Brown’s not inactive which probably means he’s playing.

Both starting safeties are inactive.

These are the safeties who are active: Blake Countess, John Johnson, Cody Davis, Marqui Christian

Game Preview: Rams Gear Up for an NFC West Matchup with Seattle

Kristen Lago

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Game-Preview-Rams-Gear-Up-for-an-NFC-West-Matchup-with-Seattle/2e4b5334-b4ff-413f-aba2-5f37b735452a

The Rams will be back home at the Coliseum in Week 5 to face their second divisional opponent of the season in the Seahawks. After two consecutive road victories, a win on Sunday afternoon would put Los Angeles in command of the NFC West.

On Sunday the Rams will be looking for their fourth consecutive victory over the Seahawks at home. Recently in the series between the two teams, the Rams have commanded their home turf — including a 9-3 victory over Seattle in Los Angeles’ home opener last season. In all, Seattle has won 22 of the 35 games between the two teams, though the Rams have taken the last four of six contests.

But, this season’s matchup will feature the Rams’ revamped offense led by first-year head coach Sean McVay and a new defensive scheme under coordinator Wade Phillips.

“He’s off to a great start,” Seahawk’s head coach Pete Carroll said of McVay. “They’ve totally turned around their style. The scoring and offense and the ability just to control the football and it’s just really a clear distinction from what it was a year ago. [And] Wade is always going to put together a good defense, so they’ve got a really good thing going.”

But a victory this week will not be easy.

Despite the Seahawks’ early road losses to the Packers and Titans, this weekend’s West Coast matchup will present the Rams with perhaps their toughest challenge yet.

“It’s a great task,” McVay said. “This is an excellent defense. I think you look at the history of what they’ve done over the handful of years — they’ve got All-Pro players really on all three levels: up front, at the linebacker spot and on the back end. They play hard, they’re fundamentally sound, and they’re very well coached.”

“We know these guys and we know what type of game this is,” middle linebacker Alec Ogletree said. “We have to bring a great defense against this team. They have a very talented offense and we have an opportunity on our hands to go out and put up a good show.”

Defensively, the Rams’ main priority will be to contain three-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson. Wilson is widely known for his mobility outside of the pocket, as well as his ability to extend plays by evading defenders.

“He can throw the ball, he can run and really do whatever,” Ogletree said of Wilson. “He’s definitely an elusive guy that can get outside the pocket. It’s going to take everybody sticking with their man and upfront just keeping him contained in the pocket.”

Fortunately for Los Angeles, its defense boasts a loaded front seven led by linemen Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers — who recently made the switch to a 3-4 defensive end in Week 4’s contest against the Cowboys.

Expect outside linebacker Robert Quinn to match up well against left tackle Rees Odhiambo who will play on Sunday despite suffering from a bruised sternum this past week. Quinn has had some of his best games of his career against Seattle and has recorded 11 sacks on the Seahawks throughout six seasons in the league.

Seattle’s leading rusher, Chris Carson will not participate in Sunday’s contest after being placed on injured reserve, but the Seahawks still have a lot of depth at the position. Running backs Thomas Rawls and Eddie Lacy should split the load on the ground this week.

Overall, the Rams defense will need to carry the same performance it showcased in Week 4’s second half against Dallas — where the team held the Cowboys to just six points — into this week’s matchup against the Seahawks.

“We’re going to try to play the second half defense that we played last weekend from now on,” Phillips said with a chuckle this week. “I was pleased with the way we played in the second half. We did learn something about a scrambling quarterback and I think hopefully that will carry over.”

“I thought our team, defensively, has really played well under pressure in those situations — two-point plays that won games and things like that,” he continued. “So, I think things are coming together that way, but like I said, this is one of the top offenses in the league with an elite quarterback, so it’ll be a big challenge.”

Offensively, the Rams enter Week 5 as the league’s No. 1 scoring offense. Quarterback Jared Goff has completed 66.7 percent of his passes, for 1,072 yards and seven touchdowns in 2017. The Seahawks’ defense, however, will challenge the young quarterback.

“I think you look at when they get into those known passing situations, they can come with four-man rushes, they play great coverage on the back end, and they’ve got elite players all over the place,” McVay said of the Seattle defense. “It’s an excellent challenge and I’ve got a whole lot of respect for this defense. We certainly have to be at our best if we’re going to give ourselves a chance to compete.”

