reporters on the SEATTLE game, including tweets n articles n vids

Sam Farmer‏@LATimesfarmer
All subject to change, but at this snapshot in time, Rams would be No. 3 seed, playing host to Atlanta in the first round.*

*To be used for entertainment purposes, not for wagering.

NFL Research‏@NFLResearch
The #Seahawks 42-7 loss to LAR is their:
• Worst loss of the Pete Carroll era
• Most points allowed (tied) in a game in the Carroll era (Wk 12, 2010 vs KC)
• Worst home loss since Week 1, 1997 (41-3 L vs NYJ)
• Worst loss since Week 16, 2009 (48-10 L at GB)

Jimmy Garoppolo has won each of his first 5 NFL starts, making him the first QB to do so since Ben Roethlisberger in 2004

Jason La Canfora‏@JasonLaCanfora
Garoppolo is the real deal. He’s gonna be very, very rich, very, very soon

Rich Eisen@richeisen
worst beatdown ever suffered by the @Seahawks at home. Or away. Wow. @RamsNFL mean business.

Vincent Bonsignore‏@DailyNewsVinny
Todd Gurley on emphatic #Rams win: “These guys have been kicking our ass last 10/15 yrs. You have to enjoy & take advantage of the situation

Rams rip Seahawks apart in changing of NFC West guard

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/rams/2017/12/17/rams-rip-seahawks-apart-changing-nfc-west-guard/959711001/

SEATTLE – Experience is overrated. Just ask Sean McVay and the Los Angeles Rams.

Much of the 2017 season has served as an expose of such as the first-year head coach and his coaching staff have guided second-year quarterback Jared Goff and a retooled roster on a surprising run toward the playoffs.

Sunday’s 42-7 beatdown over the Seattle Seahawks further drove home the point, and could have signaled a changing of the guard.

The Rams put on a clinic as they improved to 10-4 and took one step closer to clinching both the NFC West and a playoff spot. They scored at will and put up a season-high in rushing yards (244) behind Todd Gurley’s 152 yards and three touchdowns. The Rams defense throttled the Seahawks offense, sacking Russell Wilson seven times and holding the unit to a season-low both in yards (149) and points. The Rams’ defense also ensured that its offense started six of seven first-half possessions in Seahawks territory.

Stunned would best describe the mood at CenturyLink Field, where the home crowd hadn’t seen their Seahawks lose by more than a touchdown since Russell Wilson took over as the starting quarterback in 2012.

“This was just one of those wins where everything was clicking for us and we didn’t want to let up,” Gurley said. “These guys been kicking our ass the last 10, 15 years, so you’ve got to enjoy it and take advantage of the situation.”

This was supposed to be the hotly contested rematch of teams vying for the top spot in the division. In their first meeting of the season, Seattle pulled off a six-point victory in a shootout that saw Goff and the Rams fall short of a crucial late first-down by just six inches while threatening on a potentially game-winning drive.

This Sunday, both teams found themselves coming off of disappointing losses – the Rams to the Eagles, and the Seahawks to the Jaguars – and badly needing rebound performances to help their cases.

L.A. owned the better record, but a Seattle win would have given the Seahawks a two-game head-to-head edge as they clung to hopes of running the table and winning the division.

Typically, the Seahawks fare well in these high-pressure situations, and their familiarity with such seemed to translate into an edge over the upstart Rams.

But experience did nothing for Seattle Sunday. Their battered defense – missing three Pro Bowl players in Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril – offered no resistance, and their offensive line provided Wilson little protection.

Wilson has provided one heroic after another in recent weeks to keep his team in the thick of things. But on Sunday, he proved incapable of willing his team to a competitive level of play, let alone victory.

All season long, McVay has found a way to get his players to respond to adversity and capitalize on prime opportunities. And the 31-year-old did it again this week as he got his team understand the sense of urgency as they traveled to one of the toughest stadiums to play in, and then delivered a smackdown.

The win over Seattle means that the Rams once again avoided losing back-to-back games, as they have all season. They have able to do this because their coach has taught them the art of compartmentalizing, whether after losses or victories, and moving onto the next challenge.

Meanwhile, Pete Carroll – 35 years McVay’s senior and in his eighth season as coach of the Seahawks – couldn’t push the right buttons on Sunday.

This game really could have concluded after one half. The defense swarmed Seattle’s offense so fiercely that the Rams offense repeatedly received prime real estate, starting six of seven first-half possessions in Seahawks territory while rolling to four touchdowns and a pair of field goal.

The first half concluded with the scoreboard reading 34-0 and the home fans booing heavily as the Seahawks headed to the locker room.

