What a great game! I felt confident even when we fell behind. Rams looked like they loaded the box more to stop the run which has been really successful recently, and then Sam just burned them to the ground!! That is what is so amazing about this Team: Offends/ Defense/ Special Teams - they can beat you with any or all. GM is clicking, making killer moves, including hiring the best young Head Coach in the NFL. Coach MM has no ego, sticks to “process”, which is the same mantra used by Nick Saban to win 7 Natty’s. Coach has players council, which actually listens to players on practice schedule, recovery from games on short weeks, etc, which makes the players invested and giving maximum effort. Coach MM’s appreciation for everyone and no ego is contagious, and instead of “me-me” players like DK and Geno, we have selfless players like Darnold, JSN, Leo, D-Law, EJ IV…and speaking of GM, how about ample cap space to sign your FA Stars, too! K-9 has to come back, Woolen, I am not so sure…he will be offered crazy money, and he has terrible lapses in both effort and judgement…depends on whether Coach MM believes he can “fix” that. For Draft we need starting OG, likely a starting CB with risk of loss of Riq or Jobe, WR depth, and Edge given likely loss of Mafe. Draft seems to line up for us in those areas this year. Not that much Round 1 killer talent, but good depth overall particularly in Edge, and WR.
Favorite TD pass was a tie between BOBO and Kupp, both of whom are tireless, selfless contributors to a team of ego-less professionals, just like their HC!!
Rams fans might look at their yards (374 + 114 = 488) vs. the Seahawks’ yards (346 + 75 = 421) and feel that they had the better team and should have won. That’s 67 more yards! How easy it is to ignore Special Teams!
If you set the baseline for kickoffs as the 35 yard line and for punts at the 20 yard line, here are the results…
The Seahawks earned 62 hidden yards on kickoffs and 22 yards on non-muffed punts. I’ll count the muffed punt as a 56 yard offensive play on 4th down. That’s a total of 140 hidden yards for Special Teams.
The Rams got 8 hidden yards on kickoffs and -5 on punts for a total of 3 hidden yards on Special teams.
Adding this to the pass and run totals, the Rams got 491 gross yards. The Seahawks got 561 gross yards for a 70 yard advantage. (The Rams had a 20 yard advantage on penalty yards, but given the uncalled PI against Shaheed as he was pushed at the sideline, I’m skipping those. “Clearly uncatchable” is BS, when the ball hits the receiver’s helmet!)
Imagine if Sam or Walker had another 140 yards in that game. Statues would be in order. 140 yards on special teams? Aside from the turnover, few noticed.
Excellent analysis…I always pore over the stats to see where we won or lost the game. If you just look at raw numbers, you might have thought Rams beat us, but Rams were 1/8 on 3rd down, Hawks were 7/13. But your analysis of hidden yards is spot on!
Woolen likely will never act that immature again. Unless he really is a DK follower in which case his days as a seahawk are numbered McVey's post game interview was such a disappointment. He may be a great coach, but you lost buddy, PERIOD
Going into the game, the Rams were 7-0 with this ref. We'll, despite some questionable calls or lack thereof, we beat the rams and refs fair and square
Most exciting game I have attended since coming in2008
K9 made a significant statement as to why we should extend him. # of years will be the issue.
Let's keep Lawrence!
Geezer, our O line has come a long way.
Thank you Cooper for contributing against your old team
McVey is nuts not believing special teams are critical
Nacua, stop acting like you are playing in a playground. Show some maturity
After hearing official official’s reason for calling the penalty (it wasn’t anything he said, he just kept jawing after we told him to stop), I’m less down on Riq than I was. Given the situation—late in a contested hard-played conference championship), it seems to me that a zeeb could have grabbed Ernest Jones or the nearest Seahawk and said “get him away from the Ram’s bench or we’ll flag him.” Anyway, a non-contact penalty under the circumstances seems almost pedantic.
2 of those were in the first 3 weeks of the season. Patriots have played better as the season won't on and they are now 4-2 against teams with winning record. Also they are now 2nd (if counting playoffs) in DVOA passing the Rams. They are good. It remains to be seen how well they matchup. Rams offense certainly does to the Seahawks defense. We don't know about the Pats.
The Seahawks really missed Charbs yesterday. I think they would have been more successful running the ball, not that Walker wasn’t awesome, but the duo is definitely better together. I think they also missed Ouzts as well. I can imagine Walker busting one or more with Ouzts clearing the path. Hopefully he will be able to play in two weeks. Brady Russell and Drake Thomas also went down with injuries yesterday.
I was impressed with Holani earlier in the year and maybe it's just a case of him being injured and idle so long and not getting much playing time this year. Hopefully he'll be able to be a bigger impact in the super bowl.
On the Rams special teams point, you gotta wonder what the culture is there. On the punt that Young recovered, you could see his guy quickly get beat, and then just kind of jog afterward. The effort was zero, and in such a big moment. To me that seemed very telling about the culture in their club around special teams.
