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I am sure most of you have already seen this........
BY JIM THOMAS jthomas@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8197 | Posted: Monday, December 12, 2011 12:10 am | (11) Comments
SEATTLE — Thirteen players are on injured reserve, which is one of the highest totals in the NFL.
Three of five starters on the offensive line are done for the year. In addition, two starting cornerbacks are finished, plus the top wide receiver, and a pass-catching tight end. The quarterback has nursed a nagging injury through much of the season.
Boy, the Seattle Seahawks sure have had a ton of injuries this season.
When it comes to injuries, and lots of them, the Seahawks are keeping pace with the Rams, who have 14 players on injured reserve and an almost identical laundry list of season-ending injuries on the offensive line, at cornerback, wide receiver and tight end. Even at quarterback, there's Sam Bradford's ankle injury and Tarvaris Jackson's pectoral muscle injury.
But when it comes to the standings, the Rams can't keep up with Seattle.
Entering tonight's edition of Monday Night Football, the Rams are 2-10 and listing badly. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are 5-7, winners of three of their last four, and still mathematically in the hunt for a wild-card berth. Besides the injuries, they're doing it with one of the younger rosters in the league.
Nobody feels sorry for you. ... That's the longtime saying in the NFL when it comes to injuries. The Seahawks certainly aren't feeling sorry for themselves. In fact, they seem to be gathering momentum and finding their identity following a 2-6 start even as the injuries pile up.
"This is really the formula that we came in here a year ago to try to create," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "We didn't find it last year, but never left the philosophy and the approach. We just couldn't find it with the makeup that we had.
"But this year with all the young guys, it just took us a long time to get going up front. But this is what we've been shooting for, and this is the style of play that we want to play. So we're going to try to keep it going."
Over the past month, it's a formula characterized by a strong running game, a snarling defense and a favorable takeaway-giveaway differential. The Seahawks may be a very long shot for postseason play, but try telling that to the crazies who will pack CenturyLink Field (formerly Qwest Field) for tonight's 7:40 (St. Louis time) kickoff.
"I've played out there a number of times, and everything that you hear is true," Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "It's one of the great places in this league to play outside, and they generate a ton of noise."
The last time the Rams traveled to the Pacific Northwest, they faced the Seahawks in a game that decided the NFC West championship on the final day of the 2010 regular season. Nothing's at stake except for job security this time around. Long ago eliminated from postseason consideration, what exactly are the Rams playing for tonight? Or for the final four games of this lost season?
"You prepare as if you're undefeated because that's your résumé out there," said offensive tackle Adam Goldberg.
"The first thing is you play for pride, and then secondly the love of the game," running back Steven Jackson said. "You don't want to turn on the film on Mondays or Tuesdays, or whenever you're doing a grade sheet, and have guys questioning your heart or your love for the game."
And from coach Steve Spagnuolo: "I mean for all of us, all of the work and effort you put in during the week, the reward at the end of the week is to be in that locker room together after having beaten an opponent. That 15 minutes in the locker room, it doesn't matter what the game means, that 15 minutes to me is special. ... I know that guys have a lot of pride in that, and for me each week it's to get that feeling."
It's a feeling the Rams have experienced far too infrequently in recent years.
As team owner Stan Kroenke decides what to do with his head coach and general manager Billy Devaney, he may wonder why those special "15 minutes" have occurred only 10 times in 44 games under Spagnuolo. He will look long and hard for signs of the professionalism and pride that Jackson and Goldberg spoke of.
But when it comes to all the injuries, he probably won't accept that as an excuse. The Seahawks certainly aren't.
Read more: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/seahawks-outplaying-the-rams/article_95b548c1-0a56-59c0-9b47-aea32fc4189a.html#ixzz1gM16iI3V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1gM16iI3V</a>
BY JIM THOMAS jthomas@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8197 | Posted: Monday, December 12, 2011 12:10 am | (11) Comments
SEATTLE — Thirteen players are on injured reserve, which is one of the highest totals in the NFL.
Three of five starters on the offensive line are done for the year. In addition, two starting cornerbacks are finished, plus the top wide receiver, and a pass-catching tight end. The quarterback has nursed a nagging injury through much of the season.
Boy, the Seattle Seahawks sure have had a ton of injuries this season.
When it comes to injuries, and lots of them, the Seahawks are keeping pace with the Rams, who have 14 players on injured reserve and an almost identical laundry list of season-ending injuries on the offensive line, at cornerback, wide receiver and tight end. Even at quarterback, there's Sam Bradford's ankle injury and Tarvaris Jackson's pectoral muscle injury.
But when it comes to the standings, the Rams can't keep up with Seattle.
Entering tonight's edition of Monday Night Football, the Rams are 2-10 and listing badly. Meanwhile, the Seahawks are 5-7, winners of three of their last four, and still mathematically in the hunt for a wild-card berth. Besides the injuries, they're doing it with one of the younger rosters in the league.
Nobody feels sorry for you. ... That's the longtime saying in the NFL when it comes to injuries. The Seahawks certainly aren't feeling sorry for themselves. In fact, they seem to be gathering momentum and finding their identity following a 2-6 start even as the injuries pile up.
"This is really the formula that we came in here a year ago to try to create," Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. "We didn't find it last year, but never left the philosophy and the approach. We just couldn't find it with the makeup that we had.
"But this year with all the young guys, it just took us a long time to get going up front. But this is what we've been shooting for, and this is the style of play that we want to play. So we're going to try to keep it going."
Over the past month, it's a formula characterized by a strong running game, a snarling defense and a favorable takeaway-giveaway differential. The Seahawks may be a very long shot for postseason play, but try telling that to the crazies who will pack CenturyLink Field (formerly Qwest Field) for tonight's 7:40 (St. Louis time) kickoff.
"I've played out there a number of times, and everything that you hear is true," Rams offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "It's one of the great places in this league to play outside, and they generate a ton of noise."
The last time the Rams traveled to the Pacific Northwest, they faced the Seahawks in a game that decided the NFC West championship on the final day of the 2010 regular season. Nothing's at stake except for job security this time around. Long ago eliminated from postseason consideration, what exactly are the Rams playing for tonight? Or for the final four games of this lost season?
"You prepare as if you're undefeated because that's your résumé out there," said offensive tackle Adam Goldberg.
"The first thing is you play for pride, and then secondly the love of the game," running back Steven Jackson said. "You don't want to turn on the film on Mondays or Tuesdays, or whenever you're doing a grade sheet, and have guys questioning your heart or your love for the game."
And from coach Steve Spagnuolo: "I mean for all of us, all of the work and effort you put in during the week, the reward at the end of the week is to be in that locker room together after having beaten an opponent. That 15 minutes in the locker room, it doesn't matter what the game means, that 15 minutes to me is special. ... I know that guys have a lot of pride in that, and for me each week it's to get that feeling."
It's a feeling the Rams have experienced far too infrequently in recent years.
As team owner Stan Kroenke decides what to do with his head coach and general manager Billy Devaney, he may wonder why those special "15 minutes" have occurred only 10 times in 44 games under Spagnuolo. He will look long and hard for signs of the professionalism and pride that Jackson and Goldberg spoke of.
But when it comes to all the injuries, he probably won't accept that as an excuse. The Seahawks certainly aren't.
Read more: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football/professional/seahawks-outplaying-the-rams/article_95b548c1-0a56-59c0-9b47-aea32fc4189a.html#ixzz1gM16iI3V" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stltoday.com/sports/football ... z1gM16iI3V</a>
