The Seahawks And Rams Are Both Peaking Before Their Massive Week 11 Clash

If you want to cognize really Mike Macdonald feels astir his team, you tin find that successful past week’s believe schedule. The Seahawks were returning from a Sunday nighttime crippled successful Washington, and nan second-year coach’s activity council, during their regular meetings pinch him, suggested giving nan guys a chance to get their legs back.

So Wednesday’s believe was conscionable a walkthrough, and they’d make a tweak later successful nan week, too.

“What’s good, what I emotion astir our team, is nevertheless we determine we want to do our process, they’re bought successful connected it,” Macdonald said, from his agency astatine Lumen Field early Sunday night. “So really we travel, really we do Fridays, really we do Saturdays, nan cool point is immoderate we consciousness for illustration nan squad needs, we’ve been capable to set really we do things without sacrificing our principles successful really we want to operate. 

“We talked to nan leaders connected Friday. They told me, ‘We still request to slow down nan tempo.’ And truthful we adjusted connected Friday. It’s nan full methods-and-principles thing, wherever we’re capable to set those things, but nan intent of really we hole has stayed nan same.”

In different words, nan methods are flexible, nan principles are not.

And astatine this point, nan results are undeniable. Sunday’s breezy 44–22 triumph complete nan Cardinals successful Seattle was nan Seahawks’ 4th straight, but that’s conscionable portion of nan communicative astir wherever nan squad is successful Macdonald’s 2nd twelvemonth successful charge.

A rested, fresh-legged Seahawks unit burst from nan gross for illustration Secretariat—again. They scored touchdowns connected agelong drives connected their first 3 possessions and carried a 38–7 halftime lead, which, remarkably, is nan 3rd clip successful 9 games this twelvemonth that they’ve scored complete 30 points successful nan first half.

What’s more? Against Arizona, somehow, they sewage there, past held connected for a 44–22 win, pinch a full of 12 passing attempts. If you propulsion successful Arizona’s 1 sack, that’s 13 called walk plays against 46 rushes for nan Seattle offense.

“How many?” Macdonald asked, aft I asked him whether he’d ever been portion of a crippled pinch his squad logging truthful fewer throws.

“I didn’t cognize that [it was conscionable 12],” he said, pinch genuine astonishment successful his voice. “No, I don’t deliberation truthful … unless I was coaching for Navy aliases something.”

Whatever you want to comparison it to, it’s clear, tucked distant up successful nan Pacific Northwest, nan benignant of level nan Seahawks are playing at. They’re balanced and deep. The quarterback, Sam Darnold, has had a triple-digit passer standing successful six of his past 7 games. Jaxon Smith-Njigba mightiness beryllium nan league’s Offensive Player of nan Year. The defense is apical 10 successful nan league, without existent discernable holes successful nan lineup.

And adjacent week, each that will beryllium tested erstwhile these 7–2 Seahawks sojourn nan 7–2 Rams.

There were tons of examples, done Sunday’s 42–26 smackdown of nan 49ers, of nan grade to which Matthew Stafford is emotion it. The Rams scored connected their first 3 possessions of each half and only punted twice. The backmost threw for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns. Twice successful nan 2nd half, nan Niners drew wrong a touchdown, and some times Stafford responded pinch a touchdown drive.

But location was nary play that seemed to tie much enjoyment from him, aliases coach Sean McVay, than 1 that didn’t count pinch 2:42 left. Facing fourth-and-1, Stafford delivered a difficult count to nan Niners’ protect front, and seasoned DT Jordan Elliott jumped, taking nan past fewer vestiges of dream distant from nan hosts.

“Any clip you don’t person to tally nan play to get that first down, aft staying disciplined?” receiver Davante Adams said complete nan phone, astir an hr aft nan fact. “That’s 1 of our tools, our cadence. We did a bully occupation astatine it, and we’re going to proceed to usage it.”

One of their many tools.

The spot of nan Rams starts, of course, pinch their MVP campaigner quarterback—and it could return a while to screen nan rest. Los Angeles has a sturdy line, rugged backs, a deep, versatile group of receivers and a fearsome protect front. The 1 existent problem area, corner, was addressed a mates weeks backmost pinch the waste and acquisition for nan Titans’ Roger McCreary.

And nan malleability each that gives nan squad was noticeable connected this peculiar Sunday.

Stafford vanished nan time pinch 24 completions (on 36 attempts) to 8 different receivers, 4 of them tight ends. Two of those tight ends—Colby Parkinson and Davis Allen—caught touchdown passes. Which happened chiefly because nan Rams leaned heavy into 13-personnel looks—with a back, a receiver and 3 tight ends connected nan section astatine once.

“The measurement Sean’s capable to dial it up evidently puts america successful awesome position, and makes it reliable connected defenses,” Adams told me. “They spot 13-personnel spell retired there, a bunch of tight ends, they deliberation it’s run-heavy and we spell retired and tally play-action, and it limits immoderate of nan things they’re doing. Sean’s a awesome play-caller and we sewage a batch of weapons astatine each position, to nan constituent wherever we tin do immoderate we want.”

Next week, it mightiness beryllium going backmost to aged staples retired of 11-personnel, playing pinch 2 backs aliases spreading Seattle out. The extent of some nan group and nan shot encyclopedia Stafford has successful his caput enables nan Rams to tie connected immoderate of it to combat immoderate an force brings.

And being successful that situation has not only helped each nan young guys GM Les Snead has brought successful and McVay has developed—it’s besides helped pump life backmost successful nan aged vet, Adams.

“It starts from nan apical down. There’s awesome ownership here, wide manager’s a G, and nan caput coach is who he is, we each cognize what Sean’s about,” Adams said. “And past erstwhile you look astatine nan roster, we’ve sewage everything other successful place, a winning team, winning civilization arsenic well. It’s a batch of nosy to beryllium a portion of thing for illustration this. It conscionable brings retired nan champion successful me.”

They’ll request it Sunday, of course.

Matthew Stafford is simply a apical MVP campaigner this play pinch nan measurement he has dispersed nan shot astir to his playmakers. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

So now, nan battlelines are drawn.

For his part, Adams pleaded ignorance connected nan Seahawks—he’s caller to nan NFC West, and has yet to spot his Week 11 force connected tape, having put each his activity into nan teams he’s played against frankincense far. Macdonald has gotten himself a small much of a look-see astatine what’s coming next, and his attack to nan week won’t alteration much.

“I deliberation nan trap is to say, ‘O.K., this is different,’” Macdonald said. “They’re a really bully team. They’re a squad that we’re going to request to beryllium capable to beat. But, to me, you don’t springiness your squad nan champion chance to triumph if you commencement making it astir them. You person to understand really they operate. You gotta nail your crippled plan. But what’s gotten america to this constituent is america playing nan champion type of shot that we tin play.  

“I cognize it sounds for illustration stupid and cliché, but that’s really really we’ve decided we want to roll,” Macdonald said. “And that’s what we person to nail again this week. Gotta person a awesome week. Gotta person a awesome crippled scheme arsenic coaches. We can’t beryllium going crazy. Just spell do what we request to do. There’s gonna beryllium immoderate things passim nan week that I don’t cognize that we’re gonna beryllium capable to do, methods-wise, wherever we’re gonna person to adjust, truthful our team’s fresh to spell play our champion ball.”

Which, very clearly, has worked for nan Seahawks frankincense far.

We’ll spot really nan full point holds up successful Inglewood successful 7 days.

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