Five keys to keep an eye on when Seattle shoots for its 11th straight victory over the Rams on Sunday morning.
1) Sam Bradford vs. Earl Thomas, the rematch
Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford has been opening eyes, showing why he was the first pick in April's draft. But while this will be the first look at him for most of the Seahawks, one defender is pretty familiar already.
Bradford was 28 for 39 for 387 yards with five touchdowns in Oklahoma's 45-35 loss to Texas in 2008. But Bradford was intercepted twice in that game ... both times by a young redshirt freshman by the name of Earl Thomas.
"I had a pretty solid game and we won," Thomas recalled this week. "Those were my first interceptions. He's a great quarterback. We knew he'd put up some numbers, but we just had to hold up out there."
Thomas happened to get his first two interceptions of his NFL career last week and now renews his rivalry with Bradford on the same weekend as Oklahoma and Texas meet again in the college ranks.
The two didn't see much of each other last year as Bradford hurt his shoulder early against the Longhorns. Thomas had an interception later in the contest against Bradford's backup, one of eight in his sophomore season.
Any advantage to having some background with Bradford?
"It helps a little bit," Thomas said. "We're both rookies and we're going through growing pains right now. But I'm pretty positive it helps for me to have seen him in college."
The Seahawks will try to pressure Bradford into mistakes, but he completed 23 of 37 passes for 235 yards in a 30-16 win last week over the Redskins and now gets a shot against a Seattle secondary that surrendered 455 yards to Philip Rivers last week.
The Seahawks won't take Bradford lightly.
"He doesn't look like a rookie," linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "He hurt his shoulder last year? You could never tell. He's whipping that ball around."
2) Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
Looking for a simple reason why the Seahawks are 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road this season?
In their two home wins, Seattle has a 6-3 advantage in turnovers-takeaways. On the road at Denver, they were 0-4.
Coach Pete Carroll has made a huge issue of turnovers on both sides of the ball, knowing that's where most games are won and lost, and he says the Seahawks' defense has to take the same aggressive approach on the road they have at Qwest.
That's easier said than done, of course. Seattle is just 3-14 on the road since 2007 and almost always struggles to mount the same defensive heat without the 12th Man crowd noise advantage.
But Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley took the blame for his unit's less-aggressive approach in Denver, saying he dropped more players into coverage trying to counter the Broncos' four-receiver sets.
Chris Clemons, who had two sacks last Sunday against San Diego, insists it doesn't matter whether he's home or away.
"It's not more difficult, it's just the matter of the quarterback getting the ball out of his hands," Clemons said. "My approach is always the same. I go in with the same mind-frame and attitude every day. It's just a matter of how their team is blocking."
The Seahawks seem to be whistling into the wind on this issue a bit, however, given the defense has had six sacks and 20 quarterback hits in the two home games, but just one sack and one QB hit at Denver.
They'll need to mount far more pressure than that if they hope to force turnovers Sunday.
3) Spin the wheel again on that offensive line
Perhaps the most staggering development of this Seahawks season so far is that Seattle goes into its fourth game of the year with five of its 10 offensive lineman having joined the team since the preseason ended.
Not to mention a new offensive line coach following the sudden departure of Alex Gibbs.
The merry-go-round continues this week with rookie first-round draft pick Russell Okung making his first start at left tackle now that his sprained right ankle has sufficiently healed.
Of course, now that Okung is back, right tackle Sean Locklear has come up with a knee issue that kept him out of practice all week. That means new-found hero Tyler Polumbus could well get the call again, this time on the right side.
Things could get very interesting if Okung's ankle doesn't hold up and Locklear can't go. Next in line at tackle right now is Breno Giacomoni and he just arrived Wednesday after being signed off the Packers' practice squad.
More likely, in an emergency the Seahawks would shift right guard Stacy Andrews out to tackle and move Mike Gibson -- who was released Tuesday and re-signed Thursday -- in at guard.
"Everybody questions continuity and it's a big thing with the offensive line," said Art Valero, the man who has taken over Gibbs' spot. "But in the National Football League, with injuries and guys coming and going as you try to better your team, that's going to happen. Especially in your first year in a system. Hey, whoever they bring in, we coach up and get 'em ready to play."
4) Defensive depth ... the Tru test
When the Seahawks traded Josh Wilson to Baltimore just before the season started, the obvious question would be what happened if Marcus Trufant or Kelly Jennings got hurt.
