St Louis Rams vs Seattle Seahawks
I predicted these two teams would top the NFC West this year, but to put it lightly there is a huge talent gap in both rosters. The Rams are 3-17 against the Seahawks since 2005 and generally the games have been of a low scoring nature. Although it doesn’t mean much the Rams are 0-4 for in pre-season and the Seahawks are 2-2 after winning their last two.
The Rams biggest worry will be the lack of a run game against the experience and stature of the Seattle defence. Tre Mason has had problems with his hamstring and will be a game time decision but it doesn’t give off great signals, Todd Gurley their number one pick of the draft is also out for at least the first three weeks of the season which leaves Ben Cunningham as their go to man. Cunningham has no where near the ability to make his presence felt against Seattle’s defence. This means new man Nick Foles will be looking towards the likes of Austin and Britt in the aerial department. To be fair, their job has got easier without the services of Chancellor for the Hawks but to find these men consistently is an extremely tough ask and you struggle to find how they will put points on the board other than field goals. No doubt the Seahawks will have to come together as Chancellor was the ‘captain’ of their defence, marshalling his team mates with leadership and his general quality on the field.
The Rams have an average age of just under 25, this comes with advantages and disadvantages but going into a season opener against the might of the opposition, you have to be worried about how well they will cope with the pressure.
The Rams biggest advantage is of course their stellar pass rush. Aaron Donald is coming off a fantastic rookie season and without the services of Max Unger the Rams will be looking to put immense pressure on Russell Wilson who gave up 42 sacks last year. Wilson has the ability and patience to get things done however and although he may get sacked a couple of times I dobelieve that when it matters he’ll find Lynch a hole or one of the wide receivers to make the Rams pay.
The Rams generally start the season slow and I believe that will be the case again here, to make it close they’ll have to be absolute dominant in defence, rely on Tavon Austin to make a few big plays and get to work on special teams. There’s too main ‘ifs and buts’ to be liking the Rams this early and I think we’ll see Wilson and the Seahawks make a solid start to pursuing the Superbowl again. I do believe the handicap line is too generous not to go with Seattle.
4pt win Seattle Seahawks -3.5 Alternative Handicap @ 4/5
(-4pt)
Challenge Bet - Philadelphia Eagles to win @ 4/6
To start us off I’m going to go with the Philadelphia Eagles to win straight up away at the Atlanta Falcons.
As established I’m extremely keen on the chances of the Eagles this season. This has all the ability of a shootout with two very good offences going up against each other. Dan Quinn, the new Falcons coach will certainly help Atlanta out over the season but up against Chip Kelly’s high tempo offence they may just be found out wondering. This game fills the Monday Night Football slot and should be an absolute cracker under the lights.
£10 on Philadelphia Eagles to win pays £16.66 with Bet365
Good luck!