By:  Warner4Prez

I’ve wanted to say this the past two weeks, and at the risk of sounding terribly cliche, I’ll say it now:   This is the most important football game the Rams have played in years. Quite frankly, I’d say it looks like a ‘W’ should be scratched into the books.

The Seahawks came out of the gate guns blazing, and I was taken aback. This was a team that I predicted to be the basement dwellers in the West. They were stripped down and rebuilding, I didn’t (and don’t) consider Pete Carroll to be a credible NFL head coach, there were questionable moves made for questionable players…this team just didn’t add up on paper. Yet they stood at 4-2 atop the division going into the midway point of the season. Halloween proved to be a nastier trick than treat for Seattle as they took a beating from the Oakland Raiders, and proceeded to collapse from then on, mustering up a meager 2-7 from that point on.

First round pick Russel Okung has been under-whelming in his performance and injured often. The acquisitions of Charlie Whitehurst and Marshawn Lynch have backfired as well. In Whitehurst’s few appearances he hasn’t inspired much confidence under center, and Lynch hasn’t cracked 100 yards once this season.

The Seattle defense, which came out of the gates strong as well, have since slowed down and are ranked in the bottom three in PPG, and YPG allowed against them. It may seem as I’m being a bit hard on this team, but if you can paint a prettier picture of what’s happening, I invite you to try.

To be fair, the Rams have not exactly set the world on fire. They have remained consistent throughout the course of the season though. Sam Bradford has been the image of what a team should desire in a starting QB and Steven Jackson has been a rock in the backfield this season. The receiving corps has out lived their expectations this year, I don’t think anyone would have expected a Ram receiver to boast over 80 catches on the season, and with Brandon Gibson 10 yards away from 600 on the season, that would make two players with 600 yards receiving. I don’t think this team had a 400 yard receiver last season.
Defensively, this team has really turned the corner. They are 4th in the NFL in sacks with 43 and tied for third with 22 forced fumbles. Most importantly, this squad has really stepped it up in terms of stopping the run. They rank 15th in yards allowed on the ground, a spot they ranked 28th in last year.

So what does this all mean in terms of Sunday’s showdown? Well, don’t expect much of a change in the way the Rams handle their business. Expect a healthy dose of Steven Jackson. The one thing the Seahawks can do on defense is slow the run, and they’re ranked 22nd overall in that department. The last time these teams met, the Rams ran the ball 30 times and cruised to a 20-3 victory. If they hope to equal that type of success, they’ll have to control the clock with their typical ground barrage.

The Seahawks front four is missing Red Bryant who was evolving into a solid defender and they’ve had inconsistent play from everyone else on the front four not named Chris Clemons. Otherwise their defense hasn’t lived up to their potential, the secondary has only nabbed nine INTs and the linebackers haven’t done much to create pressure.

Sam Bradford threw 41 times against this defense in their previous meeting, and though he likely won’t throw it up that many times on Sunday night, he’ll certainly do so with more efficiency. Since that week four meeting, Bradford is boasting a 61% completion rating and 12:8 TD to INT ratio. He’s developed a repertoire with his receivers and is confident in the playbook.

The Rams defense will do what they do best, keep the play in front of them and apply pressure. Seattle is crossing their fingers that Matt Hasselbeck will be healthy enough to play, but Whitehurst is the contingency plan. You’ve got to sense that Seattle will be willing to pull out all the stops to upset the Rams and make a case for the playoffs, but with the way things have panned out for their team, it’s hard to see them pulling this one out.

It’s been a long road for St. Louis fans, players and coaches, however it looks like the faithful are primed to be rewarded. With everything on the line in the Sunday night match-up I don’t think either team will leave anything on the bus. Steve Spagnuolo has this team behind him all the way, and I expect them to be the Cinderella story of the NFL turning their 1-15 season into a playoff berth just one year later. The Seahawks goose shall be cooked, 24-3. See you at the playoffs!