On the ground, running back Todd Gurley is coming off of two consecutive 100-yard performances and currently leads the NFL with seven total touchdowns. But this week, running lanes at the second level should be a bit more challenging for Gurley as he goes head-to-head with middle linebacker Bobby Wagner.

In order for the Rams to be successful, the team will need to present Seattle with a balanced ground and passing attack, beginning with the offensive line. Though the O-line has been impressive through four games, it will be tested against a strong Seahawks’ front seven.

“They’re a bunch of really good players,” right tackle Rob Havenstein said. “I think any time you get a bunch of really good football players on one team, it’s going to be a great challenge. They’re a very stingy defense, so we want to go ahead and be as good as we can in all phases run, pass, and whatever else we got. We want to be consistent.”

Sunday will also present a challenge for the Rams’ receiving corps as they face off against Seattle’s “Legion of Boom” led by cornerback Richard Sherman. But Los Angeles will benefit from their versatile group of receivers, including Robert Woods, Sammy Watkins, and Cooper Kupp — who is coming off a solid performance last week against the Cowboys.

“Once again, it’s another challenge,” Kupp said. “We’re really taking a look at Seattle and they have a great, great defense. If we’re going to be able to score points, then we’re going to have to be effective with everybody on field and minimize mistakes with no penalties — just all of the basic things that you’re supposed to do as an offense.”

If the Rams can be efficient in all three phases, they should fare well against the Seahawks on Sunday.

Rams Can Expose the Seahawks on Both Sides of the Ball

Andy Benoit October 06, 2017

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/06/week-5-preview-rams-seahawks-jared-goff-russell-wilson-cam-newton-devin-funchess?utm_campaign=themmqb&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social

1. The Rams are positioned to become the NFL’s most talked-about team on Monday. A win over the more-established Seahawks would make them 4–1 and put them in command of the NFC West. No offense has looked better-schemed than first-year head coach Sean McVay’s. And remember, last year Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur was QBs coach for a Falcons offense that thoroughly exploited the hidden weaknesses of Seattle’s foundational Cover 3 zone. Seattle defensive coordinator Kris Richard is gradually turning the Seahawks into more of a man-to-man unit. The Rams would welcome Richard’s man coverages; McVay has installed a lot of the man-beating pick and rub routes, similar to those that New England runs so well.

​2. The Seattle matchup also favors Los Angeles on the defensive side of the ball, for the simple reason that every play will start with Seattle’s offensive line trying to block Aaron Donald, Robert Quinn and mechanically savvy strongman Michael Brockers. Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips should press the Seahawks receivers (Phillips can keep two safeties back to minimize the risk). If Russell Wilson consistently has to hold the ball, Los Angeles will win.

Pete Carroll, Sean McVay meet as NFL’s oldest, youngest head coaches

Brady Henderson

http://www.espn.com/blog/seattle-seahawks/post/_/id/27153/pete-carroll-sean-mcvay-meet-as-nfls-oldest-and-youngest-head-coaches

RENTON, Wash. — Asked this week about his background with Sean McVay, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll put into perspective the age difference between him and his new counterpart with the Los Angeles Rams.

Or at least he tried to.

“I was good friends with his dad,” Carroll said before pausing to laugh, “when we were at San Francisco, so I can’t tell you much more. I don’t know him, but I think it’s incredibly exciting that a young guy like that could jump in and show that he has command and do a great job right off the bat.”

Carroll knew John McVay from his two-year stint as San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator in 1995 and ’96. McVay was a high-ranking executive in the 49ers front office, considered an unsung hero in constructing the teams that won three Super Bowls under Bill Walsh and two more under George Seifert.

Pete Carroll has players on his roster who are older than the coach who’ll be on the other sideline Sunday. Christopher Mast/Icon Sportswire
One thing, though: Carroll was mistaken. As he acknowledged a few days later, John McVay is actually Sean’s grandfather.

That’s right. Carroll used to work with the grandfather of the guy he’ll be coaching against, which puts into perspective one of the more interesting subplots of Sunday’s game between the Seahawks (2-2) and the division-leading Rams (3-1).

Carroll is the league’s oldest head coach, having turned 66 in September. McVay, 31, became the youngest head coach in the NFL’s modern history when the Rams hired him in January to replace the fired Jeff Fisher. He’s younger than two players on the Rams roster: center John Sullivan, 32, and left tackle Andrew Whitworth, 35. McVay is the same age as Seahawks defensive ends Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, and he’s four years younger than Seattle punter Jon Ryan.

