year. St. Louis is going to have to play a flawless game to make it happen.

I picked SEA, but after reading your post, I'm more on the fence but still lean to SEA.

STL OL is not stable either and the SEA front 7 is still pretty good themselves even if they are missing the big guns on the back end...depth has been Carroll's most impressive accomplishment imo...close game, but I can see Graham having a good debut in this one.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

I'm hoping for the opposite but I think Rams are gonna take this 13-6. That DL is ridiculous and Seattle's O-Line just isn't ready for it. I think Foles will get a couple good throws in to get the TD but I just don't see Wilson or Lynch marching down the field and getting anything going.

Graham will be pissed off and immediately cause locker room issues like Percy Harvin and Seattle will somehow rally to still get in the playoffs.

Yes, for my fellow Hawks fans it's a pretty bleak prediction, but just the way I see it. Seattle starts 0-1 and everyone flips and then Seattle beats GB in GB and all the analysts say, "THIS is the Seattle we know!" like they predicted it all along..

 

[SonnyCID]

I'm hoping for the opposite but I think Rams are gonna take this 13-6. That DL is ridiculous and Seattle's O-Line just isn't ready for it. I think Foles will get a couple good throws in to get the TD but I just don't see Wilson or Lynch marching down the field and getting anything going.

Graham will be pissed off and immediately cause locker room issues like Percy Harvin and Seattle will somehow rally to still get in the playoffs.

Yes, for my fellow Hawks fans it's a pretty bleak prediction, but just the way I see it. Seattle starts 0-1 and everyone flips and then Seattle beats GB in GB and all the analysts say, "THIS is the Seattle we know!" like they predicted it all along..

Yeah. That's pretty bleak. Harvin was a malcontent before he got here. Graham was a good teammate in NO, and so far has been one here. Other than the fact that Seattle traded for them to be receiving threats, there is really not a lot of parallels between the two guys.

And Seattle's o line may not be ready for that d line, but STLs o line is not in any better position.

I do think you're on to something with the last part. Seattle either barely squeaks it out or loses, either way doubts will mount, and they will throttle GB in week 2.

 

[packerzrule]

I do think you're on to something with the last part. Seattle either barely squeaks it out or loses, either way doubts will mount, and they will throttle GB in week 2.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Yeah. That's pretty bleak. Harvin was a malcontent before he got here. Graham was a good teammate in NO, and so far has been one here. Other than the fact that Seattle traded for them to be receiving threats, there is really not a lot of parallels between the two guys.

And Seattle's o line may not be ready for that d line, but STLs o line is not in any better position.

I do think you're on to something with the last part. Seattle either barely squeaks it out or loses, either way doubts will mount, and they will throttle GB in week 2.

Ermm, Jimmy Graham had some known locker room issues in NO... Yes he wasn't as cancerous as Harvin but he wasn't a Saint (pun intended). The only thing that kept him (IMO) from blowing up was Brees and the pass oriented offense that got him the ball a ton. Graham already shot a look at Wilson in preseason like he wanted to murder his children.....

Time will tell, but calling Jimmy Graham a 'good teammate' is a bit of a stretch IMO.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

View attachment 27389

Well duh, wtf is it that you think we're doing here?

 

[packerzrule]

Well duh, wtf is it that you think we're doing here?

dreaming??

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

dreaming??

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO...... you bastard lol.

 

[SonnyCID]

Ermm, Jimmy Graham had some known locker room issues in NO... Yes he wasn't as cancerous as Harvin but he wasn't a Saint (pun intended). The only thing that kept him (IMO) from blowing up was Brees and the pass oriented offense that got him the ball a ton. Graham already shot a look at Wilson in preseason like he wanted to murder his children.....

Time will tell, but calling Jimmy Graham a 'good teammate' is a bit of a stretch IMO.

I haven't heard anything about him being a poor teammate. I read that some of the players, especially Brees, were upset when he was traded. Rumors always fly around trades, but there is no evidence to them. Percy on the other hand had documented issues going back to HS and every stop along the way. I think it's quite a stretch to compare the two.

 

[cdumler7]

Thomas is playing but says he is still not quite 100%. Kam is almost certainly out.

Wilson will be running a lot in this game. He always does with the Rams.

The question for the Rams is whether they have anyone who can cover Graham. That has been a problem for them for the past few years.

Rams won this game last year on a couple of improbable plays. Don't see that happening again though.

