5 burning questions for Rams vs. Seahawks in Week 1
The Rams and Seahawks know each other very well, squaring off twice a year in the NFC West. While both teams look at least a little bit different this season, they’re familiar foes as division rivals.
We took the opportunity to get to know the Seahawks a little bit better before Sunday’s matchup at Lumen Field. We asked Seahawks Wire editor Tim Weaver five questions about Seattle heading into the 2023 season, hoping to find out areas of weakness in the Seahawks defense and the impact Jaxon Smith-Njigba could have on offense.
Here are five burning questions leading into this weekend’s Rams-Seahawks showdown.
What impact will Jaxon Smith-Njigba have on the Seahawks offense?
Seahawks Wire: I think he will make a pretty profound impact. Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf are superb receivers in their own very particular ways, but Seattle’s passing game was missing a few things, and JSN checks every box for what they needed and he was their best draft pick by far this year. Most of all he adds the element of adding passing yards after the catch – which neither Lockett nor Metcalf are very good at. I’m expecting JSN to act as a force multiplier and make everybody else better – most of all Geno Smith. If all three of those top receivers stay healthy, this is potentially a top-five passing offense.
How is the backfield expected to shake out between Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet?
Seahawks Wire: Pete Carroll doesn’t really get into the whole running back by committee thing. He finds his favorite back and he rides him until he can’t go anymore. With Rashaad Penny out of the picture, Ken Walker is now the clear No. 1 option in the backfield. Charbonnet was impressive in college, but Walker has a year of experience on him and there’s been no discussion of any kind of carry-sharing arrangement in that backfield. I expect Walker to get the bulk of the carries this season unless he gets injured.
What are the weaknesses on defense?
Seahawks Wire: Most would answer run defense, but I think the return of Bobby Wagner will solve a lot of those issues – which were mostly gap and communication-based rather than personnel shortcomings. The secondary is strong, so I’ll go with the pass rush, which I think was actually a greater weakness than the run defense last year. They ranked seventh in sacks but that was misleading; Seattle ranked near the bottom in basically every other metric we use to measure pass rush proficiency. Uchenna Nwosu is solid, but they desperately need other guys up front to step up – namely Boye Mafe and one of the new interior starters. The smart money there is likely on Dre’Mont Jones. Even if they get both to take a big step forward though this would still only be an average pass rush at best.
Do you think Geno Smith was a one-year wonder in 2022 or is he the guy?
Seahawks Wire: He’s definitely not a one-hit wonder but it really depends what “the guy” means. If he’s the best choice to start over the next 2-3 seasons then yes, but any longer than that is up for question. Geno was extremely impressive in both accuracy and deep ball throwing last season, and I think he played at a legitimate top-10 level overall. However, the old turnover issues did resurface in the second half of the season – a simple product of Smith trying to do too much. If he can dial back that aggression meter just a bit and recapture the way he was playing from Weeks 1-5 last season then the Seahawks have nothing to worry about. If the interception issues continue though I think they’ll reset at QB as soon as it seems prudent to do so – and it seems like they really know exactly when to pull the plug.
What’s your prediction for Sunday’s game?
Seahawks Wire: Honestly, I’d rather be facing any other team in the league for a Week 1 game just because of how dominant Sean McVay has been in this matchup. I don’t think we can really count last year’s two wins for Seattle seeing as Matt Stafford was out for both. That said, Cooper Kupp being out is a huge loss and the Seahawks are just much more talented on paper all around than the Rams are this year. I don’t expect them to cover the spread, but I do think they’ll come out on top. Seahawks 27, Rams 24.
