ST LOUIS -- A few thoughts on the Seattle Seahawks' 28-26 loss to the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome.
What it means: The Seahawks are reeling and fall to 3-3, having lost the last two games and three of the last five. The team was completely out of sync Sunday. Were they still in shock from the Percy Harvin trade two days earlier?
Stock watch: What has happened to the Seattle pass rush? One of the team's strengths a year ago is almost non-existent now. The Seahawks didn’t have a sack Sunday, and they weren’t exactly facing the world’s greatest offensive line. The inability to get to Rams quarterback Austin Davis was a big factor in St. Louis' last touchdown that made it a two-score game with less than six minutes to play.
The offensive line is not much better: The Seahawks' offensive line was the weak link on a Super Bowl team last season. It still is, but it’s worse now. The Rams entered the game with only one sack all season. They had three sacks in the first half and put constant pressure on Russell Wilson. The Seahawks were flagged for holding three times and another false start. The line usually does a decent job in the running game, but not Sunday. Take out Wilson’s 106 yards, mostly while scrambling, and Seattle had 65 yards rushing on 22 carries. It wasn’t good even when they used Alvin Bailey as an extra tackle on several plays.
Receivers: Don’t blame the loss on Harvin being gone. Doug Baldwin, who called out his teammates last week, had his best game of the season with seven receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown. Rookie receiver Paul Richardson had four catches for 33 yards, and Jermaine Kearse had three receptions for 50 yards.
Game ball: That goes to another player making catches. The Seahawks were down to third-string tight end Cooper Helfet on Sunday. Don’t call him third-string anymore. Helfet had three receptions for 61 yards, including a brilliant 19-yard touchdown catch when he stretched to make the grab and came down with both feet in bounds in the end zone.
More injury problems: Maybe it was a bad omen when fullback Derrick Coleman hurt his foot in warm-ups and didn’t play. Cornerback Tharold Simon, playing in his first NFL game and starting for injured Byron Maxwell, suffered an ankle injury in the first half when he was flagged for pass interference and a face mask. He also had a shoving match with Rams receiver Brian Quick, who was flagged but it could have gone against Simon. He didn’t return after the injury but was listed as questionable. So was his judgment. Three other starters already were out -- tight end Zach Miller, middle linebacker Bobby Wagner and center Max Unger. It has become painfully obvious the next man up isn’t ready to step up.
What’s next: The Seahawks will hit the road again with an East Coast trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, to play the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 26. The Seahawks opened the 2013 season with a 12-7 come-from-behind victory at Charlotte.