Resurgent Rams face major test in Seahawks
NFC West showdown a chance to add legitimacy to turnaround in Los Angeles
The Los Angeles LOS ANGELES Rams are 3-1 for the second straight season. They even beat the Seattle Seahawks at the Coliseum during that start last year, before it degenerated into a 4-12 fiasco of a homecoming.
Both the Rams and their opponents seem to think their 3-1 record this year is no mirage. The latest visit from Seattle should tell a whole lot more.
“It’s very early in the season, four games in,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said. “We’re happy with what we’ve done, but a lot of work to do and a long season ahead.”
The Seahawks (2-2) revive this burgeoning West Coast rivalry Sunday against coach Sean McVay’s Rams, who are leading the NFL in scoring. That’s a stunning turnaround for a team that had the NFL’s worst offence the past two seasons, and the NFC West powerhouse up north has noticed.
“The schemes don’t look so much different, but the production is just there,” Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. “Their tempo is really good. It seems to have played into Jared’s strengths. He had a great off-season. He had one of the great freshman-sophomore jumps that you can have.”
While the Rams have new left tackle Andrew Whitworth and a revamped receiving corps, Seattle’s veteran defence is even more impressed by Goff ’s improvements — and Todd Gurley’s revitalization as one of the NFL’s most productive running backs. The Seahawks didn’t allow a touchdown by the Rams in their two meetings last season, but these Rams aren’t the same pushovers.
The Rams’ start includes victories over rebuilding San Francisco and Andrew Luck-less Indianapolis, but last week’s win at Dallas added an air of legitimacy to McVay’s quick turnaround effort. Seattle presents the Rams’ most
daunting challenge yet, despite the Seahawks’ early-season road losses to Green Bay and Tennessee.
“We have a whole lot of respect for the Dallas Cowboys, but it is still four games, and we’ve got 12 games left,” McVay said. “While we certainly appreciate the nice words, we know it really doesn’t mean anything if we don’t follow it up with a good performance against an excellent Seattle team this week.” YOUNG AND OLD: The game features the youngest (31-year-old McVay) and oldest (66-year-old Carroll) coaches in the league. Carroll joked that being a head coach was never in his mind when he was a 31-year-old defensive co-ordinator at North Carolina State before moving to his alma mater, the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
“I wasn’t thinking about being a head coach until almost it happened,” said Carroll, who became the Jets’ head coach at 43. “That was not something I was thinking about. I just wasn’t tuned into it. I was just rolling along. We had a couple young guys that jumped in this year and the guys are off to great starts and it’s fantastic to see.”
McVay has expressed his admiration of Carroll’s enthusiasm on the sideline. Carroll spent two years in the 1990s as the defensive co-ordinator of the San Francisco 49ers while John McVay — the coach’s grandfather — was wrapping up his long career as a 49ers executive. RUNNING RAWLS: With rookie Chris Carson on injured reserve due to ankle surgery, the Seahawks are back to the combination of Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy as their primary ball carriers.