Random Thoughts™ on the Rams game

Just my opinion, but that win today was the biggest regular season win we've had yet. Not just this year. We lose this game, and Seattle completes one of the most epic #1 seed meltdowns of all time, compounded by the fact that every time Seattle could have clinched with a win or 49ers loss, they were denied by mindblowingly improbable events. That streak continued even after Seattle won this game, when the 49ers scored a game winner after a kickoff that had 25 seconds on the clock at the start.

Just being spared from that nightmare makes this win feel so damn good. A nightmare football outsiders gave less than a 1% chance of happening a month ago.

I think the best thing about today's win was the comfort of it. Once Smith ran that pick six in early on, it was only 7-0 but you kinda knew it was going to be our day.

Kudos to Russell Wilson for overcoming a defense built to exploit our current problems on offense.

Kudos to Darrell Bevell for not using variants of only two different plays (run play and deep sideline pass) on almost every snap like last time. He actually used his TEs, and used bubble screens. Shocked I am that Seattle fared better with a more diverse and (slightly) less predictable game plan.

Kudos to Golden Tate for having a huge day that would have been huge-er if not for a Russell Okung hold right before half time. Also, does Tate ever get injured? He took a beating today including a few choice cheap shots, and he still whipped their candy asses.

It's a lot harder to think Marshawn Lynch has "hit the wall" now after watching him in this game.

Gotta love seeing Luke Willson getting jobbed out of a massive TD reception, only to catch a pass short of the sticks on the next play (forcing a punt), and suffer a high ankle sprain that could put him on IR in the process. This was not an easy game to officiate and I think the officials did a reasonably good job in a tough situation, but the decision to blow the whistle there was awful.

In typical 2013 fashion, Seattle blew a chance for a record at the very end when they allowed a long punt return to set up the Rams first score. That play aside, holy crap did Jon Ryan kick ass today. He had several punts that went 50-60 plus and at least one or two that were downed inside the ten.

A truly random thought. Greg Hardy is a UFA this offseason, if he isn't franchised. He's an awesome run defender who just happened to notch 15 sacks this season. Getting the money wouldn't be easy, and he'll probably be franchised, but yeah. Just a thought.

Two very nice hits/tackles for Lockette in this game on special teams. Not sure if that will be enough to get him a 53 man roster spot next August, but I'm sure those plays didn't escape Pete's attention.

I felt bad for that Rams player who got ejected for accidentally knocking an officials hat off. The ensuing triple axel of personal fouls to set up a critical Seahawks touchdown, that was awesome though. I still felt bad for the guy. When Willson got jobbed on that premature whistle it honestly felt like payback for how badly the Rams got hosed by officiating decisions on that earlier drive. Both teams were pretty chippy, but almost all the chippy calls went against the Rams for some reason. I could get used to that feeling.

Seattle averaged 14.4 points given up per game this season on defense, which is not terribly far removed from historic levels, especially when weighting for the rest of the league, which broke offensive and scoring records this season. What's even more amazing is how many of Seattle's points allowed came in garbage time or very late in games. If Pete were merciless at the end of games like Jim Harbaugh, I think we probably would have seen our defense draw comparisons to the 2000 Ravens this year.

There needs to be some kind of signal- like the bat signal for Richard Sherman- that billionaire owner Paul Allen lights up in the sky to let the rest of the secondary know that any dead duck falling feather of a pass is already taken care of and it would be best if they just watched a true professional work his magic.

Byron Maxwell sure looks like the future at CB across from Sherman. Seattle might want to seriously consider contract extension talks with him next March to see if they can coax him into a potential bargain deal in exchange for a lump sum of guaranteed up front cash.

Kellen Clemens looked terrified to throw anything more than 5 yards past the LOS.

Russell Wilson reversed a late season slump to finish the year with a 101.2 passer rating. What I'm about to say is somewhat obvious given that only two qualifying rookies have ever had a 100 passer rating, but it's worth noting that Wilson is the first player in NFL history to post a 100 passer rating or better in his first two seasons as the team's primary starter.

Cliff Avril's 8 sacks this season is the fewest he's had in the last four seasons. What a bum!

So why does it feel like Avril has had such a nice season for us? It's probably because his forced fumbles total (5) was the second highest of his career.

Michael Bennett led the team in sacks with 8.5. Stud. Clinton McDonald finished with 5.5 sacks. Stud. Tony McDaniel has been studly all season and was a monster today.

