Seattle's griping is good news for the Rams

[Nick]

Seattle's griping is good news for the Rams
By Bryan Burwell
Of the Post-Dispatch
Monday, Jan. 03 2005

Now that the full field has been set for the NFL's annual race to the Super
Bowl, it's time to play our favorite winter parlor game - name that Super Bowl
champ. Unlike our favorite early-autumn parlor game of the same name, this
little adventure in January is based on hard-core evidence, not tea leaves,
conjecture and supposition. After 17 full weeks and four full months of the
regular season, we are far better equipped to identify the contenders, expose
the pretenders and let you know just how far your magical, mystical and
completely unpredictable St. Louis Rams will ride their magic carpet through
the NFL postseason.

This year's playoffs can be broken down into three rather distinctive groups:
the contenders, the pretenders and the NFC.

Let's face it, any conversation about who will win Super Bowl XXXIX should
begin and end with the AFC, because this conference is loaded with the best and
brightest the NFL has to offer this season. Give me the Pittsburgh Steelers
(15-1) as my choice for this year's world champ, displacing defending champ New
England (14-2) because of the slim edge of home-field advantage. The Steelers
and Patriots are on top of the pro football food chain, and the only other team
capable of slipping into the conversation might be Peyton Manning's
Indianapolis Colts.

That brings us to the NFC, which will send a team to Jacksonville in February
for the Super Bowl only because it is required by law. Without Terrell Owens,
the Philadelphia Eagles have to prove they won't disintegrate in the postseason
again. Even with the electrifying Michael Vick, the Atlanta Falcons are quite
beatable. The fact is, the Rams, Green Bay and even weak-hearted Seattle are
capable of knocking off either Philly or Atlanta. The Minnesota Vikings are the
only team in the field that in my mind has absolutely no shot at all.

So that brings us to the wild-card duel between NFC West rivals St. Louis and
Seattle. I love this matchup for the Rams, because as I've been saying for most
of the season, the Seahawks have the competitive spine of sea grass. The Rams
in their own unpredictable way might actually be peaking as they head into the
postseason. They have won two in a row against two of the top teams in the
league. I know the Eagles played their JV, but this is sports, folks, and if
they believe they are on a roll, then that is the first step.

Besides, the Rams won both meetings this season, are on a three-game winning
streak against Seattle, and have won five out of the last seven meetings. And
they couldn't be catching them at a better time, because the Seahawks look like
an emotional mess.

You thought the Rams had issues? The Seahawks have one star (Koren Robinson)
coming off a one-game suspension for violating team rules for the second time
this season.

But Robinson is small stuff compared to Shaun Alexander. The star tailback
pulled off the ultimate selfish act on Sunday, when he decided to publicly rip
head coach Mike Holmgren for not getting him one more carry against Atlanta,
thus causing him to miss the NFL rushing title by 1 yard.

Later, as Alexander walked out of the stadium, he continued his meltdown,
telling Seattle Times columnist Les Carpenter, "We didn't want to win that
rushing title."

Carpenter asked the running back if by "we," he meant Mike Holmgren, Alexander
didn't hesitate.

"Yes," Alexander said.

And then somehow with a straight face, Alexander looked at the columnist and
said (I swear, I'm not making this up), "Please make sure I'm saying this in
the nicest way possible."

Oh yeah, and while you're at it, can you splash some cheap aftershave on that
skunk and tell everybody it's a rose? So how far will your magical, mystical
and decidedly unpredictable Rams ride on their postseason magic carpet? After
watching this mess unfold in Seattle, who doesn't believe that the flight of
fancy won't stay airborne for at least one more week?

[dfarrar777]

Bah. Cheap, expolitative journalism. Shaun apologized to his teammates, the coaching staff and the city of Seattle in a press conference yesterday afternoon. This Burwell guy strikes me as the sort of writer who would ignore that fact because it interferes with his agenda. We have writers like that in Seattle as well, unfortunately.

Robinson is a complete idiot (he was sent home Sunday morning by Holmgren because he missed practice on Saturday), but the offense doesn't need him. The offense does need Shaun, and he'll be ready for the challenge.

[RamTime]

Sounds like Burwell Believes the rams need more then their talent and and good game plan to advance in the post season. I sure hope if we win it is Because we are the Better team not Because of some made for grocery store isle soap opera.

[Yodude]

This Burwell guy strikes me as the sort of writer who would ignore that fact because it interferes with his agenda.

Boy did you ever hit that nail on the head...if anything you're being too kind.

Burwell's a moron.