Game Time:  5:20 PM ET, Sunday, October 7th, 2021

Venue: Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington

Where to Watch:  Fox/NFL Network

FanDuel: N/A

BetMGM: Rams -2; O/U 54.5 points

Caesars: Rams -1.5; O/U 54.5 points

 

Rams:  3-1 (NFC West)

Seahawks:  2-2 (NFC West)

 

The Rams took a beating against the Cardinals.  The much praised defense that starts with Aaron Donald and bleeds into Jalen Ramsey, both best at their position… couldn’t stop a 5’8 quarterback who should be playing baseball.  That might be dismissive of Kyler Murray, but it is accurate.  A hindsighter will tell you that Coach Sean McVay failed to hide his intentions to get the ball from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp every pass play… and that may be true, but the reality is the Rams are in a tough division and got beat by a Arizona Cardinals team that simply played better.

 

The Seahawks should let Russell Wilson cook.  Russel is a great QB, but the real reason is the Seahawks have nowhere near the defense that Russell had when he was a rookie.  And in the intervening years… Back when the offense could overcome matchups because the defense had their back. They have to win shootouts now and Russel should be in charge of those shootouts. They shouldn’t wait for the draft to improve the defense; they should do it now.

 

ON FIRE! Al McMordie SWEPT THE BOARD AGAIN yesterday with a 3-0 ticket (his 4th SWEEP the last 5 days), and is a RED-HOT 19-6 his last 25. Big Al's also 6-1 his last 7 Totals, including an EASY WINNER yesterday on the Jets/Titans OVER. Now, for Monday, it's Big Al's Monday Night Football Total of the Month out of an 80-33 angle. Go get it! Get Al’s pick!!....  it’s available right now at the Shop Picks page, where you can find all of the Best Bets from our champion sports handicappers.

 

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The Rams still haven’t lost the promise of being the best team in football… It has just been tarnished by the Arizona Cardinals loss.  They opened the season with a win over the quarterback hungry Chicago Bears 34-14. Game two saw a tight win against the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 that relied on the kick of a field goal to be the difference.  Game 3 was a big win over Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34-24.  Game 4 was the division loss… 37-20 against the Arizona Cardinals.  An unforgivable loss.  To be fair though Sean McVay wakes up everyday to the beach at Malibu… so , you can’t win them all when you’ve already won them all.

 

The Seahawks are in a perpetual whodunnit?... Who won that Super Bowl a few years ago?  The former USC coach who loves his running game… or the star quarterback who needs to be protected long enough to pass the ball?  Also who lost that Super Bowl the year after?... Oh, that was the coach.  Game 1 was a win over the Indianapolis Colts 28-16.  Game 2 was a loss to the Tennessee Titans 33-30.  Game 3 was loss to the Minnesota Vikings 30-17.  Game 4 was a win over the SF 49ers 28-21.  They are doing great in the division but are at .500 overall.  They need a win over the Rams to stay over .500.

 

 

 

The Rams are scoring 28.8 points a game on 398.5 total yards per game.  They are star-studded and winning at a 75% clip.  They play in the best new stadium the league has seen since Jerry’s World in Dallas.  QB Matt Stafford has fit in seamlessly, taking over for Jared Goff.  He’s 92-135 for 1,222 yards, 11 TDs and 2 interceptions.  They could use more out of the rushing game, especially on Thursday Night against the underdog Seahawks who will run the ball down their throats.

The Seahawks are scoring 25.8 points per game on 368 yards per game. QB Russel Wilson is 79-109 for 1,044 yards, 9 Touchdowns and 0 INT.  The fatal flaw is Russ has been beat up in the sack department… 11 times so far.  They will face LAR knowing that the win over San Francisco has them above the Rams in the Division… A good place to start.

The Rams are ranked 8th in defense… or they were.  After the Cardinals loss the Rams dropped precipitously to 27th because of giving up 296.8 yards per game and 24.8 ppg. Although they win the turnover battle with 12 so far… they simply haven’t converted those to points.  The Rams are better than their ranking and will climb the charts in the weeks to come.

The Seahawks are ranked 32nd in defense, yes that is last place.  Jacksonville and Kansas City give up less yards than the Seahawks 444.5 per game.  The Seahawks are also giving up 25 points per game.  There is yet no proof that they will move up the charts in this department.  They have no exceptional pass rush or cornerbacks to account for… they may be just this bad.

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The Rams are 12-6 ATS in games where the line is +3 to -3 over the last three seasons.

The Rams are 20-9 ATS against conference opponents the last three seasons.

The Rams are 5-1 ATS off a loss against a divisional rival, last three seasons.

Seattle is 8-3 ATS as an underdog over the last three seasons.

Seattle is 2-5 ATS after a loss to a division rival the last three seasons.

 

 

Rams:  LB Justin Hollins (Pec) Indefinitely 

Seahawks: DE Carlos Dunlap (Toe) Questionable * DE Benson Mayowa (neck) Questionable * OT Brandon Shell (ankle) Questionable  *  WR D’Wayne Eskridge (concussion) Questionable *

 

 

 

"He's got great feet and he's got great quickness. That's how he made all those yards in college. And he thought, 'I've got to get bigger.' He just didn't look as good. So when he came back to us, the first time he came back, everybody went, 'Holy cow. No wonder he gained a bunch of yards at the Ravens.' He just looked better. He looked niftier and the kind of player our guys had seen in college." - Pete Carroll - Years into being a pro coach he still obsessively talks about the college game… forgetting his USC players were paid by alumni and boosters.

Rams:  QB Matt Stafford, RB Darrell Henderson Jr, WR Cooper Kupp, WR Robert Woods, WR Van Jefferson, TE Tyler Higbee, LT Andrew Whitworth, LG David Edwards, C Brian Allen, RG Austin Corbett, RT Rob Havenstein

Seahawks: QB Russell Wilson, RB Chris Carson, WR DK Metcalf, WR Tyler Lockett, WR Freddie Swain, TE Gerald Everett, LT Duane Brown, LG Damien Lewis, C Kyle Fuller, RG Gabe Jackson, RT Brandon Shell.

Rams:

Passing:  Matt Stafford 1,222 yards

Rushing:  Henderson 212 yards

Receiving:  Cooper Kupp 431 yards

Tackles:  Kenya Young 25

Interceptions:  Jalen Ramsey 1

Seahawks:

Passing:  Russell Wilson 1,044 yards

Rushing:  Chris Carson  232 yards

Receiving:  Tyler Lockett  33 yards

Tackles:  Bobby Wagner 54 yards

Interceptions:  Quandre Diggs 1

 

 

 

Coaches:

Rams: Sean McVay

Seahawks:  Pete Carrol

 

 

Partly Cloudy. 55 * for the high.  Humidity 70%.  Lots of green trees and lush foliage.