I don't mean this in a negative way, but I wonder what the team is going to do with Bruce Irvin going forward. His speed is valuable, but he's been mostly invisible at OLB this season. That plus it's pretty likely Clemons won't survive the offseason here, and with Irvin being bulked up, a spot opening at DE most likely, and there being a logjam at LB, do they keep him where he's at?

Me? I kind of wonder if Irvin could work as a Winston Guy type big nickle safety. He's got the speed, size, and the downhill ability. It would also protect him from blockers. I fully admit that I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it seems like an idea worth exploring to me.

One thing , the official threw the flag when when the Rams player knocked his arm down when he was trying to create space between the player and the other officials when he was jawwing at them, not for getting his hat knocked off, there are a few gifs and cuts that show the incident.

As far as Irvin goes he showed some great ball skills with his interception earlier this season and I think his work with coverage has created a certain amount of hesitation for QB's to throw his way as well. He's a work in progress that is showing some results as a LB, I think he is what we actually wanted in Curry. He could become a true tweener at some point but he isn't embarrassing himself as a LB now.

Every time I read Kearly's random thoughts™, I feel smarter.

Outstanding post.

On the 3-way interception collision, Brian McIntyre tweeted that if Earl had caught that interception a $200K performance bonus would have been due him. He said if Earl had gotten 15 interceptions over a 2 yr period (must be including post season?), the bonus kicked in. He ended up with 14.

Jon Ryans first punt was incredible to me. He kicked it from the 15 yard line and it landed at the Rams 9 yard line. That is 76 yards in the air. I think it goes down as a 66 yard kick in the books because the line of scrimmage is where it is counted from but Jon Ryan physically kicked a football 76 yards.

kearly":iw004ta9 said:

Kudos to Darrell Bevell for not using variants of only two different plays (run play and deep sideline pass) on almost every snap like last time. He actually used his TEs, and used bubble screens. Shocked I am that Seattle fared better with a more diverse and (slightly) less predictable game plan.

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I guess "doing what you should have been doing by any moderately reasonable definition of your job title" is cause for kudos, so I'll agree with you; kudos to Bevell for improving in this game.

I can smell the shock on you that our somewhat less predictable game plan met with quite a bit more success, Kearly. You're absolutely floored.

As always, well done. Thank you.

Baldwin and Kearse had one target between them. Does anyone know how many snaps they got? I seem unable to find that info.

Kinda funny how the one guy the Rams were targeting ends up with eight receptions for 129 yards, it's almost as if they were happy to let him get the ball and give up the yards/game just so they could take shots at him.

Tate was playing like a man possessed this game! Love to see that at this point in the campaign! I noticed that MRob was being featured a bit more in the Lynch Running game yesterday, maybe just a perception thing. I think our run game is a lot more potent with them in tandem though. Lockette should get credit for his Kam Chancellor impression yesterday on special teams, holy hell! Wilson seemed to be much more in control against this team than he did the first time we faced them or the Cards the previous week. The low balls are still a concern for me, though they are hard to pick off, so maybe its by design?

Concern is growing for our receiving corps health though, with the likely loss of Willson for the playoffs and Harvins impending IR status. Still like our chances with Tate, Baldwin, Miller and Lynch catching. Walters and Lockette are still unknowns for me in this regard. Would love to have McCoy back right about now.

13-3 aint bad!

Kearly, rosterbating already. shame on you. thou shalt not covet...

Lynch was decisive in his one cuts today. It had to be a point of emphasis.

The sideline speech thing Jeff Fisher does to fire his guys up backfired today, they played with stupid emotion after that. Before the rash of fouls, we were on a 14 play drive, and the Lambs had hands on hips. They were gassed. The scoreboard was lopsided already, but that was when I knew they were done.

The vendetta against Golden Tate was another stupid thing by the Rams. I know their season was over, but it was clear they cared more about punishing Golden than playing ball. When I watch Golden I see a lot of Hines Ward to his game. If he can get completely comfortable with that bad guy role, that can be a huge asset for the Hawks in division games. Hines was a master of using his BS to get secondaries and linebackers thinking about stopping him almost more than the Steelers. Watching him Frank Brickowski the Rams was fun.

