Seahawks Game #3 Seahawks 37 Rams 13

The Seahawks bounced back from their first 0-2 start in 5 years by thrashing the Rams 37-13 yesterday at Quest field. While the Seahawks were dominant in every phase of the game and physically overwhelmed the Rams, we should be careful not to read too much into this win. The Seahawks won't have such a huge advantage in physical talent week in and week out. That said, it was exactly the kind of win the team needed to get some of its flagging confidence back and it's hard to imagine them beating the Rams any worse even if Branch, Burleson and Engram had played. QB Matt Hasselbeck enjoyed an excellent game as he was able to take advantage of the superiority of the Seahawks offensive line to throw the ball accurately downfield to receivers who were only marginally open on several occasions. The defense was much improved over the previous week against the 49'ers.

Offense: The Seahawks continued their productivity on offense, despite the fact that they were starting a street free agent (Billy McMullen) and a player that was only acquired this week (Keary Colbert) at WR. The Seahawks compensated for their deficiencies in the passing game by pounding the ball on the ground to the tune of 245 yards and 5.4 TPC average. The game plan was executed to perfection by a revamped offensive line which featured Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack at RG (in for the IR’d Rob Sims, who was in for the IR’d-Ret. Chris Gray) and Ray Willis at RT. The line did an exceptional job of dominating the line of scrimmage and opening holes for RB’s Julius Jones and TJ Duckett. Granted, Jones especially was able to spin out of arm tackles and gain lots of extra yards he won’t get against better teams, but the point is the holes were there for a change.

Seahawks RB TJ Duckett

Jones was outstanding in his second straight 100 yard game, piling up 140 yards on only 22 carries for a 6.4 yard average and a touchdown. Duckett added another 79 yards on 19 carries and was extremely effective in short yardage situations. Clearly, Jones has earned the right to get the majority of the carries even after Mo Morris gets back.

QB Matt Hasselbeck was accurate and efficient

In the passing game, veteran QB Matt Hasselbeck was efficient if not outstanding in going 12 for 20 for 172 yards and a touchdown. He looked calm and confident in the pocket and made some exceptional, accurate throws, finishing the game with a 104.6 passer rating. McMullen, practice squad call-up Michael Bumpus and rookie TE John Carlson also made outstanding catches to compliment Hasselbeck’s excellent performance.

McMullen especially is starting to have the look of a keeper. His size, route running and excellent hands make him resemble a poor man’s Bobby Engram, and my guess is he’ll continue to see a lot of playing time even after the return of Engram and Deon Branch. He now has 7 catches for 124 yards (a 17.7 YPC average) in 2 games. Courtney Taylor had one catch for 11 yards, but looked shaky doing it and may have a hard time sticking after the bye week.

Grade – A+

Defense: After a rocky performance against the 49’ers, the defense woke up to play some stout run defense and eliminate the breakdowns in the secondary. They held the Rams to a total of only 65 yards on the ground, an outstanding number. They gave up only 184 yards in the passing game, eliminating the type of big plays on third down that killed the Seahawks against the Rams. The Rams only really big play was dump off pass to Steven Jackson which ended up as a 50 yard gain and led to the Rams only TD. The defense got only 1 sack from Julian Petersen, but they forced a fumble which set up a Matt Hasselbeck TD pass to Bumpus and Deon Grant had an interception. Overall, it was the kind of effort we expected from the defense heading into the season.

Grade – A-

Special Teams: Bumpus muffed a punt which led to a Ram field goal, but other than that the special teams had a thankfully quiet game. The coverage teams were excellent for the most part, and Josh Wilson had 4 kickoff returns for a solid 23.3 yard average. Place kicker Olindo Mare continues to have a perfect season, going 3 for 3 with a long of 38 yards. He’s now 7-7 on the season and also continues to boom his kickoffs into the end zone. So far, he’s been a major upgrade over Josh Brown, who was booed mercilessly by the crowd.

Grade - B

Zebra Report: Thankfully, the zebras mostly kept to themselves after a horrendous performance in week two, when several abysmal calls (and several inexcusable non-calls) cost the Seahawks at least 13 points and the game. There were still a lot of penalties, but none were marginal and they didn’t come at crucial or game changing times.

Grade – B

Rams soon-to-be ex-head coach Scott Linehan

Outlook: The Seahawks must be careful not to read too much into this game. The Rams are as bad a football team as there is in this league, and they played like a team that has given up on their coach. Jones won’t be spinning out of arm tackles against the likes of the Giants, the Packers and the Bucs, the Seahawks next three opponents after the bye. These next three games will really tell the tale of the Seahawks season. After letting a game get away against the 49’ers, they have to come out of these next three no worse than 3-3 if they are to have a chance at winning the division. Even beating the Packers at home will be a tall order, much less upsetting either the defending world champion Giants or the Buccaneers on the road. But they simply must do it if they are to weather the early season injury storm.


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Mike Bara