We got a glimpse of that answer when Trufant went down with an ankle injury early in the third quarter last week. The Chargers proceeded to light up Seattle's secondary with Rivers throwing for 337 yards after intermission.
Not all of that was a result of Trufant's absence since Aaron Curry and Brandon Mebane were also out. And rookie corner Walter Thurmond actually played relatively well in place of Trufant, finishing with seven tackles and one pass breakup in the end zone.
But you can bet the Rams will look Thurmond's way early and often if the fourth-round draft pick from Oregon is in the lineup.
"I love the challenge," Thurmond said. "I want them to throw the ball my way. It just leads to opportunities to make plays on the ball and try to get interceptions. I'm just trying to help the team out as much as possible.
"Hopefully Tru gets healthy and gets back as soon as possible. But if he's not able to play, I'm going to have to step up and fill his shoes again."
5) Steven Jackson gunning for 100 ... or zero
Rams running back Steven Jackson remains a big question mark as he strained a groin muscle last Sunday and wasn't able to practice except for some very limited work on Friday.
Jackson was the second-leading rusher in the NFL last year and his presence is huge, both in terms of his bruising 236-pound frame and for how he can provide some balance for Bradford at quarterback.
Interestingly though, the Seahawks have historically done a pretty decent job of containing the former Oregon State star. He's yet to rush for 100 yards against Seattle in 11 games, though he's reached 89, 90, 91 and 93.
The big man averages 73.6 yards against Seattle on the ground, plus another 31.5 receiving. Toss in seven touchdowns in those 11 games and he's done his damage, just perhaps not as much as you might expect.
But the Seahawks certainly wouldn't mind seeing backup Kenneth Darby instead of Jackson when they line up Sunday. Tatupu and Aaron Curry have both had their run-ins with Jackson in the past.
"It's always a task going against him," Tatupu said. "It's kind of become a rivalry for me, since we played at Oregon State and SC and I always had to go against him. Then when I got drafted by Seattle I thought, 'I'm reunited with Steven Jackson.'
"He'll let you know when he gets you. But you love that attitude and competition another player brings. He's got that never-quit attitude and they feed off it. He's an integral part of their offense."
Whether he is or not this Sunday, however, remains to be seen.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/223372.asp
1) Sam Bradford vs. Earl Thomas, the rematch
Rams rookie quarterback Sam Bradford has been opening eyes, showing why he was the first pick in April's draft. But while this will be the first look at him for most of the Seahawks, one defender is pretty familiar already.
Bradford was 28 for 39 for 387 yards with five touchdowns in Oklahoma's 45-35 loss to Texas in 2008. But Bradford was intercepted twice in that game ... both times by a young redshirt freshman by the name of Earl Thomas.
"I had a pretty solid game and we won," Thomas recalled this week. "Those were my first interceptions. He's a great quarterback. We knew he'd put up some numbers, but we just had to hold up out there."
Thomas happened to get his first two interceptions of his NFL career last week and now renews his rivalry with Bradford on the same weekend as Oklahoma and Texas meet again in the college ranks.
The two didn't see much of each other last year as Bradford hurt his shoulder early against the Longhorns. Thomas had an interception later in the contest against Bradford's backup, one of eight in his sophomore season.
Any advantage to having some background with Bradford?
"It helps a little bit," Thomas said. "We're both rookies and we're going through growing pains right now. But I'm pretty positive it helps for me to have seen him in college."
The Seahawks will try to pressure Bradford into mistakes, but he completed 23 of 37 passes for 235 yards in a 30-16 win last week over the Redskins and now gets a shot against a Seattle secondary that surrendered 455 yards to Philip Rivers last week.
The Seahawks won't take Bradford lightly.
"He doesn't look like a rookie," linebacker Lofa Tatupu said. "He hurt his shoulder last year? You could never tell. He's whipping that ball around."
2) Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers
Looking for a simple reason why the Seahawks are 2-0 at home and 0-1 on the road this season?
In their two home wins, Seattle has a 6-3 advantage in turnovers-takeaways. On the road at Denver, they were 0-4.
Coach Pete Carroll has made a huge issue of turnovers on both sides of the ball, knowing that's where most games are won and lost, and he says the Seahawks' defense has to take the same aggressive approach on the road they have at Qwest.
That's easier said than done, of course. Seattle is just 3-14 on the road since 2007 and almost always struggles to mount the same defensive heat without the 12th Man crowd noise advantage.