After watching the all-22 vs the Cards, I was screaming for underneath short crossing routes to take advantage of linbackers who know our play action game doesn't use the short middle. When Golden caught that first one and had space to work in, it just validated that defenses have been cheating that area. And could it be more clear that there is a linebacker assigned to Russell at all times more than after the one read option he kept? THose short crossers will be there in division rival games, those linebackers can't keep eyes on Russell and cover laterally at the same time. Of course, we didn't see much of those routes the rest of the game, but I could see that being some kind of fall back plan for a Niner game. Just have to watch out for that head hunting mr Hitner on those crossers.

Maybe it's my hate, but the ankle injury to Willson looked like the Ram was trying to grind his leg during the tackle.

I loved that Lynch was ready to grab his helmet and go brawl.

drdiags":37qor9lj said:

On the 3-way interception collision, Brian McIntyre tweeted that if Earl had caught that interception a $200K performance bonus would have been due him. He said if Earl had gotten 15 interceptions over a 2 yr period (must be including post season?), the bonus kicked in. He ended up with 14.

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Was I the only one thinking on this duck floating in the sky and seeing the 3 of them come flying in.....SOMEONE JUST CALL IT! And figures these guys don't get hurt at all playing against 16 teams this year but yet a car crash between teammates that scares the daylights out of all of the fans ends up occurring and leaves Sherman laying there! ukeface:

Also on a side note, what was up with the color commentator calling for a flag on Lynch for the stiff arm that knocked the defenders helmet off and the ensuing face palm that occurred as Lynch man handled him going out of bounds? It's not Lynch's fault the guy can't keep his helmet on, the plays not over and the rules don't change for stiff arms just because a defenders helmet comes off. :141847_bnono:

kmeleon":2mb4h7y6 said:

drdiags":2mb4h7y6 said:

On the 3-way interception collision, Brian McIntyre tweeted that if Earl had caught that interception a $200K performance bonus would have been due him. He said if Earl had gotten 15 interceptions over a 2 yr period (must be including post season?), the bonus kicked in. He ended up with 14.

Click to expand...

Was I the only one thinking on this duck floating in the sky and seeing the 3 of them come flying in.....SOMEONE JUST CALL IT! And figures these guys don't get hurt at all playing against 16 teams this year but yet a car crash between teammates that scares the daylights out of all of the fans ends up occurring and leaves Sherman laying there! ukeface:

Also on a side note, what was up with the color commentator calling for a flag on Lynch for the stiff arm that knocked the defenders helmet off and the ensuing face palm that occurred as Lynch man handled him going out of bounds? It's not Lynch's fault the guy can't keep his helmet on, the plays not over and the rules don't change for stiff arms just because a defenders helmet comes off. :141847_bnono:

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That announcer is an ex defensive player, and he assumed that a nasty stiff arm upper cut by Lynch, as he has done a dozen times already this year, was the cause. He was wrong.

I have to admit that I got sick to my stomach after the loss of the punt return record. Not much you can do about it.

At this point, I'm no longer surprised by the Haynesworth head stomp. It seems like Fisher coaches that sort of thing in the Rams.

It must be hard for the Rams though, playing in a division where everyone else achieved double digits in the win column and they couldn't even make it to .500. I mean seriously, these guys haven't won more than seven games in a season since 2006, they haven't reached 10+ wins since 2003. They're the NFC's equivalent of the Cleveland Browns, and you know they'll somehow mess up that 2nd overall pick.
They look like they're gonna be the perennial basement dwellers of the NFC West for a few more years yet.

Thanks Kearly. The Random Thoughts is my favorite read after every game. Lots of positives from this game. I thought Bevell was decent. I also thought we expanded the role of M Rob to get the running game going. It's awesome the play we're getting out of Malcolm Smith and Byron Maxwell. I particularly enjoyed some plays where RW made something happen by running out of the pocket like the pass to Miller for almost 15 yds and the little one to Lynch along the sideline for the first down. I wish our players would pay attention and be ready for his shovel passes. Really enjoyed the game. Nice to see some sacks too.

Here's a tidbit from over at B/R that I found interesting.

"Since the team’s Week 12 bye, its defense is allowing 8.6 points per game, 153.6 yards through the air and 76.8 yards on the ground. Moreover, the 'Hawks are forcing 2.6 turnovers per game."

Jon Ryan's punt literally had my mouth hanging open
and there were some serious his today where our guys just dropped the hammer on fools! it was a great game to watch

that rams dude getting ejected was total BS. he raised his hand and a official just happened to be there??? seriously that just wasn't fair.

ANd i think know we know why the Jon doesnt punt them deep anymore after this game.
Pete probably did a week 17 experiement to see how his coverage team on the deep punts. Rockette answered the bell