NFC West Huddle: Is this a trap game for Rams?

Welcome into this week's edition of the NFC West Huddle. It's week six. I'm your host, Megan Plain. I'll be representing the Cardinals side of things with the LA Rams. We have Gerard Moncure. We have San Francisco 49ers representative out there, Frank Malico. And then, of course, covering the Seattle Seahawks, we have Aaron Levine. Now, we obviously have to start with the Thursday night game this week between Seattle and Denver. The big question is, should Seahawks fans be concerned with the play of Sam Darnold? And how are they going to be able to get back on track? So, of course, we're going to start things off, Aaron, with you on this one. Yeah, Megan, I think this is past the point of concern at this point because you have a quarterback with a history of turnover issues who led the league in turnovers last season before finally figuring it out the last four weeks when it counted the most. And you now have a team that has lost three games by a total of eight points with 10 turnovers in those games. I mean, you play those games with just half of those turnovers and you probably win two, if not three of them. Sam Darnold has seven interceptions in four games and the Seahawks are one in three in those games. Drew Locke has zero turnovers and they are 2-0 in those games. Now, I'm not surprised that there are people calling for Locke to play instead of Darnold at this point. Personally, I'm still in Darnold's corner in terms of talent, but he has to understand something that Locke said multiple times the first couple of weeks when he was playing. With this Seahawks defense, you do not have to be a hero. You just have to take care of the football and avoid dumb mistakes that leads to easy scores for the opponents. There's no excuse for the defense to allow a total of just 32 yards in the Broncos' final 10 possessions on Thursday, and they lost the game. I mean, Bo Nix is getting criticized as much as Darnold is, and the Broncos won that game. So that shows how good the Seahawks' defense played. Darnold just gave it away. So, yes, I'm concerned. It doesn't get any easier with the Chiefs and the Bears the next couple of weeks on Sunday and Monday Night Football. The offensive line has to be better. The running game has to be better. And Sam Darnold has to stop making dumb decisions that's leading to some of these losses. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm not completely concerned yet. I like that you did mention the offensive line there. They definitely struggled in that one. Darnold, he ended up getting hit 17 times in that matchup. And then, you know, like you mentioned with the interceptions as well, they're never good, right? You never want any turnovers. But the interceptions, when they come in one-score games, which has happened often with him, it's just, you know, you're not helping your team out any in these close situations. Now, Frank, I'll send it out to you. What was your takeaway from that Thursday night game? Well, I got to tell you, I'm amazed that Seattle's sitting at 3-3 right now. that Niner game last week, which we don't get to talk about, sad but true, because they've played another since. But I mean, that could have gone either way. You know, if Cooper Cup gets the first down, they kick the field goal and we're still playing ball. At any rate, but despite, you know, some late fourth quarter heroics to tie up that game, you got to be concerned about Sam Darnold. How do you throw a pick when you're driving down to tie the game with less than two minutes to go? And granted, the defense came in, I think, in 15 seconds, booted Denver off. They got the punt and then took it in and tied up the game, but didn't throw one in overtime, too. My God. Yeah, this one is definitely on him. I don't know. Maybe they were a little burnt out, too. They looked – the defense did, but the offense just looked somewhat lethargic in that game. Even Kirk Herbstreit, working with Al Michaels, he said there was one play where Darnold went back to pass, nearly tripped over his shoelaces it was an incomplete pass and he said you know this guy is just out of sorts I mean Aaron ran down some of the stats but one touchdown and four picks in the two games this past week and both were losses and it makes me start to wonder maybe starting quarterbacks should play a little bit in the pre-season it seems like Darnold you know after getting hurt in the opener against the Pats is still kind of shaking off some of the dust because he hasn't played a lot of football this year. Drew Lock, do you bring him back? I mean, two games, two wins, no turnovers. I mean, that's kind of hard to argue with, but I don't think you're there just yet. The good news is you get a little more time to rest, relax, and kind of figure it out until you play Arizona a week from Sunday. But, yeah, I think Seattle fans should be concerned about their offense, especially their quarterback right now. And then, Drew, what were your key takeaways from that Thursday night game? Well, to me, when I look at this, the recipe is wrong. The Seattle recipe is wrong. Sam Darnold should not be throwing the ball 51 times in a game. That's not who he is, Super Bowl champion or not. Now, I understand it was overtime, so there's an extra possession in the game. But, you know, Seattle has made Sam Darnold a Super Bowl champion because they've been able to run the football. That's how they got it done last year. Okay, I understand Kenneth Walker's not there anymore, and Zach Charbonnet is hurt still. He's not back yet. But when you have a run game where the closest thing to an explosive was a Sam Darnold scramble of 18 yards, you get Emmanuel Williams with an 11-yarder and George Halani with a 13-yarder, that's simply not good enough on the ground. And then you're going to put Sam Darnold in those situations where he has been known to make ill-advised