Struggling Rams no longer a tough matchup for Seahawks

The Seahawks continue their stretch of playing inferior opponents when the Rams come to town on Sunday. After clobbering Baltimore and Cleveland, the Seahawks now face a St. Louis team that is ranked 31st in the league in total offense and 22nd in total defense. (AP)

The Seahawks continue their stretch of playing inferior opponents when the Rams come to town on Sunday. After clobbering Baltimore and Cleveland, the Seahawks now face a St. Louis team that is ranked 31st in the league in total offense and 22nd in total defense.

As Danny O’Neil pointed out Wednesday, everyone seems to think the Rams are a tough matchup for the Seahawks, but St. Louis has not won in Seattle since 2004.

The only clear edge they have that I can see is at punter where Johnny Hekker of Bothell High fame was voted to the Pro Bowl, and Jon Ryan was not.

The Rams are always thought to be tough defensively, particularly against the run, but their rush defense is 23rd so there should be opportunities for Christine Michael and Bryce Brown to complement Russell Wilson’s passing attack.

Following defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ instructions, the Rams frequently blitzed Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston, and if you’re a 12, you hope he uses the same strategy against Wilson. The Seahawks’ quarterback has been great against blitzing teams this year.

St. Louis is averaging a league-low 17.2 points a game but has picked it up of late, beating Baltimore and Tampa Bay the last two weeks. Case Keenum has taken over for Nick Foles, and his numbers have been fairly decent, good enough anyway to keep the starting job.

Though everyone seems to think that Seattle will maintain its position as the No. 5 NFC playoff team, Minnesota still has a reasonable chance if it beats the Giants this week and Packers next week. Then again, if Green Bay loses to Arizona this week, next week’s Vikings-Packers game could determine the NFC North champion.

The Seahawks hold the tie-breaker edge over Minnesota, but Green Bay has the tie-breaker over Seattle. It shapes up as an interesting finish to the season. Look for the Seahawks to hold up their end of things this week with a convincing win over the Rams.

Line: Seahawks by 13 ½
Prediction: Seahawks 31, Rams 13

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.