National Football League

Big Seahawks secondary provides tough matchup for Rams

Published Oct. 17, 2014 4:09 p.m. ET

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ST. LOUIS -- Quarterback Austin Davis and his deep cast of receivers will face a different kind of challenge this Sunday against Seattle.

The Seahawks' Legion of Boom may not have the numbers of the San Francisco secondary, which ranks second in the NFL with just 207.3 yards allowed and forced Davis into his worst game yet in Monday's 31-17 loss. But 6-foot-3, 195-pound cornerback Richard Sherman and his teammates look to bring more physicality to challenge the Rams' imposing receivers.

"Obviously, we think our guys are pretty good but again, the size is kind of a wash," St. Louis offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer says. "You've got a guy like (6-3) Kenny (Britt) matching up with Richard (Sherman). ... It'll be a battle. Our guys are excited about going against them."

For his part, Britt says he doesn't worry about matchups, and the chance to play a division rival that also happens to be the defending Super Bowl champion offers plenty of motivation. But winning jump balls and shielding off defenders won't be as easy for Britt, who was the Rams' top receiver heading into the season but still hasn't surpassed 70 yards in a game. He caught his only touchdown two weeks ago at Philadelphia.

Instead, Davis' favorite targets have been two other players with plenty of height, 6-3 wideout Brian Quick and 6-5 tight end Jared Cook. Both had at least four catches or 60 yards in every game until Monday night, when San Francisco held Quick to one catch for 10 yards.

"I think me and Quick kind of work well together," Cook says. "That's just the way the offense works. You never know where the ball's going to go when it gets in (Davis') hands. He just takes his read and drops back and goes through whoever's open."

That approach has helped him find at least eight receivers in all four starts, and no Rams have gone for 100 yards receiving all season. Although the Rams' top four receivers are all at least 6-3, smaller and faster options such as Tavon Austin and Chris Givens provide some different looks.

St. Louis may need them to do more against Seattle, although Givens has not dressed in the last two weeks since Austin returned from a knee injury. The Rams also have barely used Stedman Bailey, a 5-10 receiver with just two catches in three games since his four-game suspension ended early.

Nonetheless, Seattle coach Pete Carroll worries about the versatility of St. Louis' passing attack, even if the size matchups favor the Seahawks. Davis knows his job won't be getting any easier, and the secondary remains his biggest concern.

"It's just a really good group," Davis says. "They come up and press your receivers. Kind of plays like man on the outside."

Even though his yardage had been increasing with every game before Monday, Davis' completion percentage shows a troubling trend. It has fallen every start and dropped all the way to 50 percent against San Francisco, when he often either threw deep unsuccessfully or took a sack instead of finding open receivers underneath the coverage.

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Davis says he saw those mistakes when he looked at the film, and Cook emphasized the importance of consistently gaining yards wherever they can against Seattle's defense. This is where a reliable run game has proved critical as well, and not just to set up plays like Davis' 22-yard touchdown pass off play-action on third-and-1 against San Francisco.

"It definitely adds another dimension to our playbook," Cook says. "It kind of gets the linebackers sucked up a little bit, then you hit the holes behind them and get in behind them and on to the safeties, which is important."

Those runs and short passes can also create more manageable third downs, which proved to be the difference between success and failure for St. Louis' offense against San Francisco. The Rams converted their first five third downs of seven yards or less, but they were 0 for 8 on third downs with at least eight yards to gain.

Davis also struggled with a little more pressure than he was expecting from the 49ers, and it's reasonable to anticipate Seattle might try the same strategy. Britt says the receivers are aware and need to speed up their routes, though it's a fine line between making adjustments and hurting the rhythm of the offense.

"I have confidence in our running back and our pass-blocking game that nothing will change up," Britt says. "Hopefully, we keep that pocket open for him."

If that happens, the pressure will be on Davis to find the right targets and show the patience needed to move the ball against the Seahawks, like Tony Romo did last week, when he threw for 250 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions in a 30-23 win at Seattle. This secondary hasn't looked nearly as unassailable as it did a year ago and the Seahawks have just seven sacks all season, but Davis and the Rams surely know by now nothing will be easy.

You can follow Luke Thompson on Twitter at @FS_LukeT or email him at lukegthompson87@gmail.com.

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