Little changed in the second half, which mercifully concluded some 90 minutes later with the stadium only a quarter filled and backup Sean Mannion in for Los Angeles.

The Rams are on the verge of making the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2011. Plagued by an aging defense, and with Wilson surrounded by few offensive weapons, this franchise could be bracing for an offseason overhaul.

Rams Take Control of NFC West, Defeat Seahawks 42-7

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Rams-Take-Control-of-NFC-West-Defeat-Seahawks-42-7/493b9bb2-adb7-4d9b-b9a7-0ad7104266ed

SEATTLE — It’s never easy to beat the Seahawks in Seattle. The Rams know that as well as any team, having won at CenturyLink Field only once the 2004 season.

But Los Angeles certainly made it look easy on Sunday, as the club beat Seattle 42-7 to take a commanding two-game lead in the NFC West with just two regular-season games to go.

The Rams were dominant throughout the first half, building a 34-0 lead at halftime. Todd Gurley had 144 yards and three rushing touchdowns at halftime — the most yards rushing for any player in the first half this season. Pharoh Cooper had three punt returns of at least 25 yards, each of which set up an offensive touchdown. And the Rams forced and recovered a pair of fumbles, each of which led to points.

L.A. had an average starting field position of the Seattle 42 in the first half, which was a clear factor in building the advantage. In fact, the 34-point margin represented the Rams’ largest road halftime lead in franchise history.

Again — that’s all just in the first half.

The Rams started on defense and picked up their seventh opening-possession takeaway of the year when safety Lamarcus Joyner popped the ball out of wide receiver Tanner McEvoy’s grasp. Middle linebacker Alec Ogletree was there to recover the loose ball, putting L.A. at the opponent’s 40. Kicker Greg Zuerlein nailed his 36-yard field goal attempt to give the Rams a 3-0 lead.

With a strong defensive stand capped by defensive tackle Aaron Donald’s first of three sacks on the day, Seattle’s punt put the Rams at midfield to start their second drive. A false start penalty took Los Angeles out of its groove in the red zone, but Zuerlein hit a 31-yard field goal to give the Rams another three points.

After another strong defensive stand, Cooper barely missed his second return touchdown of the year. John Ryan’s punt went 44 yards to the L.A. 46, and Cooper was tackled inside the one-yard line for a 53-yard punt return. But there was no drama, as Gurley scored his first touchdown of the game with a one-yard touchdown.

L.A. had another chance to score early in the second quarter, but quarterback Jared Goff threw an interception on 4th-and-1. That actually gave Seattle worse field position, and a false start pushed the home team further into its own territory. After what amounted to a three-and-out, Cooper returned a punt 26 yards to the Seattle 36.

A 15-yard pass from Goff to wideout Cooper Kupp put L.A. in the red zone. And Gurley finished the drive with another one-yard touchdown, putting L.A. up 20-0.

The hits kept coming as outside linebacker Robert Quinn recorded a strip sack that defensive lineman Morgan Fox recovered at the Seattle 39. L.A. capitalized on that opportunity with a one-yard touchdown pass from Goff to wideout Robert Woods — who was playing his first game back from a shoulder injury. That score made it 27-0.

The visitors got one more touchdown before halftime, as Gurley took a handoff 57 yards to the endzone on 3rd-and-20 with just 37 seconds left in the period. The running back went untouched for his third touchdown of the half, which brought him to 144 yards on 16 carries — the most rushing yards of any player in the first half in 2017.

Gurley wasn’t done, however, adding his fourth touchdown in the third quarter. L.A. once again started a drive in opponent territory following a Seattle unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. With passes to Woods and wideout Sammy Watkins, the Rams moved into the red zone. And Goff capped it with a 14-yard pass to Gurley. While Zuerlein missed the extra point, the touchdown still gave the Rams a 40-0 lead.

Seattle got on the board later in the third quarter, when Wilson hit tight end Luke Willson with a 26-yard touchdown pass over the middle.

But that was all the Seahawks could muster against the Rams’ starting unit. L.A. inserted Sean Mannion at quarterback with 12:39 left in the fourth quarter. And then the Rams earned two more points when Wilson committed intentional grounding from the end zone for a safety.

With the victory, the Rams are now 10-4 with a two-game lead in the NFC West with just two games to go. L.A. will travel to Tennessee to play the Titans next week with a chance to clinch the NFC West title in the penultimate regular-season game.

What went wrong? Everything. Here are three impressions from the game.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/instant-analysis-three-thoughts-on-the-rams-dethroning-of-the-seahawks-as-nfc-west-kings-in-42-7-blowout/

This was billed as the biggest game of the year for the Seahawks, with the NFC West title and their playoff hopes hanging in the balance.