passes. That is the wrong recipe for success for this Seattle team. when your run game cannot generate enough explosive plays they were getting 4.3 yards of crack last night by the way then you let the defense play the pass you cannot do that going into Denver especially playing that defense so to me Mike McDonald's got to take a look at what they're doing offensively and get back to being run first that would that's exactly what I would do if I were the Seahawks and let Sam Darnold play in his comfort zone got him trying to do too much right now all right and of course uh you mentioned an upcoming game against the cardinals we're going to talk about the cardinals rams game coming up but before we get to that we're going to take a quick break and we will be right back with the nfc west huddle welcome back to the nfc west huddle uh next up on our topics of things to go over we're talking about rams cardinals the rams they are still favored by double digits over the cardinals in this one so we're going to talk about you know whether or not we think that that spread is accurate Trot I'm going to start with you uh You know, what do you think? Do you think that's an accurate expectation going into this one? You look at it and you go, wow. You know, because you're not used to seeing double-digit spread numbers week by week in the NFL. But if you look at the Rams' schedule, I'm not surprised. And I think Arizona's, you know, gotten an unlucky draw in week six. If you look at what the Rams have had to go through, you know, by the schedule makers, let's put some of this on Sean McVay, the ill-advised trip down to Melbourne to play the Niners and then come back. And then you get a Sunday night game at home against the Giants. But then you've got to hop on a plane again the next week to go play a tough Denver team that Seattle found out last night on Sunday Night Football. You come back home. You've got to go on a plane again to go across, you know, the United States, and you play Philadelphia, okay? You fly back, and then you play a great Buffalo team. So the Cardinals are actually catching the Rams at a really, really bad time. You know, the NFL week by week is about break here, break there. That can determine the outcome of a game. Anyone who really knows football knows the Rams could be 4-1 right now. If it wasn't for a break here or there, they could be 4-1. You look at this Arizona Cardinal team, and they're catching the Rams where they don't have to get on a plane. They've been practicing at the facility for two straight weeks, in their beds for two straight weeks. You're going to get an optimum Rams team coming out on Sunday that will be rested. They're still missing Miles Garrett, but for the most part, they're healthy. although Trent McDuffie did have a groin issue in practice on Thursday. So we'll see what his status is on coming to Sunday. But I would say this. This will be a focused and hungry team coming off a Buffalo game that they blew. Should have won the game. Everyone saw it. And take the 12.5 points at your own peril. That's all I'm going to say because I think the Rams are going to be ready to go on Sunday. Yeah, that was definitely a good matchup the last time we saw them take the field. with the Cardinals you know I love that you mentioned you know it's all about things happening like who do you get at the right time I thought for the Cardinals last week oh they got the Lions at the right time right uh they were one of the worst defenses in the league going into that one and clearly uh that didn't do much for the Cardinals yeah the Cardinals in this game I honestly I don't mind taking the over in this one it's just what we've seen from them all season long their defense can't stop anybody really I mean we look at how many you know uh losses where They've allowed 30 or more points. Of course, last time out, they allowed 45 to the Lions. They just really can't do much in terms of stopping opposing offenses. So I don't expect that to be any different this week when they take on the Rams. And then, of course, when you look at the way that the Cardinals' offense themselves has been struggling, they haven't been able to figure anything out. Their run game, they haven't been able to get going. That's something that head coach Michael Flohr has mentioned as being a huge problem. They need to figure out how to get something going in the run game. And then you look at this week. Oh, by the way, Jeremiah Love, he's going to be out. He's been dealing with injuries, of course. So, you know, another hit to that group out there. So, yeah, I think I'm okay with the spread in this one. The Cardinals, they've been struggling all season long, really, and I don't anticipate that changing at all coming up here this week. But let's get some more opinions on this matchup. We'll head back out to you, Frank. What do you think is going to happen in this one? Well, I heard Peter King on a local radio here with Sports Illustrated say, I'm picking the Rams to win the Super Bowl. I did in week one, and I will in week six, too, despite their two-in-three record. I agree with Gerard. You know, they could easily be 4-1 right now, maybe not because of their trip to Australia. That might have been their one loss, but they played good enough to win most of the year. They're catching Arizona. They've lost four in a row. They give up a league-worst 32 points a game. And Matthew Stafford's been on fire, averaging over 300 yards a game. However, the Rams have that short turnaround, too, because they played on Monday night. They might be a little burnt and emotionally spent after losing the way they did to Buffalo in a game. They clearly could have won rather easily. And look at Seattle. They kind of ran out of gas against the Niners, lost a very emotional game on a Sunday, They then had to do a quick turn, and we know what happened at Denver on Thursday night. I think