But Seahawks defensive coordinator Gus Bradley took the blame for his unit's less-aggressive approach in Denver, saying he dropped more players into coverage trying to counter the Broncos' four-receiver sets.
Chris Clemons, who had two sacks last Sunday against San Diego, insists it doesn't matter whether he's home or away.
"It's not more difficult, it's just the matter of the quarterback getting the ball out of his hands," Clemons said. "My approach is always the same. I go in with the same mind-frame and attitude every day. It's just a matter of how their team is blocking."
The Seahawks seem to be whistling into the wind on this issue a bit, however, given the defense has had six sacks and 20 quarterback hits in the two home games, but just one sack and one QB hit at Denver.
They'll need to mount far more pressure than that if they hope to force turnovers Sunday.
3) Spin the wheel again on that offensive line
Perhaps the most staggering development of this Seahawks season so far is that Seattle goes into its fourth game of the year with five of its 10 offensive lineman having joined the team since the preseason ended.
Not to mention a new offensive line coach following the sudden departure of Alex Gibbs.
The merry-go-round continues this week with rookie first-round draft pick Russell Okung making his first start at left tackle now that his sprained right ankle has sufficiently healed.
Of course, now that Okung is back, right tackle Sean Locklear has come up with a knee issue that kept him out of practice all week. That means new-found hero Tyler Polumbus could well get the call again, this time on the right side.
Things could get very interesting if Okung's ankle doesn't hold up and Locklear can't go. Next in line at tackle right now is Breno Giacomoni and he just arrived Wednesday after being signed off the Packers' practice squad.
More likely, in an emergency the Seahawks would shift right guard Stacy Andrews out to tackle and move Mike Gibson -- who was released Tuesday and re-signed Thursday -- in at guard.
"Everybody questions continuity and it's a big thing with the offensive line," said Art Valero, the man who has taken over Gibbs' spot. "But in the National Football League, with injuries and guys coming and going as you try to better your team, that's going to happen. Especially in your first year in a system. Hey, whoever they bring in, we coach up and get 'em ready to play."
4) Defensive depth ... the Tru test
When the Seahawks traded Josh Wilson to Baltimore just before the season started, the obvious question would be what happened if Marcus Trufant or Kelly Jennings got hurt.
We got a glimpse of that answer when Trufant went down with an ankle injury early in the third quarter last week. The Chargers proceeded to light up Seattle's secondary with Rivers throwing for 337 yards after intermission.
Not all of that was a result of Trufant's absence since Aaron Curry and Brandon Mebane were also out. And rookie corner Walter Thurmond actually played relatively well in place of Trufant, finishing with seven tackles and one pass breakup in the end zone.
But you can bet the Rams will look Thurmond's way early and often if the fourth-round draft pick from Oregon is in the lineup.
"I love the challenge," Thurmond said. "I want them to throw the ball my way. It just leads to opportunities to make plays on the ball and try to get interceptions. I'm just trying to help the team out as much as possible.
"Hopefully Tru gets healthy and gets back as soon as possible. But if he's not able to play, I'm going to have to step up and fill his shoes again."
5) Steven Jackson gunning for 100 ... or zero
Rams running back Steven Jackson remains a big question mark as he strained a groin muscle last Sunday and wasn't able to practice except for some very limited work on Friday.
Jackson was the second-leading rusher in the NFL last year and his presence is huge, both in terms of his bruising 236-pound frame and for how he can provide some balance for Bradford at quarterback.
Interestingly though, the Seahawks have historically done a pretty decent job of containing the former Oregon State star. He's yet to rush for 100 yards against Seattle in 11 games, though he's reached 89, 90, 91 and 93.
The big man averages 73.6 yards against Seattle on the ground, plus another 31.5 receiving. Toss in seven touchdowns in those 11 games and he's done his damage, just perhaps not as much as you might expect.
But the Seahawks certainly wouldn't mind seeing backup Kenneth Darby instead of Jackson when they line up Sunday. Tatupu and Aaron Curry have both had their run-ins with Jackson in the past.
"It's always a task going against him," Tatupu said. "It's kind of become a rivalry for me, since we played at Oregon State and SC and I always had to go against him. Then when I got drafted by Seattle I thought, 'I'm reunited with Steven Jackson.'
"He'll let you know when he gets you. But you love that attitude and competition another player brings. He's got that never-quit attitude and they feed off it. He's an integral part of their offense."
Whether he is or not this Sunday, however, remains to be seen.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/football/archives/223372.asp
