Seattle Edges St. Louis in Similar Style
By Nick Wagoner
Senior
Writer
SEATTLE – In a rivalry where the only thing predictable is the
unpredictability, the Rams and Seahawks have made a habit of finding outrageous
finishes that not even the wildest imagination could draw up.
Unfortunately for a Rams team that once was the beneficiary of
those endings, the tables have turned. In yet another nail-biting ending, the
Seahawks squeaked by the Rams 24-22 at Qwest Field on Sunday.
The loss drops the Rams to 4-5 and is their fourth in a row
overall and to the Seahawks. Meanwhile, Seattle improves to 6-3 and takes a
commanding lead in the NFC West Division. It was a disappointing finish for a
Rams team in desperate need of a victory against a banged-up Seattle team.
While all losses count the same, this one puts the Rams in a
difficult position in terms of any remaining postseason hopes.
“We definitely have an uphill climb from here on out,” guard
Adam Timmerman said. “We hurt ourselves today but I know nobody is going to
throw in the towel. I know the leadership on this team is not going to hang it
up right now.”
Although the circumstances were different, the ending to this
contest came with a one familiar finish. Kicker Josh Brown booted a 38-yard
field goal with nine seconds left for the final margin after a series of
unfortunate events led to the Rams’ demise.
Trailing 21-16 with 8:19 to play, the Rams began a march toward
the end zone that had all the makings of another big drive the team had in the
first meeting.
In that game, St. Louis came up with one big play as quarterback
Marc Bulger hit Torry Holt for a spectacular, 67-yard touchdown catch before
Brown booted a 54-yard field goal to win the game as time expired.
This time the drive was more drawn out but the scoring play was
no less spectacular. After Bulger picked through Seattle’s defense to get to the
14-yard line, coach Scott Linehan called for a draw to running back Steven
Jackson out of the shotgun.
Jackson took the handoff with a big hole on the right side.
Jackson burst through the line and dragged a pile of about five Seahawks and
some Rams with him into the end zone for a 22-21 lead.
But, as Jackson and the Rams tried to disengage to celebrate the
score, Jackson had his helmet ripped off by a Seattle defender. The Rams’
offensive line hustled to his defense and attempted to protect its running
back.
Unfortunately for the Rams, the only flag that came out resulted
in a 15-yard personal foul penalty on center Richie Incognito to be enforced on
the kickoff.
“My offensive line was protecting me,” Jackson said. “Incognito
did exactly what he was supposed to do and protect his running back.
Unfortunately we got the flag and they didn’t. He did what offensive linemen are
taught to do, protect the runner.”
The Rams went for a two-point conversion and after converting
initially, lost the points because of a holding penalty on Incognito. The
ensuing attempt failed and the Rams had a 22-21 lead, but a precarious lead at
best considering the field position that Seattle was almost certain to get.
“We all make mistakes, but you can’t make mistakes in a critical
time in the game that will effect field position,” said Linehan.”When you have a
team like Seattle with a short field, it can cost you and in that case it
did.”
Indeed it did. Kicking into a heavy wind, JeffWilkins didn’t get
all of it and Seattle’s Josh Scobey returned a kick that came from the St. Louis
15 for 33 yards to the St. Louis 49.
Four plays later, Brown was in field goal range and split the
uprights with nine seconds left. The Rams tried to lateral the ball around on
the kickoff, but Kay Jay Harris was stopped short of the miracle return.
Of course, it was a miracle return that had Seattle in position
to win at all late in the game. After a third quarter and most of the fourth
quarter of St. Louis defensive dominance, the Rams had Seattle caught in a game
of field position that they were winning.
With 8:38 to play, punter Matt Turk lifted a perfect kick to the
right side of the field that Seattle returner Nate Burleson fielded at his 10.
Instead of calling for a fair catch, Burleson appeared to flinch and stutter
step as the ball came down.
The Rams’ third-ranked punt coverage team was in position to
make a play, but seemed to hesitate to hit Burleson as though it thought he had
indeed called for the fair catch.
Burleson took the ball and made Harris miss as he took off down
the sideline. Turk had him in his sights, but couldn’t use the sideline to his
advantage as Burleson juked and ran past him on his way to a 90-yard return that
gave Seattle a 21-16 lead with 8:19 to play.
Linehan and the Rams were unsure of what caused the hesitation
by the coverage team, but Harris said he was thrown by the way Burleson caught
the ball.
“I didn’t see it if he did (signal fair catch),” Harris said. “I
kind of caught a glimpse of him when he caught it he kind of gave a little
stutter step that threw me off and I just got an arm on him and just missed
him.”
Even with the special teams miscue, the Rams had some
opportunities to put the Seahawks away. After a tough defensive first half in
which the only highlight came when defensive end Leonard Little forced a fumble
and Victor Adeyanju returned it 89 yards for a touchdown, the defense changed
its stripes in the second and was playing perhaps its best football of the
season.
As Seattle stuck to its guns with similar play calling to the
first half, the Rams figured them out and took advantage. In fact, the Seahawks
gained just 40 yards in the second half, including only 16 in the third
quarter.
With the defense dominating, the offense had a few opportunities
to put the Seahawks away. With 2:21 left in the third quarter, safety Oshiomogho
Atogwe came free on a blitz and hit Seattle quarterback Seneca Wallace, causing
the ball to pop loose. Linebacker Raonall Smith fell on it at Seattle’s 33.
With a 16-14 lead and excellent field position, the Rams seemed
poised to punch it in and take a commanding two-possession lead. On third-and-6,
Bulger threw a pass to the left to Kevin Curtis that was ruled incomplete.
Replays clearly showed that Curtis made the catch, but that
Curtis was about a yard and a half short of the first down. Linehan sent the
kicking team on the field and Wilkins connected from 35 yards out to seemingly
give the Rams a 19-14 lead.
Instead, Linehan tossed the challenge flag in hopes that Curtis
had the catch and the first down. The Rams were awarded a reversal and given the
ball at Seattle’s 12 for a fourth-and-1.
Linehan was faced with the decision of going for it and possibly
taking a two possession lead or taking the kick and a five-point lead. He opted
for the former.
"The whole idea was if they had gotten to fourth and short we
were going to consider going for it anyways because if we score a touchdown on
that drive, it’s a pretty good situation for us,” Linehan said.
Linehan called for a double route on the right side that would
force Seattle’s defense to choose between defending tight end Joe Klopfenstein
or fullback Paul Smith. The Rams hit a similar play in the first meeting that
resulted in a 28-yard gain for Klopfenstein.
The play calls for Smith to run into the flat with Klopfenstein
running to the deep corner. This time, Smith was unable to hear the call and was
nowhere to be found as Bulger’s first option.
Given limited time to throw, Bulger attempted to put the ball to
Klopfenstein’s left shoulder against the outside leverage coverage of the
Seahawks. But the ball fell to the ground incomplete and the Rams came away with
no points.
“It’s one of those things where you are going in trying to win
the ball game and definitely getting a first down or a touchdown in that
situation would have put them away because our defense had stepped up and was
playing better,” Timmerman said.
Staring at the final seven games on the schedule, the Rams must
now find a way to bounce back if they want to force their way back into the
playoff picture. Fortunately for them, the NFC appears to remain wide
open.
“It’s pretty frustrating,” Linehan said. “You can’t let it get
to you. My job as well as everybody else’s on this football team is to keep
hanging in there as tough as it gets. It doesn’t get any easier now.”