McVay was asked on a conference call this week what’s been the oddest part about being an NFL head coach at 31.

“I think the oddest is probably most of the time when you go to places that people don’t realize what role you have,” he said. “They think you’re an equipment manager or an intern.”

Second-year defensive lineman Quinton Jefferson, who was signed by the Seahawks off the Rams practice squad this week, said it was his observation during the month he spent with Los Angeles that “everyone respected Coach McVay.”

“They really didn’t see the age as a problem,” Jefferson said. “It is kinda strange having a young coach, but he commands the room.”

At the scouting combine in March, a few weeks after McVay was hired, Carroll playfully crashed McVay’s media session and asked him if he takes questions from opposing head coaches.

“My grandfather has a whole lot of respect for Coach Carroll and the way he handled himself and the contributions he made to the 49ers organization,” McVay said this week. “Since I got into coaching, Coach Carroll’s been nothing but great to me and always been willing to help and share some advice and give a perspective.”

Maybe the most helpful advice that Carroll could have given McVay was about his own initial experiences as a head coach. The New York Jets hired Carroll in 1994, when he was 43, and fired him after one 6-10 season. He lasted three seasons with the New England Patriots before he was fired by them, too. Before the Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII, Carroll said it took getting fired twice — and “getting kicked in the butt” — to get to where he was.

Asked on Friday about the biggest challenge for first-timers, Carroll said it’s figuring out what you believe in as a coach, “because you’re going to get challenged so many times and asked so many [times] to come up with so many statements and principles in your approach that you really can’t predict. So you’re challenged at the core of your philosophy. So you’ve just have to go through it and figure it out.

“I think it’s rare when a young guy really can just smoothly go through it, and we don’t see it very often. It shows how prepared Sean is and what a great job he’s doing right now.”

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Practice-Report-Injury-Updates-Facing-Off-Against-the-Legion-of-Boom/7fb8ae74-af91-47f8-afe4-dbb2220bf6b0

Kristen Lago

FACING “THE LEGION OF BOOM”

Though Seattle is coming off of a rough start to their season — losing road games to the Packers and Titans — offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur expects the consistently strong Seattle defense to challenge the Rams offense.

“There’s a lot of continuity,” LaFleur said of the Seahawks’ defense. “You look at them up front and they’ve got multiple Pro Bowlers, those two linebackers are as good as it gets in this league and then again the secondary is, I mean they’ve been able to shut some people down. So, it’s going to be a great measuring stick for our offense.”

Los Angeles’ offense is currently among the best in the league, averaging 35.5 points per game and 383.8 yards per game. Recently against the Seahawks, the Rams have struggled to score touchdowns, putting up a combined 12 points against Seattle last year — all coming from kicker Greg Zuerlein. And in Week 4, Zuerlein kicked seven field goals, contributing 23 of the team’s 35 points against the Cowboys. As LaFleur pointed out, this Sunday, the Rams will need to capitalize on their time in the red zone by scoring touchdowns instead of settling of field goals.

“Unfortunately last week we didn’t quite run it as well as we have been running it,” Lafleur said of the team’s red-zone efficiency. “There’s tighter windows down there so you’ve got to be pin-point with your accuracy. So I would say that we’ve got to run it a little bit better down there and then when the opportunity presents itself for those off-schedules – we’ve got to come through.”

But it won’t be easy.

Seattle boasts a strong secondary deemed “the legion of boom” — a hard-hitting group of defensive backs led by cornerback Richard Sherman and safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor. The group has led a Seattle defense that is consistently regarded as one of the best in the league since 2011.

LaFleur said much of Seattle’s defensive success starts with Thomas, referring to him as a guy “that plays with his hair on fire.” He also gave some insight as to what makes the group so dangerous to play against, pointing out the problems that players like Thomas and Sherman present.

“They’re so good at diagnosing plays and then just teeing off on whatever they see,” he said. “And then you talk about on the outside, both those corners, they’re going to get up and challenge you each and every play.”

“He’s a really long guy and he can get his hands on you,” LaFleur said of Sherman. “I think more than anything else, again a very smart player, and he’s got really good ball skills. So, if you’re off a little bit in terms of whether it’s your route depth or if he can get a beat on what you’re running and that ball isn’t thrown on time with accuracy – he can make you pay.”

