Sep 19, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) completes a pass against the Washington Redskins during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Rams defeated the Redskins 31-28. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

Before I get into the key match-ups for this weeks game with the Seattle Seahawks,  I watched last night’s well played Cleveland at Baltimore game. There must of been a great sigh of relief made by all N.F.L. fans as a return to normalcy regarding the referees was in view for all to see. There were no game changing blunders and they had complete control of the game. I saw no rust by this crew as they too, were happy to be back.

Key Match-ups:

St. Louis’ Offensive Line vs. Seattle’s Defensive Front Seven

This is the most obvious due to the current I.C.U. status of the offensive line. The Seahawks had eight first half sacks Monday night against a much healthier Green-Bay Packer o-line.  St. Louis’ game-plan this week may hinge on Wayne Hunter playing. If he doesn’t, the Rams will need to give Sam Bradford time to at least get to his second read in passing situations. Forcing Seattle’s hobbled line-backing corps to make plays by using double tight-ends should be in St. Louis’ best interest. With a more fleet footed Daryl Richardson running the ball, draw plays and play-action may keep the defense a little more off balance.

St. Louis’ Passing Game vs. Seattle’s Defense

I expect that the no huddle will be used quite a bit in the first half in a effort to slow down the Seahawks. Roll-outs, slants and screens, say it with me, roll-outs, slants and screens. Seattle expects it, the Rams just need to execute. Sam Bradford will need to do his part by being on top of seeing and changing plays when he sees blitzes coming. The receivers must conceal their passing windows til the last second and not make it easy for Seattle to key on and double Danny Amendola. A little trickery might help also.

St. Louis Running Game vs. Seattle’s Defense

Last night, the game announcers were comparing Ray Rice to Hall of Fame Ram great Marshall Faulk. I find this very interesting considering Daryl Richardson reminds me a little of Ray Rice. Mixing in a few runs inside the tackles and getting him into open space will be the key in a successful running game this week. Not having Steven Jackson this week hurts, but the dropoff is not as much as years past. Richardson will need at least 20 touches this week for any chance to get yardage.

St. Louis’ Defense vs. Seattle Offense

This one is so simple that my 3 year old grandson can analyze with his eyes closed. Contain Russell Wilson. His vision, craftiness and pocket awareness remains me of Minnesota Viking great Fran Tarkenton. Having Michael Brockers back even in a limited role will help this week forcing Seattle to attack the strength of the Rams on the outside and the back four. Staying aggressive and closing down the inside gaps will be key to slowing down the Seahawks.

Closing Argument

Regardless of their defensive schemes, pressure by Seattle’s pass rush against Green-Bay was successful mostly because of the great coverage of their secondary.

Flashback Friday

On November 4th, 1979 the Los Angeles Rams played the Seattle Seahawks in the old Seattle Kingdome. The Rams set an N. F. L. record limiting the Seahawks to -7 yards total offense in a 24-0 victory. A record that may not be broken in this era of high octane offenses. The combination of 6 sacks, allowing only 23 yards rushing in 12 attempts, and holding Seattle quarterback Jim Zorn to only 2 completions in 17 attempts were the keys. The offense held on the ball 3/4 of the game and had 303 yards rushing in an amazing 66 attempts. Lawrence McCutcheon and Wendell Tyler each ran for over 80 Yards and the Rams had almost 500 total yards offense.

Game Predictions

Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens- This seems like an easy pick and I do pick the Ravens over the Browns, but it will be a close one. Baltimore 27-23.

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills- The McDaniel experiment failed in St. Louis and now New England is now in a similar dilemma and it won’t be fixed this week. Buffalo 21-20.

Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions- The Lions are tough at home and will have a field day with the Vikings. Detroit 27-20.

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans- The Texans will bring the Titans back to earth and put up an old fashion whipping on Tennessee. Houston 31-10.

San Diego Chargers At Kanas City Chiefs- After getting spanked at home, the Chargers go on the road to face an energized Chiefs team. Kanas City 23-20.

San Francisco 49ers at New York Jets- The 49ers proved to have dings on their armour that can be game changing and the Jets wounded defense will have their hands full this week with an hungry San Francisco offense. The 49ers edginess continues this week, 30-21.

Dec 12, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson (39) carries the ball against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Rams 30-13. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams- The Rams first divisional game will be a tough one. With some of the walking wounded returning to the team and the renewed fire from the fans at home, St. Louis will remind Seattle there no place like home. Rams 28-17.

Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals- Is Arizona for real? Their defense is and the Dolphins will need to have something surprising for the Cardinals to keep it close and will. Upset, Miami 20-17.

Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos- Another game that should be easy to pick, but Denver at home is too hard to pass up. Broncos 26-17.

Cincinnati Bengals at Jacksonville Jaguars- This cat fight will have stripes eating spots. Bengals 21-10.

