St. Louis Rams (7-8 SU, 7-8 ATS) @ Seattle Seahawks ( 12-3 SU, 10-5 ATS)
NFL Week 17
Date and Time: December 29, 2013 4:25 p.m. EST.
Where: CenturyLink Field, Seattle, WA.
TV: FOX
by Wilson, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: Stl +10/SEA -10
Over/Under Total: 42.5
If the Seattle Seahawks do what they’ve done best over
the past two years which is win at home-they should be a lock to secure
home field advantage throughout the playoffs by beating the St. Louis Rams this Sunday
in their last regular season contest. Despite the fact Seattle lost to the
Arizona Cardinals at CenturyLink Field last week (their first loss at home
with Russell Wilson as the starter) the Seahawks will look to get back on
track and put the Rams away early and often. Some folks are a bit skeptical
of the Hawks after they had a poor offensive showing versus the Cards but
Seattle QB Russell Wilson took full responsibility and admitted he did not
play well. In fact, Wilson showed up at the same time Monday morning (4:45
a.m.) as Head Coach Pete Carroll to break down game film and figure out
how to best prepare for the Rams as well as fix the offensive funk that
sputtered in the Card’s matchup. The Seahawks will be pressed to win or
they may have to enter the playoffs via Wild Card and travel-it goes without
mentioning the Seahawks need to stay home and use the 12th man to pave a
route to another Super Bowl.
The Rams come into Sunday’s contest winners of their last two games and hope to spoil Seattle’s quest for a home field run. The total has gone under 6 of the last 7 times St. Louis has played Seattle. The total has gone under in 4 of St. Louis’s last 5 games. With the total currently at 42.5 coupled with Seattle’s tenacious defense the under may be the logical wager but the Hawks are capable of putting up big numbers at home especially after a weak output in their previous outing.
Seattle’s main difficulty will be scoring points against the Rams, the Hawk’s haven’t put up more than 20 points on the Rams in their last three head to head matchups. Another factor the Hawks must address is QB protection-Russell Wilson has been sacked 10 times in the last three games which is cause for concern as the team attempts to make a deep playoff run. St. Louis has won 4 of 6 down the stretch and will be certain to push the Seahawks as best they can as well as hunt down Russell Wilson in hopes he makes mistakes.
St. Louis comes into Sea-town with the league’s top rushing defense since week 10; they have only allowed 68 yards on the ground per game in their last 6 contests. They will be tested well by both Marshawn Lynch and the scrambling of QB Russell Wilson. However, the Rams have not won in Seattle since 2004 when they won a NFC Wild Card game 27-20. Perhaps the key matchup in this contest will be RB Marshawn Lynch versus the Ram’s rush D. The Rams D held Lynch to just 23 yards rushing in October and Lynch has been under 100 yards rushing in each of his last five games. If Lynch gets going it will be tough for the Rams to stop the Hawks at home. Meanwhile, it is quite rare for Seattle QB Russell Wilson to be off two consecutive games in a row-watch out Rams-Wilson is super smart and spends a ton of time on game film; he will be prepped and ready to pick apart the Rams.
Seattle needs to get started early and keep the momentum going all the way through to the Superbowl. Seattle cannot get away with every-other game offensive production-they need it strong every snap! If the Hawk’s do their jobs on both sides of the pigskin they should be having an excellent post-game steak dinner at The El Gaucho restaurant just a few blocks away from the field. Take the Seahawks in a slaying of the Rams 45-17! Luck to ya.
Wilson’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Seahawks minus the points. Luck to ya