New-look Rams can challenge Seahawks for NFC West supremacy

Jim Moore

link: http://sports.mynorthwest.com/349258/jim-moore-predicts-seahawks-rams/

Everyone knows how important Sunday’s game is for the Seahawks. Beat the Rams and both teams are 3-2 with the Seahawks holding the tiebreaker; lose to the Rams, and you’re probably not going to win the NFC West. The Rams would be 4-1, the Seahawks 2-3, and Pete Carroll’s team would basically be three games behind Sean McVay’s team if you consider the tiebreaker.

Thomas Rawls goes from healthy scratch to just plain healthy

I know things can change after the bye week next week, and the Seahawks’ history suggests that it will. They almost always play better in the second half of the season than the first, just like they do in games themselves. Against Indianapolis, the offense did next to nothing in the first half and scored more points (36) than any other team in franchise history in the second half.

But, I don’t see it turning around this year like it has in the past. The Seahawks look like a 9-7 team, maybe even an 8-8 team to me. Let me ask you something: if you can put subjectivity aside, given a choice between 8-8 and 11-5, which record do you truly think they’ll end up with? Don’t say 10-6 or 9-7, because I’m not offering those as options here. If you had to pick 8-8 or 11-5, which would it be?

That’s an easy answer for me based on what we’ve seen so far. For starters, at 2-2, they’re on a pace for 8-8. Their only two wins came over the 49ers and Colts, teams that have a combined 1-7 record. The only win by the Colts was over a Browns team that has lost 29 of its last 31 games.

I can see the offensive line and running game improving, but not dramatically. The O-line will continue to hold this team back, and I’m not as sold on the defense as I used to be, particularly with Cliff Avril out for what might be the rest of the season. The run defense has been surprisingly subpar.

Sunday’s matchup is one that features the old dog trying to retain its status in the NFC West against the new pup with a new coach that sits on Gatorade buckets and is 35 years younger than Carroll. McVay is 31-years-old and has inspired something into Jared Goff and the Rams’ offense, which was last in the NFL last year and first this year, averaging 35 points a game.

If I’m going to keep using my canine analogy, Sunday afternoon I think the pup is going to keep bothering the old dog, and the old dog will put up with him awhile and might even nip back to show the new pup who’s the boss, but in the second half, I’m pretty sure the old dog is going to head to another room to try and get away from the new pup because he can’t take it anymore.

There are two best hopes for the Seahawks, and the Groz offered one of them on the Show of Record. The Rams were a so-so team under Jeff Fisher — but whatever Fisher didn’t have against other teams, his Rams could beat the Seahawks. The formula of a bad offense, terrific defense and gimmick plays was enough to get it done against Carroll’s team.

But this new-look Rams’ team, even though it has mostly the same personnel on defense, is giving up 26 points a game under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who is supposed to be one of the best DC’s in the game. I suspect he still is, but the switch from a 4-3 to a 3-4 will take some adjustment time. I’m merely guessing that to be the case, but when you give up 39 points to the 49ers, something’s amiss.

So Groz’s point — or at least, what I think his point is — is that the Rams have a different team and might be more susceptible to losing to the Seahawks than they were before. Certainly the Seahawks should be able to move the ball against this version of the Rams.

The other hope is that the Seahawks, who have no doubt heard Rams this and Rams that this week, could rightfully ask: “What about us?” They are still one of the Super Bowl favorites, and if I’m them, I’m thinking the road to the NFC West championship still goes through Seattle, even if this game is being played in L.A. I expect a great overall effort from the offense in particular; plus, Goff won’t put up the numbers like he did against the Colts, Niners and Cowboys.

A bonus reason for hope? The Redskins beat the Rams in L.A. If the Redskins can win there, certainly the Seahawks can too.

But for every reason why the Seahawks could win, I’ll call you and raise you several other reasons why the Rams will. Right now, at least, they have a better team based on the results thus far. Their offense is clearly better, and Goff has been sacked only four times to Wilson’s 10. Goff’s receivers are better, and so is his offensive line. With Todd Gurley, the Rams have a better running back, too. On special teams, I’d take Greg Zeurlien and Johnny Hekker over Blair Walsh and Jon Ryan.

Defensively you’d have to give the edge to the Seahawks, but it’s not big enough to turn the game in their favor. The Seahawks were slight underdogs to Green Bay and Tennessee and lost both games. It’s the same scenario here, and nothing’s changed as far as I can tell. In fact, it’s gotten slightly worse with the losses of Chris Carson and Avril and Jeremy Lane for this game, which is why I like the Rams in decisive fashion.

Seahawks (+1) at Rams: Rams 30, Seahawks 17