It turned out to be Seattle’s biggest loss of the year, as the Los Angeles Rams thumped them 42-7 to hand the Seahawks their worst loss at home since Week 1 of the 1997 season, when the Jets beat them 41-3. This also marked the first time since 2010 that Seattle has allowed 40 points in a game.

What went wrong? Everything. Here are three impressions from the game.

1. The Seahawks are no longer the kings of the NFC West
With the win, the Los Angeles Rams improved to 10-4, and are all but guaranteed to clinch the NFC West division title.

Consequently, the Seahawks dropped to 8-6 and put a significant dent in their playoff hopes – especially with the Saints (10-4) and Panthers (10-4) both winning Sunday. If the Seahawks want to make the playoffs, they now have to win out against Dallas (with tailback Ezekiel Elliott back in the lineup) next week, and Arizona on New Year’s Eve, pray that the Falcons lose to the Bucs on Monday, and hope the Rams stumble in their last two games.

Regardless, Sunday’s game showed that the Rams are now the class of the NFC West. This is a complete football team that doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses. Quarterback Jared Goff has blossomed in his sophomore season, and the Rams have surrounded him with ample talent in tailback Todd Gurley and receivers Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins and Cooper Kupp.

On defense, Aaron Donald, Conor Barwin and Robert Quinn ran over the Seahawks’ offensive line and rendered Russell Wilson ineffective, while cornerback Trumaine Johnson and safeties Nickell Robey-Coleman and rookie John Johnson III held things down on the back end.

2. After weathering injuries all season, this was the game that broke the Seahawks defense
All season long, Seattle’s defense has hung on, pulling together and patching holes despite losing star after star. The Seahawks weathered through losing defensive end Cliff Avril, cornerback Richard Sherman and safety Kam Chancellor to season-ending injuries.

But against the Rams Sunday, it became clear that defensively, Seattle finally broke.

K.J. Wright sat out the Rams game due to a concussion sustained last week against Jacksonville, and with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner visibly hampered by the hamstring injury that kept him out of practice this week, Seattle’s defense was no match for a relentless Rams offense led by running back Todd Gurley.

Gurley had his way with the Seattle defense, rushing 30 times for 144 yards and three touchdowns – in the first half.

Perhaps the play that epitomized how badly the Seahawks caved to Los Angeles defensively came at the end of the second quarter, when, on third-and-20 from the 43, Gurley picked his way through the entire Seahawks’ defense for a 57-yard touchdown run that put the Rams up 34-0.

Gurley picked up where he’d left off in the second half, catching a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jared Goff to put the Rams up 40-0 early in the third quarter. Thereafter, with the game in hand, the Rams pulled Gurley and Malcolm Brown got to take his turn running through Seattle’s defense.

3. About all that talk of Seattle’s improved offensive line? Never mind
Seattle’s offensive line has looked a little better in recent weeks since the team acquired Duane Brown in a trade with Houston, and Luke Joeckel rejoined the line at left guard after knee surgery.

Seattle allowed two sacks in each of its last two games, and none against San Francisco. But against the Rams, they gave up a season-high seven sacks, with Donald accounting for three, and Quinn for two. The Rams also had nine quarterback hits, with four coming from Donald and two from Barwin.

The Rams’ seven sacks on Wilson are equal to the number of sacks Seattle has given up in its last four games combined.

PETER KING December 18, 2017

from: https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/12/18/steelers-patriots-survive-ground-jerry-richardson-panthers-sale-mmqb-peter-king

THE AWARD SECTION

Todd Gurley, running back, Los Angeles Rams. Four touchdowns and 180 total yards in the penultimate fantasy Sunday for most of America means a fair amount. Doing it against the rival Seahawks, on the road, in a blowout victory, to all but clinch the division and a playoff spot means a lot more. Gurley’s great, and so is his team and coach. Overlook these Rams next month at your peril.

Aaron Donald, defensive tackle, Los Angeles Rams. For the millionth time in this great Seahawks era of football, the offensive line failed to protect Russell Wilson even a little bit. But credit one of the best games of Donald’s starry four-year NFL career. He had three sacks of Wilson, and led the seven-sack dominance of the Seattle offensive front.

What a day for Todd Gurley: four touchdowns, and a continuation of the kind of impact that previous Rams running backs have not made since Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk.

I cannot envision a scenario where I don’t vote for Sean McVay for coach of the year—and that’s even with the crazy-good job done by Doug Marrone.

Zooey wrote:

Deacon Jones had 159.5 with the Rams.

Yeah, official v. unofficial stats.

If you do the unofficial numbers, Youngblood had 151.5, Larry Brooks had 68.5, Coy Bacon had 130 (though not all with the Rams), and Olsen had 94.