Seahawks Rookie Tyler Lockett Takes the Rams First Punt to the House | Seahawks vs. Rams | NFL
The Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams will get NFC West hostilities underway on Sunday.
The Seattle Seahawks are set to take on the St. Louis Rams for an early leg-up in the NFC West in Week 1. Seattle took the division last season, edging out the Arizona Cardinals, soundly beating the San Francisco 49ers and the Rams ... well, the Rams weren"t really in the picture much at all.
But it"s a new season, and both teams have made strides to improve over the course of the offseason. St. Louis finished last season with a 6-10 record, but the Rams got a new starting quarterback, a new starting running back, a new offensive line and a defense that"s looking like it could be dominant on its best days.
Still, the big story of this game is Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor and his contract holdout. Chancellor started holding out for a new deal in training camp, missed all of preseason and has not practiced with the team at all leading up to Sunday"s game. The Seahawks were practicing as though Chancellor was injured and don"t expect him to play on Sunday.
Chancellor is one of the top safeties in the NFL, and while the Seahawks have a secondary that also features Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman -- players with legitimate claim to being the best players at their position -- having to play without Chancellor would change things significantly.
Fortunately for the Seahawks, the Rams aren"t looking like a team set to test any secondary, let alone one that features Sherman and Thomas. Still, the Rams are something of a question mark on offense with new quarterback Nick Foles. They traded Sam Bradford for Foles and some draft picks this offseason, and while Bradford has looked better than Foles in the NFL, he also has a massive injury history.
Foles went 15-9 as a starter in three seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, though he also sustained injuries with them. But two years ago, Foles threw 27 touchdowns with just two interceptions and it"s safe to say the Rams are hoping that"s the guy that winds up under center for them this season. He has essentially the toughest test in the NFL ahead of him, so a poor performance isn"t confirmation that everything is on fire for the Rams, but a good game would do so much for the offense and the confidence of this team.
That said, Foles does not currently suffer from an overabundance of receiving targets. Brian Quick and Kenny Britt are Foles" starting receivers, with Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey behind them. Tight end Jared Cook will likely get the most targets if the Rams can exploit a matchup, but this certainly isn"t an ideal situation for Foles.
As noted, the team also has a new running back in Todd Gurley, a first-round rookie. Unfortunately for St. Louis, Gurley is out for this game with a knee injury -- he"s still recovering from a torn ACL suffered in college -- and Tre Mason also has an injury. That means Benny Cunningham and Isaiah Pead will likely get the majority of the carries against a Seattle defensive front that isn"t quite as good as its secondary, but is still plenty fearsome.
St. Louis will likely find most of its success in this game coming from the defensive side of the ball. The Rams have an absolutely ridiculous offensive line, featuring Robert Quinn, Chris Long, Aaron Donald, Michael Brockers and free agent acquisition Nick Fairley. That line will be tasked with stopping Marshawn Lynch and containing Russell Wilson, and If they can halt Seattle"s offensive production and keep this a low-scoring game, they might be able to pull out an upset.
How to WatchWhen: 1 p.m. ET
Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Mo.
TV: FOX
Announcers: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, Laura Okmin
Online: NFL Game Pass,Verizon NFL Mobile
Source: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/9/13/9309385/rams-seahawks-2015-online-streaming-time-tv-schedule
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