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blstoker
Bill Bergen for HoF!
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- Apr 17, 2013
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- WA
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Positives:
Doug Baldwin - Baldwin has been a tear dating back to the second half of last season, and has shown himself to be one of the better receivers in the NFL. LA's CBs don't really scare me much. If last week against the 9ers is any indication - Baldwin (as well as Lockett) should be allowed to make shorter catches, and would just need to make players miss in space for big gains. Jeremy Kerley had his best game in 2 years, and he's no Baldwin.
Bobby Wagner - LA is going with Case Keenum again. This will give them a limited passing game, again. With the main threat on offense being Gurley, Wagner will have to have a solid game in run support (and the DLine as well) to force LA to throw the ball into the LOB.
Thomas Rawls - Despite being bigger than Rawls, 2 inch and about 5 pounds, Michael doesn't have the physical style that Rawls brings to the table. With a DLine as good as the Rams' line is, the Seahawks could really use Rawls bringing some slobberknocking run ability to the table. Make the defenders not even want to hit you when the 4th quarter comes around.
Negative:
Todd Gurley - With an anemic offense, Gurley is the only consistent threat the Rams have. Even so, last year he led the Rams to a win over Seattle with 90 yards on 20 touches and a td in week 16. He's guaranteed a win for the Rams this week, and so with the extra bulletin board material, the Seahawks may be extra focused on making him irrelevant and making Keenum beat them - which is what they want to have happen anyway.
Rams' DL - There aren't many DLines in the NFL that can boast to be as good as LA's. They have terrorized Seattle and Russell Wilson the last few years. I feel this year's OLine for Seattle is better than last year, but they still aren't on par with what they'll face this week. With Wilson hobbled, the line may be ready to get after it today.
Russell Wilson - This isn't for any lack of skill or ability, but for the unknown of how much manuevability that he may have. This may be a moot point, but for a guy who is sacked on average 4+ times a game against this DL, to lose his ability to avoid the rush could leave him seriously open to injury and/or mistakes. It was good to see him go out there and win the game against Miami, but this is a new week and we'll have to see how he fairs today.
Matchups:
Jon Ryan vs. Tavon Austin - The Rams have been a thorn in the side of Seattle's special teams for years. Trick play after trick play has consistently been Seattle's undoing, including the fake return from a couple years ago. Keeping LA from getting points from special teams (either from TD or good field position) will be a must.
Jimmy Graham vs. Alec Ogletree - The Rams like Ogletree on TEs and he's athletic enough to cause problems. Graham is still an unknown when it comes to his athleticism and agility. If Graham can give Russell another weapon that LA has to cover, that'll make it more difficult for them to shift defensive help on other WRs.
Tyler Lockett vs. Lamarcus Joyner - Lockett had a bad week last week holding onto the ball, but his hands are usually sure and his speed is hard to match. Joyner (and anyone else taking Lockett) will need to be in top form covering the speedster, who has shown that he can and will run the entire route tree and is a realiable big play threat for Wilson and the offense.
Overview:
For whatever reason, the Rams play up for the Seahawks. They have an amazing amount of success against the Hawks the last few years, while being unable to consistently beat anyone else. Seattle needs to play like they are capable of, play like they are the better team. Here's look for a good game, where everyone comes out healthy, and the Hawks are 2-0 (and hopefully win by at least 2 possessions).
Doug Baldwin - Baldwin has been a tear dating back to the second half of last season, and has shown himself to be one of the better receivers in the NFL. LA's CBs don't really scare me much. If last week against the 9ers is any indication - Baldwin (as well as Lockett) should be allowed to make shorter catches, and would just need to make players miss in space for big gains. Jeremy Kerley had his best game in 2 years, and he's no Baldwin.
Bobby Wagner - LA is going with Case Keenum again. This will give them a limited passing game, again. With the main threat on offense being Gurley, Wagner will have to have a solid game in run support (and the DLine as well) to force LA to throw the ball into the LOB.
Thomas Rawls - Despite being bigger than Rawls, 2 inch and about 5 pounds, Michael doesn't have the physical style that Rawls brings to the table. With a DLine as good as the Rams' line is, the Seahawks could really use Rawls bringing some slobberknocking run ability to the table. Make the defenders not even want to hit you when the 4th quarter comes around.
Negative:
Todd Gurley - With an anemic offense, Gurley is the only consistent threat the Rams have. Even so, last year he led the Rams to a win over Seattle with 90 yards on 20 touches and a td in week 16. He's guaranteed a win for the Rams this week, and so with the extra bulletin board material, the Seahawks may be extra focused on making him irrelevant and making Keenum beat them - which is what they want to have happen anyway.
Rams' DL - There aren't many DLines in the NFL that can boast to be as good as LA's. They have terrorized Seattle and Russell Wilson the last few years. I feel this year's OLine for Seattle is better than last year, but they still aren't on par with what they'll face this week. With Wilson hobbled, the line may be ready to get after it today.
Russell Wilson - This isn't for any lack of skill or ability, but for the unknown of how much manuevability that he may have. This may be a moot point, but for a guy who is sacked on average 4+ times a game against this DL, to lose his ability to avoid the rush could leave him seriously open to injury and/or mistakes. It was good to see him go out there and win the game against Miami, but this is a new week and we'll have to see how he fairs today.
Matchups:
Jon Ryan vs. Tavon Austin - The Rams have been a thorn in the side of Seattle's special teams for years. Trick play after trick play has consistently been Seattle's undoing, including the fake return from a couple years ago. Keeping LA from getting points from special teams (either from TD or good field position) will be a must.
Jimmy Graham vs. Alec Ogletree - The Rams like Ogletree on TEs and he's athletic enough to cause problems. Graham is still an unknown when it comes to his athleticism and agility. If Graham can give Russell another weapon that LA has to cover, that'll make it more difficult for them to shift defensive help on other WRs.
Tyler Lockett vs. Lamarcus Joyner - Lockett had a bad week last week holding onto the ball, but his hands are usually sure and his speed is hard to match. Joyner (and anyone else taking Lockett) will need to be in top form covering the speedster, who has shown that he can and will run the entire route tree and is a realiable big play threat for Wilson and the offense.
Overview:
For whatever reason, the Rams play up for the Seahawks. They have an amazing amount of success against the Hawks the last few years, while being unable to consistently beat anyone else. Seattle needs to play like they are capable of, play like they are the better team. Here's look for a good game, where everyone comes out healthy, and the Hawks are 2-0 (and hopefully win by at least 2 possessions).
What the hell.