That is why I said the Rams are going to have to play mistake free. This is going to be a low scoring game in my opinion so any mistake is magnified that much more.

 

[cdumler7]

I picked SEA, but after reading your post, I'm more on the fence but still lean to SEA.

STL OL is not stable either and the SEA front 7 is still pretty good themselves even if they are missing the big guns on the back end...depth has been Carroll's most impressive accomplishment imo...close game, but I can see Graham having a good debut in this one.

Oh I understand. For me it is the fact that this game is on the road for Seattle that I picked St. Louis. They just are a different team on the road compared to at home. They went 5-3 last year, 6-2 in 2013, and 3-5 in 2012 when Wilson came into the league. In that same span they have only lost 2 at home if I remember right. So essentially they have gone 14-10 on the road. That is pretty decent in the NFL on the road but it does show that they are vulnerable. When you throw in Thomas not being 100% and Kam missing from the LOB I think it opens them up to a couple of losses especially early on.

 

[WizardHawk]

Of course I picked Seattle, but would it surprise me if they lost? No. Early season game with the offense still trying to find itself and it's on the road in another time zone.

Even without the middle of the LOB either playing, or playing at peak performance, that defense is going to destroy most teams. The depth on the D line and LB corp is insane. I see them getting a lot of sacks and turnovers this year and this game is no exception. That O line they are going against is just going to make them more rabid.

Seahawks offense? No doubt they will be finding themselves and might be open to either a few 3 and outs or an odd turnover, but what we don't know is how ready is this line for beast mode? We know Lynch can make yards out of nothing and that line is going to be a whole lot of nothing. He didn't play but a couple of snaps all preaseason. It's a huge X factor.

Given both teams strengths and weakness it's a slight edge to Seattle at this time. If their offense finds anything the game won't be close, but that's a big if.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Oh I understand. For me it is the fact that this game is on the road for Seattle that I picked St. Louis. They just are a different team on the road compared to at home. They went 5-3 last year, 6-2 in 2013, and 3-5 in 2012 when Wilson came into the league. In that same span they have only lost 2 at home if I remember right. So essentially they have gone 14-10 on the road. That is pretty decent in the NFL on the road but it does show that they are vulnerable. When you throw in Thomas not being 100% and Kam missing from the LOB I think it opens them up to a couple of losses especially early on.

You could be spot on...really depends on STL being able to run it and not have Foles throw it 35+ times. If they can do that @ home this should be a 1 possession game one way or the other late.

We'll have to see how SEA is able to run as well, but we know Beast mode doesn't need a great OL and Jackson behind him is an upgrade now. I also like Graham drawing the dbl and Richardson could have a big game and year...tall kid has good potential to break out.

 

[packerzrule]

 

[SonnyCID]

Oh I understand. For me it is the fact that this game is on the road for Seattle that I picked St. Louis. They just are a different team on the road compared to at home. They went 5-3 last year, 6-2 in 2013, and 3-5 in 2012 when Wilson came into the league. In that same span they have only lost 2 at home if I remember right. So essentially they have gone 14-10 on the road. That is pretty decent in the NFL on the road but it does show that they are vulnerable. When you throw in Thomas not being 100% and Kam missing from the LOB I think it opens them up to a couple of losses especially early on.

They struggled on the road until about mid-2012, then won 4 road games in a row (including a WC game) then were eliminated in Atlanta. Since then they have been the best road team in the league. Are they better at home? Sure, who isnt? But STL is usually a tough match up for them home or away.

 

[cdumler7]

They struggled on the road until about mid-2012, then won 4 road games in a row (including a WC game) then were eliminated in Atlanta. Since then they have been the best road team in the league. Are they better at home? Sure, who isnt? But STL is usually a tough match up for them home or away.

Again I said they are a good road team in respect to the rest of the league. They like every other team in the league though are worst on the road compared to home. it is why I picked St. Louis. Usually in games that are close they say to go with the home team as I think home teams win something like 60% of the time in the NFL.
Realize it would not surprise me one way or the other of who wins this game. Seattle in my opinion is the most talented team in the league. So they can win any time, anywhere, against anybody. I do wonder how not having Kam on the field changes that defense though. Then throw in Thomas being still not quite 100% it makes them a little more vulnerable than in the last couple of years on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively though I do think they have upgraded at least weapons wise. I still need to see what that starting OL looks like for an entire game. So far it has not been pretty and they are going against what I would call the best Front-4 in football. Should be a good game.