the Rams win it. Do I take the points and throw them over to Arizona? I'm not so sure, and I've got one stat to back that up. Teams favored by more than a touchdown in the first five weeks have gone 4-10 against the spread. So that's something to chew on. I think, I don't know, I think I take the Rams despite that, Because I think they're hungry and they're going to pounce on a team that's 1-4. And Aaron, what are your expectations in this one? Yeah, I don't necessarily agree with the comparison that Frank made. I mean, the Seahawks were on three full days of rest going up to altitude. Meanwhile, the Rams, maybe a short week, but that's six days of rest and they get to stay home. I think it is a fair spread. I think the Giants beat them by 12. The Lions and Seahawks beat them by 24. The Rams beat them by an average of 22 points and a half last season. And so to this point, I think the Rams record, just kind of a product, as Gerard said, of a very difficult schedule. They looked good last week, despite the loss to the Bills. The Cardinals, again, as Megan mentioned, playing without Jeremiah Love. The Rams averaging 28 points per game this season. If you forget about the Australia debacle, it feels like they have their sea legs under them now. I also think their losing record makes them even more dangerous because of the sense of urgency in this division. I mean, what, they're three and a half games back of the 49ers after just five weeks. It's a tough spot for Arizona, a bounce-back week for the Rams. They're upset. They're hungry. They're focused. I like the Rams by at least 20 points in this one, so that 12-and-a-half-point spread is more than fair. I love it. All right, we're going to take another break, but we are going to be right back with more here on the NFC West Huddle. Welcome back into the NFC West Huddle. It is that time where we're going to do our pick-to-click. We've got the Rams-Cardinals game and, of course, the San Francisco matchup as well. We'll start things off out in San Francisco with Frank. Who are you picking as the guy to click this week? All right, can I boast a little bit about my pick to click last week, which was Mike Evans on that unbelievable fourth-quarter drive where he caught, what, four passes for 75 yards? Tim Ryan does the color for the radio down here, and he said that was his gold jacket drive. So with bruised ribs, he's a little banged up this week, so he's not my pick-to-click. I'm going to go with George Kittle. Debo is out. He injured his hamstring in the Seattle win, so they're going to look to McCaffrey. They're going to look to George Kittle and an array of different wide receivers because they are thin that way. Washington has allowed opposing tight ends over 370 yards receiving and seven touchdowns through five games, so it's a great matchup. No Debo. I think George Kittle is the guy to watch this week for the Niners. And, Gerard, who do you have in this one? Okay, with Arizona's run defense giving up 126 yards a game, ranked 23rd in the league, I could see both Kyren Williams and Blake Corum having huge games. Matthew Stafford threw the ball 54 times against the Bills. I understand it was overtime and some of that was needed, but they only ran it 23 times. Sean McVay is going to look at the tape and go, you know what, we need better balance than that, especially for 38-year-old Matthew Stafford. You know, you've got to take rolling going into week six. I mean, he can't be throwing the ball that much through five weeks. The Rams have the top rated offense yardage wise in the league through the air 307 and on the ground 116. But I think we're going to look at those numbers and understand if they want to reach the true level of success that they want to have this year, which, of course, is winning the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium. They're going to need better balance. And that starts with the run game. I could see the two running backs, Kyren Williams and Blake Corum having huge games on Sunday against the Cardinal defense. And looking at the Cardinal side of things on that one, the guy I'm going to go with is Algier. You know, I mentioned earlier that Love is going to be out this week as he deals with some injuries. So, obviously, Algier, he's your number one guy that you're going to go to when it comes to the run game. I also mentioned, you know, LaFleur has talked about how that's something that they have really struggled with they're really trying to figure out how to get better with the run game right now because that's been a serious problem for them. So, you know, they're making some tweaks right now. He's talked about how he's been really meeting with every, you know, position group coach across the board because they need to make tweaks in all categories with the way things are going right now. But I do think, you know, maybe they'll utilize, you know, obviously loves out Algiers, the guy, like I said. I want to see the way that they try to, you know, disguise things a little bit differently offensively and then, of course, how they try to get this run game to operate a little bit better out there. And then, of course, Aaron, what do you have this week in terms of a guy that you're picking to stand out? I'm second-guessing myself now that I heard what Drough had to say because I think this one is sort of a toss-up between Matthew Stafford and Brock Purdy, and I was going to give the edge to Stafford because he is playing at home. The Cardinals and the Commanders have given up the most passing touchdowns this season with 11. They're both in the bottom fourth of the league in passing yards allowed this year, so I feel like that sets up really well for both of these quarterbacks. But considering that Brock Purdy is without Debo Samuel, Mike Evans a bit banged up if he ends up playing, and Stafford has his full group of weapons, I think both quarterbacks finish the