What a great question -- which touchdown pass is favorite. That one is REALLY hard. I loved Kupp's score. He works his tail off, and even though he has clearly lost a step or two, he plays so smart. I loved Bobo's score because MORE BOBO! And it was such a good read by both him and Sam. And the JSN score was a beautifully designed play. So nice to see them scheming things up for him (how does a defense ever lose track of him?!). If I had to pick one it would probably be Bobo. What a reward for a guy who has stuck with it for the Seahawks.
I didn’t get to watch the game, so I am basing this off the 18-minute YouTube highlights… The Rams seemed to own the trenches on both sides, and once again our secondary appeared porous vs McVay/Stafford. Is that accurate? And if so, what is it about the Rams scheme
that gives Seattle fits? Our O-line looked like world-beaters the past two game. Same with D line. And secondary.
Lastly, is there a flaw that NE can learn from and exploit? Or is it just personnel?
I love me some NFL+ for just that reason. Condensed game versions are a great way to view a game you missed or other teams you want to watch but not dedicated 2.5 hours
Both O-lines played well. The Rams surprised us with a couple of bigger runs (11 yards and 19 yards) on second down plays. They were successful but not explosive in the run game. We were similar. K9 had a very good first quarter, which helped open up the game for Darnold's passing success. K9 was great receiving the ball as well.
The difference was more about how the coaches called the game than it was about personnel. We didn't want to get beat by Stafford and they wanted to make Darnold beat them. Both teams paid for these choices in predictable ways and both teams were only marginally successful in making each other one-dimensional.
Stafford made some incredible throws and got away with a couple. The Rams aggressive defense made more splash plays, but also gave Darnold more easy looks. I think watching the highlights might skew the impression of how the game played out because of this.
Would love for you to link your "middle 8" article for newer Seasiders.
Favorite touchdown pass was to Cooper Kupp to just stick it in the Rams face!
What a great game! I felt confident even when we fell behind. Rams looked like they loaded the box more to stop the run which has been really successful recently, and then Sam just burned them to the ground!! That is what is so amazing about this Team: Offends/ Defense/ Special Teams - they can beat you with any or all. GM is clicking, making killer moves, including hiring the best young Head Coach in the NFL. Coach MM has no ego, sticks to “process”, which is the same mantra used by Nick Saban to win 7 Natty’s. Coach has players council, which actually listens to players on practice schedule, recovery from games on short weeks, etc, which makes the players invested and giving maximum effort. Coach MM’s appreciation for everyone and no ego is contagious, and instead of “me-me” players like DK and Geno, we have selfless players like Darnold, JSN, Leo, D-Law, EJ IV…and speaking of GM, how about ample cap space to sign your FA Stars, too! K-9 has to come back, Woolen, I am not so sure…he will be offered crazy money, and he has terrible lapses in both effort and judgement…depends on whether Coach MM believes he can “fix” that. For Draft we need starting OG, likely a starting CB with risk of loss of Riq or Jobe, WR depth, and Edge given likely loss of Mafe. Draft seems to line up for us in those areas this year. Not that much Round 1 killer talent, but good depth overall particularly in Edge, and WR.
Favorite TD pass was a tie between BOBO and Kupp, both of whom are tireless, selfless contributors to a team of ego-less professionals, just like their HC!!
What a great time to be a Seahawks fan!!!!
That comment about former coaches seeing ghosts was ice cold...I was dying laughing
Rams fans might look at their yards (374 + 114 = 488) vs. the Seahawks’ yards (346 + 75 = 421) and feel that they had the better team and should have won. That’s 67 more yards! How easy it is to ignore Special Teams!
If you set the baseline for kickoffs as the 35 yard line and for punts at the 20 yard line, here are the results…
The Seahawks earned 62 hidden yards on kickoffs and 22 yards on non-muffed punts. I’ll count the muffed punt as a 56 yard offensive play on 4th down. That’s a total of 140 hidden yards for Special Teams.
The Rams got 8 hidden yards on kickoffs and -5 on punts for a total of 3 hidden yards on Special teams.
Adding this to the pass and run totals, the Rams got 491 gross yards. The Seahawks got 561 gross yards for a 70 yard advantage. (The Rams had a 20 yard advantage on penalty yards, but given the uncalled PI against Shaheed as he was pushed at the sideline, I’m skipping those. “Clearly uncatchable” is BS, when the ball hits the receiver’s helmet!)
Imagine if Sam or Walker had another 140 yards in that game. Statues would be in order. 140 yards on special teams? Aside from the turnover, few noticed.
Thanks for this!
Excellent analysis…I always pore over the stats to see where we won or lost the game. If you just look at raw numbers, you might have thought Rams beat us, but Rams were 1/8 on 3rd down, Hawks were 7/13. But your analysis of hidden yards is spot on!
Thanks for the knowledge bomb SHR. That really helps sync up yards with results.
