With starting quarterback Sam Bradford out of the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury that may have ended his season, the St. Louis Rams turn to Kellen Clemens to help change their fortunes on Monday Night Football as they go up against NFC West Division leader, the Seattle Seahawks.
Bradford had completed 21-of-30 passes for 255 yards, including a touchdown pass to RB Zac Stacy, before going down with an injury against the Carolina Panthers last week. The Rams have signed quarterbacks Austin Davis and Brady Quinn as backups, and even reached out to retired future NFL Hall of Famer Brett Favre to replace their injured starter.
"[Clemens] has a real good understanding of what we're doing," said Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. "He's been in the system for a long time. He was in the system at New York with Brian Schottenheimer, and he has a real good command of the offense. He's been great in the building, on the practice field with the young guys. He expects a lot from the younger players, and he'll get it from them."
The Seahawks, currently 6-1 for the season, are rolling on both sides of the ball. Seattle's offense is ranked fourth in scoring in the NFL (27.3 ppg) thanks to QB Russell Wilson, who has completed 115-of-187 passes (61.5% completion rate) for 1,489 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions including a passing rating of 97.2 (seventh-best in the NFL), and to RB Marshawn Lynch, whose 578 rushing yards only trail Philadelphia Eagles' RB LeSean McCoy.
The Seahawks' defense has been even more dominant, second in the league in total yards allowed (282.1 per game) and holding teams to 16.6 points a game. Seattle's defensive unit is anchored by their secondary - including All-Pros CB Richard Sherman and S Earl Thomas, who has an INT in four of his last six games and two forced fumbles entering Week 8 of the season.
"It feels like we are still growing," said Seahawks coach Pete Carroll. "We are still a very young team and it feels that way. We have enough firepower in a lot of areas to overcome the things that are going in the wrong direction but we are playing good, solid football."
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Monday Night Football's Week 8 game between Seattle Seahawks - St. Louis Rams game can be seen on ESPN with coverage beginning 8:30 p.m. EST.
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