Seahawks top Rams 24-7

As I said in my prediction, This game had the potential to be “trap game” for the Seahawks. They way the game started, it very well could have ended up that way. Luckily, the Seahawks settled down and took care of business against an inferior St. Louis Rams team.

This game has a large number of cool moments that deserve to be part of any highlight reel. There was the pass thrown from WR Sydney Rice to Mike Williams for 55 yards, the interception and subsequent “beast mode” stiff arm by DE Red Bryant, and the Justin Forsett TD where he jumped out of his shoe juking a defender. This was just a fun game to watch.

Here’s my game notes:

• The penalty epidemic continues. This week it was 13 penalties for 100 yards. This has to stop, and soon.
• Speaking of penalties, Brandon Browner added (at least) 2 more to his total. Giving him 18 by my count for almost 200 yards.  He’s playing better in coverage, but if he can’t cover w/o drawing flags then its just not good enough.
• Tarvaris Jackson had one of the worst 1st quarters that you’ll see, but then settled in and had a good but unremarkable night. It seemed clear that he was in pain for most of the game, as well as being pressured more than I’d like to see. 
• It was also clear that the O-line is a problem again after the injuries this last week. The new right side of the line was a serious liability in both the run game and in pass protection. Hopefully with another week of work they’ll be able to perform better against DC next week.
• I’m a little disappointed in the running game today. The Rams have the worst run defense in the league (yards/game) and Marshawn Lynch only averaged 3.3 yards per carry.
• The 15 completed passes were spread out over 9 players.
• It seemed like Justin Forsett was on the field more today then the last 5 games combined, and made the most of his opportunity. 3 rushes for 31 yards and TD. He also had a catch out of the backfield.
• The game was really won because of the dominating defense. The Rams only had 185 total yards in the game. Steven Jackson was held to 42 yards on 15 carries (2.8 average). Bradford only average 4.5 yards per pass attempt.
• Chris Clemons had a predictably big game. The Rams were missing both their starting tackles, and it’s such a mismatch for a backup to have to try and block Clemons. He finished with 3 sacks, 5 tackles, and he also deflected a pass. What doesn’t show up in the stats is that he was a constant thorn in the side of the Rams’ passing game.
• It was good to see that Pete Carroll has learned from his mistakes and took the points at the end of the first half instead of going for the touchdown. It might not end up being a popular decision, but it was definitely the correct one.
• The Seahawks are now 8-0 under Pete Carroll when they win the turnover battle. The Rams committed 3 turnovers, compared to 2 by Seattle.