game with multiple touchdown throws. But for now, I'll give the edge to Stafford and just say, yeah, I think a couple of passing touchdowns to either Blake Corum or Kyron Williams, and it's a compromise with Drough. And then, of course, with this matchup, one of the biggest things is a guy who is no longer with the team. It's going to be Marvin Harrison Jr. as the team traded him away to the Texans this past week. Really, it's a crazy story, guys. You don't really see trades like this happen at this point in the season, especially so early in a guy's career when he was a top pick like that. So the question here is who do you guys think won the trade and will Marv really excel with his new team, with the Texans? Drough, I'll start with you. What do you think? Do you think Marv's going to go on to bigger and better things? Well, Megan, I think, first of all, we've got to see how it rolls, maybe three or four years down the line. Okay, but I'm going to say this. Anytime you have a fourth overall pick and you end up trading him two years later, you use that kind of type of football money, okay, we'll call it money, on a pick and you've got to trade him two years later, you've lost the trade. You've already lost the trade. OK, now, also, I believe if Marvin Harrison Jr. cannot figure it out and get along with Mike LaFleur and his ability to coach football and communicate, that's on Marvin Harrison Jr. OK, again, so the Cardinals lose there. Now, for Marvin Harrison Jr. getting back with his quarterback from Ohio State and C.J. Stroud, I think that's going to be a breath of fresh air for him. they trust each other they work well together uh i think sometimes you know what greener pastures are great for players and so i think we might see him flourish a little bit but to me for what the cardinals had to give up in terms of drafting him already in the first round fourth overall they lost the deal give me the texans as the winners in this trade yeah i'm with you the texans are 100 the winner now a lot of people are you know giving the cardinals some props for just moving on from him this quickly because you know they figured that his stock would continue to decrease the longer that he's been here in Arizona and I like that you mentioned as well that you know he needs to be able to figure things out with LaFleur in play nights it was very telling you know when LaFleur talked about the trade just you know being like we need to do what's best for our team and that was moving on from Marv obviously you saw Jacoby over the course of time he wasn't a receiver that he trusted he'd always be looking Michael Wilson's way of course towards tight end Trey McBride. So it just wasn't working here in Arizona. I think Arizona is the loser in this one, but credit to them, I guess, for being able to make the decision so quickly into a season to just get what you can, knowing that there was no way that this thing was going to work out. And then, yeah, Gerard, like you said, he's reuniting with his college quarterback. The two obviously had so much success when they played together, so hopefully that familiarity for Marv's sake will allow him to just kind of regroup and be on a different trajectory there as he begins this time with his new team. Frank, what are your thoughts on Marv and his future in Houston? I think it's beneficial, really, for both teams for a number of reasons. He was, what, the number four pick overall a couple years ago, had such great promise, but never looked super comfortable in this game down there in Arizona. Four games he's played, 85 yards and a touchdown. That might be a halfway decent game for one game, let alone four. They're getting a second rounder, and let's face it, a one-and-four, and no real quarterback, although they got Beck in the wings. It is kind of a rebuilding year, so why not stockpile and get a guy that wasn't particularly happy and move him on out? Houston gets a 24-year-old guy. As we've mentioned, he's hooking up with C.J. Stroud, who he played great ball with at Ohio State, so some familiarity there. I also think the pressure of being the guy will be off him because Houston's got Nico Collins, who is already the guy, so now he can be a compliment player and hopefully figure it out. So I say bravo to both, and at 1-4, why not? Why not, right? I think looking forward, there's probably going to be some more trades on this team's horizon as they kind of do a little bit of a rebuild. And then Aaron, what do you think about it? I think it's a tough question because most teams are thought to have only wanted to trade up to a fourth round pick to acquire Harrison and the Cardinals got a second round pick for him but I'm still pretty bullish on Harrison's potential in Houston you mentioned pairing him with his college teammate in CJ Stroud a new setting a fresh start and listen whatever was happening in Arizona just wasn't working for I know Richard Sines kept calling him the Cardinals Ferrari I mean he's been talking about it since the start of last year let the Ferrari out of the garage for the most part it's just kind of idled in the driveway so at some point you have to cut bait I would not be surprised if we see Marvin Harrison start to put some decent numbers up in the second half of the season and Cardinals fans will be saying you know where was that in Arizona I have a hard time giving credit to a team that uses a fourth round fourth overall pick on a player just like Gerard said and then has to trade him like this a couple of years later yeah you know And looking at the way things turn out for the Cardinals, their players go on to succeed when they leave the Cardinals. Look at what Kyler Murray's doing in Minnesota starting off the year undefeated. So that's probably going to be Marv's fate as well as it goes for the Cardinals. But that'll be it for this week on the NFC West Huddle. We'll see you again with more next week.