I was as worthless as a Rams CB at work today :)
Fav TD pass: BOBO!!!!
Just general comments
Let's put Sam's abilities to rest. Period
Woolen likely will never act that immature again. Unless he really is a DK follower in which case his days as a seahawk are numbered McVey's post game interview was such a disappointment. He may be a great coach, but you lost buddy, PERIOD
Going into the game, the Rams were 7-0 with this ref. We'll, despite some questionable calls or lack thereof, we beat the rams and refs fair and square
Most exciting game I have attended since coming in2008
K9 made a significant statement as to why we should extend him. # of years will be the issue.
Let's keep Lawrence!
Geezer, our O line has come a long way.
Thank you Cooper for contributing against your old team
McVey is nuts not believing special teams are critical
Nacua, stop acting like you are playing in a playground. Show some maturity
After hearing official official’s reason for calling the penalty (it wasn’t anything he said, he just kept jawing after we told him to stop), I’m less down on Riq than I was. Given the situation—late in a contested hard-played conference championship), it seems to me that a zeeb could have grabbed Ernest Jones or the nearest Seahawk and said “get him away from the Ram’s bench or we’ll flag him.” Anyway, a non-contact penalty under the circumstances seems almost pedantic.
"The Patriots only faced 3 teams during the season that finished with a winning record. New England went 1-2 in those games."
Holy shit, I'm going to start celebrating our SB win now.
2 of those were in the first 3 weeks of the season. Patriots have played better as the season won't on and they are now 4-2 against teams with winning record. Also they are now 2nd (if counting playoffs) in DVOA passing the Rams. They are good. It remains to be seen how well they matchup. Rams offense certainly does to the Seahawks defense. We don't know about the Pats.
The 12s are with Seaside Joe.
The Seahawks really missed Charbs yesterday. I think they would have been more successful running the ball, not that Walker wasn’t awesome, but the duo is definitely better together. I think they also missed Ouzts as well. I can imagine Walker busting one or more with Ouzts clearing the path. Hopefully he will be able to play in two weeks. Brady Russell and Drake Thomas also went down with injuries yesterday.
I was impressed with Holani earlier in the year and maybe it's just a case of him being injured and idle so long and not getting much playing time this year. Hopefully he'll be able to be a bigger impact in the super bowl.
He did have 3 catches, I think the return of Ouzts would help him too.
Ouzts is missed...
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one that noticed Dickson’s game.
Hats off SJ. 🎩
You might enjoy this (it’s brief):
https://youtu.be/NwbMNkvwFdM?si=bTAEmUYeGCPGe2eS
Love it!
I feel sorry for the punt returners though…..not really.
"NFL winners and losers: The Super Bowl hurtles towards an inevitable stomp."
... one headline showing that "We're Not The Only Ones." believing.
On the Rams special teams point, you gotta wonder what the culture is there. On the punt that Young recovered, you could see his guy quickly get beat, and then just kind of jog afterward. The effort was zero, and in such a big moment. To me that seemed very telling about the culture in their club around special teams.
McVey would fully deserve the Offensive Coach OTY, but his ST units totally disqualify him from the overall COTY awards
ooh, cold burn. Good notice, BW.
What a great question -- which touchdown pass is favorite. That one is REALLY hard. I loved Kupp's score. He works his tail off, and even though he has clearly lost a step or two, he plays so smart. I loved Bobo's score because MORE BOBO! And it was such a good read by both him and Sam. And the JSN score was a beautifully designed play. So nice to see them scheming things up for him (how does a defense ever lose track of him?!). If I had to pick one it would probably be Bobo. What a reward for a guy who has stuck with it for the Seahawks.
I didn’t get to watch the game, so I am basing this off the 18-minute YouTube highlights… The Rams seemed to own the trenches on both sides, and once again our secondary appeared porous vs McVay/Stafford. Is that accurate? And if so, what is it about the Rams scheme
that gives Seattle fits? Our O-line looked like world-beaters the past two game. Same with D line. And secondary.
Lastly, is there a flaw that NE can learn from and exploit? Or is it just personnel?
I love me some NFL+ for just that reason. Condensed game versions are a great way to view a game you missed or other teams you want to watch but not dedicated 2.5 hours
Both O-lines played well. The Rams surprised us with a couple of bigger runs (11 yards and 19 yards) on second down plays. They were successful but not explosive in the run game. We were similar. K9 had a very good first quarter, which helped open up the game for Darnold's passing success. K9 was great receiving the ball as well.
The difference was more about how the coaches called the game than it was about personnel. We didn't want to get beat by Stafford and they wanted to make Darnold beat them. Both teams paid for these choices in predictable ways and both teams were only marginally successful in making each other one-dimensional.
Stafford made some incredible throws and got away with a couple. The Rams aggressive defense made more splash plays, but also gave Darnold more easy looks. I think watching the highlights might skew the impression of how the game played out because of this.