New Orleans Saints at Green Bay Packers- Which team is on the road to recovery? Saints? Packers? Green Bay offense beats up on New Orleans defense 33-21.

Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The Redskins can put points on the board but their defense is questionable. Tampa Bay has their problems too but play everyone tough. Buccaneers 23-21.

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles- The Giants have returned to form and the Eagles luckiness ran out last week. No rabbit’s foot for Philadelphia this week. New York 23-20.

Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys- Both of these team’s defenses proved tough last week. But the Cowboys have a edge on offense. Dallas 17-13.

Numbers Ranking

The average score of following rankings: Record, total offense, total defense, points scored and points allowed. Records ties broken by point differential and rest by higher ranking in each category.

1. Houston 3.7
2. Atlanta   8.1
3. New York Giants   8.6
4. Baltimore   10.4
5. Minnesota   11.4
6. Chicago   11.4
7. Buffalo 11.8
8. New England   11.8
9. Arizona   13.2
10. San Diego   13.4
11. Seattle   13.8
12. Philadelphia   14.0
13. San Francisco   14.0
14. Pittsburgh   14.2
15. Dallas   14.6
16. Detroit   15.4
17. Green Bay   15.6
18. Denver   16.2
19. New York Jets   17.0
20. Miami   17.4
21. Washington   17.6
22. Cincinnati   18.0
23. Kanas City   18.2
24. Indianapolis   21.2
25. New Orleans   22.6
26. Carolina   23.2
27. Oakland   23.4
28. St. Louis   23.9
29. Tampa Bay   24.4
30. Cleveland   25.4
31. Jacksonville   26.3
32. Tennessee   27.0

When Last We Met

The last meeting between the St Louis Rams and Chicago Bears on December 6, 2009 had the Bears coming out a 17-9 winner. Former Ram Kyle Boller (113 Yards passing and three sacks) threw a incomplete pass in the Bear’s end-zone to end the last minute hopes of tying the Bears. Both Boller and Jay Cutler (8 for-17 143 Yards 1 Td.) had awful games. Steven Jackson (28 rushes-112 Yards) was the Rams offense as well as the combination of Matt Forte and Kahil Bell (25 rushes-186 Yards. 1 Td.) for the Bears. Steven Jackson has career stats of 46 rushes-199 Yards 1 Td. vs. the Bears.

Building Structure on Defense

“You Should Not Linger in Desolate Ground” Sun Tzu-The Art of War

Some of the metal errors by the Rams last week point mostly at the youth and the on going meshing as a defensive unit. The Washington Redskins failed a few times by not capitalizing on this. Two long passes by Robert Griffin III were there, but drops by his receivers added to the antics of the newly crowned N.F.L. drama queen. These lapses need to be worked on as Chicago’s offensive could be a test for the Ram’s defense if their running game takes off this week. The Rams outside pass rush will get pressure on Bear’s Quarterback Jay Cutler, but the mid range passing game will need to be slowed or the running lanes will open up and there will be plenty of heavy breathing in the Rams defensive huddles.

FLASH BACK

January 30, 2011; Honolulu, HI, USA; Hall of Fame running back Eric Dickerson before the 2011 Pro Bowl at Aloha Stadium. The NFC defeated the AFC 55-41. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

Adding to the many ‘Almost’ and ‘Should Haves’ in L.A./St. Louis Rams history was the 1985 N.F.C. Championship Game against the Chicago Bears on January 12, 1986. Although the final score was 24-0, many who watched the game saw a much closer contest. The record breaking defense of the Bears was all over Ram’s Quarterback Dieter Brock (who was injured during the game and was replaced by Jeff Kemp) and held my man, Eric Dickerson in check. The Rams defense held their own also, limiting Bear’s great Walter Payton and making Quarterback Jim McMahon run to keep drives going. The biggest difference in the game was the three Ram turnovers. Ram wide-out Ron Brown ended his career year with a nice 45 yard kick-off return, but dropped a sure touchdown reception early in the game. But almost every Ram fan will agree that that Bear’s team had the best defense ever.

Really……….no really

How many of you know how the Rams got their logo name?

Cleveland Ram general manager Damon Wetzel was a fan of the Fordham (college) Rams and Owner Homer Marshman liked the sound of the Name.

The New Era

On the heals of the Four Pillars falling

A new headman now calling

This excitement, is it of old or is it of new

Last season, looking in the Edward Jones Dome, there were only a few

So this year, the Rams are of a new fate

It seems, of the rest of the N.F.C. West, there remains much hate

Kicked to the curb, players of old

Many players of new, now in the fold

The success of the draft resonates

Happy most of us are, but some hesitates

Finally, we won’t see coaches clapping, especially in disgrace

No, the stash is a cold hearted presence, but remember, it’s way too early to think first place

If your in Vegas tomorrow (9/23) and would be interested in doing interview Tweet me.