3 Keys And A Pick: St Louis Rams At Seahawks
Dec 22, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) celebrates with defensive end Chris Long (91) after getting his franchise leading eighteenth sack of the season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Buccaneers 23-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
Today is a bitter sweet day for St Louis Rams fans. Today will be the last day that they will see their Rams play a football game until August 2014. Although the Rams aren’t playing for the playoffs, they still can play for their first non-losing season since 2006. Here is our 3 keys and prediction for the St Louis Rams at the Seattle Seahawks.
1. Get up early and often.
The Seahawks play very good defense. It’s very good against the pass and above average against the run. However, Russell Wilson is not doing well despite all the commercial success he is having. The Seahawks are 26th in the NFL in passing yards per game. So if you are going to win this game, you must build a 10-0 or 14-0 lead early and let them play catch up.
2. Force 3rd and long situations for Seattle.
Something that can help contribute to an early lead is stopping Seattle on 1st and 2nd down to get them in 3rd and long situations. When they get into 3rd and long, they have to pass the ball. As stated before, the Seahawks are 26th in passing in the NFL. Add in Robert Quinn and Chris Long to disrupt the rhythm of the Seahawks passing attack, that means the Rams are going to have positive results and get the ball in favorable field positions.
3. Shorten the game.
While fans of football might not like short games, there are strategic advantages to it for many teams. To pull off the upset today, the Rams will have to shorten the game. They must have long, time consuming drives that will limit the amount of time the Seahawks have the ball. Now the Seahawks do this as well so the Rams will have to execute every play in this game.
Prediction.
It’s the final game of the season. From here on out will all be about talk and hope for the 2014. In fact, most of the talk surrounding the Rams will likely be about if they are going to be in a new city in 2015. So a win today will give Rams fans hope that the local ownership and the City of St. Louis or State of Missouri will find a way to keep the Rams in St. Louis for decades to come. I am an optimist and just to rub it in the face of LA fans who think they can still our NFL team, I will pick the Rams in the upset.
Rams win 17-13.