St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks: Staff Predictions

As the St. Louis Rams prepare to open up the 2015 regular season, here’s how our staff believes that Sunday’s opener against the Seattle Seahawks will play out:

Patrick Karraker- “I have more confidence in the Rams to deliver in this game than most others on the schedule, just because they’ve played Seattle so well at home since Jeff Fisher has taken over as head coach. An Austin Davis-quarterbacked team was able to pull off a victory against Seattle a year ago, and even Kellen Clemens almost led a beaten-up Rams squad to a Monday night upset back in 2013. Ultimately, though, I think that Seattle is going to come out firing, and the Rams still have a whole bunch of issues to get worked out before they start looking like a winning team. With a severely depleted backfield and an inexperienced offensive line, I have trouble seeing how the Rams are going to put together enough offense to emerge victorious against Seattle on Sunday.”

Nic Moody- “The Rams always play the Seahawks tough. They match up extremely well: two young offensive lines going up against dominant front sevens. Don’t expect a lot of scoring, but the Rams should be able to outlast the Seahawks once again behind a new offense and an improved defensive line.”

Paul Lamb- “More than anyone, Pete Carroll and the Seahawks want to make a major statement opening weekend, after losing the Super Bowl in such a heartbreaking way a year ago. They return the league’s best D, while stealing Jimmy Graham from the Saints, to give their offense an even more dynamic attack. On the other side, the Rams played above many expectations last year, beating teams they weren’t supposed to. Todd Gurley’s absence will hurt, but there’s enough in the offense to compete, but not against Seattle. It comes down to how well the Rams’ defense can step up, both in stopping Beast Mode and Russell Wilson, and creating turnovers. In the end, Seattle has too many weapons on both sides of the ball, and too much to prove to not show out in the first week.”

Next: Rams Favored to Beat the Seahawks by Many Analysts