Seattle Shuts Down Sloppy St. Louis
While the St. Louis Rams aren’t the toughest opponents the NFL can offer, the Seattle Seahawks played well on both offense and defense en route to a 28-0 opening game victory. Jim Mora made a successful debut as Seahawks coach and Matt Hasselbeck played his first regular season game since last Thanksgiving.
The Seahawks easily covered the spread as -7 home favorites. The ATS victory improved the Seahawks to 18-15 against the number in the past three years. The Rams dropped to a dismal 11-22 ATS in the past three years with a 9-20 mark as an underdog. The 28 points scored went UNDER the total of 41. The Seahawks are 16-16 O/U in their lined games over the past three years, while the Rams have gone UNDER in 17 of their last 30.
Mora hadnt been at the helm of an NFL team since he was fired by the Atlanta Falcons in 2006. He is a native of the Jet City and once worked as a visiting locker room attendant for the Seahawks. He talked about his successful homecoming in his post game interview:
“It was especially emotional for me, because there is some significance to it. I’d be lying if I told you there wasn’t. It was kind of a surreal experience.”
Linebacker Aaron Curry commented after the game that defensive tenacity and toughness are goals for the new look Seattle team:
“The whole offseason, they said our team was soft. We’ve got to change our image.”
The Rams looked to be the same pitiful team that stumbled to a 2-14 record in 2008. It was hardly the debut that rookie head coach Steve Spagnuolo had hoped far as St. Louis gained only 247 yards and 13 first downs. It’s never a good sign when players point to personal fouls as a positive, as Steven Jackson did in his postgame interviews:
“Would you rather us just get our tail kicked and walk back to the huddle? You saw some fight in this team.”
The Rams looked sloppy and undisciplined throughout, to the point of having their only touchdown of the game negated due to too many men on the field. Clearly, the problems with the St. Louis team run much deeper than coaching.
The schedule wont get any easier for St. Louis, as they hit the road again this week to face the Washington Redskins. The Rams are a +10 road underdog in that contest with the total set at 36. Seattle will also play away from home this Sunday, heading down the coast to meet the resurgent San Francisco 49ers. The Niners are a -1 home favorite with the total set at 39.
Ross Everett is a experienced freelance writer who covers travel, poker and NFL football handicapping. He is a staff handicapper for Anatta Sports where he is responsible for providing daily sports picks. In his spare time he enjoys fine dining, fencing and scuba diving. He lives in Southern Nevada with four dogs and a pet coyote.