Seahawks eye 8 in row over Rams

It may be a blessing for Rams fans that today's game against the Seahawks will be blacked out in the St. Louis area.

The Rams, like the Seahawks, are 2-11. They have lost seven games in a row and dropped seven straight to Seattle.

Seattle has won every matchup with the Rams starting in 2005, home and away. The past three in St. Louis have come down to the closing minutes, seconds in the case of the past two, but the Seahawks have won convincingly in four games at Qwest Field, including a 37-13 victory on Sept. 21.

"I can remember my rookie year here [2004] when the Rams beat us three times that year," Seahawks cornerback Jordan Babineaux said, referring to a St. Louis regular-season sweep and wild-card playoff win. "That was a real slap in the face. I can certainly tell you ever since then, since I've been here, we've definitely had that chip on our shoulders."

Not that the Seahawks, who share the bottom of the NFC West with the Rams, are thinking this one will be just like the previous seven.

"There's still a lot of pride in both organizations," Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. "I think the players, naturally, every time they go out there, they go out to win.

"This game will be no different, I'm sure."

The rivalry is as intense as any the Seahawks have. The Rams danced on the turf and mocked Seahawks fans after that 2004 season playoff win, the last time they won at Qwest Field. The Seahawks have since gone on a roll, and go into the Edward Jones Dome confident that they currently own the Rams.

"I feel good about domes. You don't have to worry about any weather," Seahawks quarterback Seneca Wallace said. "I'm pretty sure on Sunday it probably won't be too loud, you know? You've got to just not worry about anything, just go out and play football."

Rams wide receiver Torry Holt has had big games against the Seahawks, but refuses to give any consideration to how one-sided the series has been.

"I'm not even looking at this game as a rivalry," he said. "I'm looking at it as two football teams that are in a dying need for a win."

Without a doubt. Keep in mind the Seahawks had Josh Brown as their kicker during six of their seven consecutive wins against the Rams. Now Brown, who always kicked well at the Edward Jones Dome for Seattle, does his thing for the Rams.

The key to continued Seattle dominance will be to do what the Seahawks have managed to do often — keep running back Steven Jackson from big gains and pressure Rams quarterback Marc Bulger. Seattle must also establish a good run game on offense and force turnovers on defense.

A hot start will also help. The Seahawks scored the game's first 17 points in September.

"We came out and made some plays, made some good calls, passed the ball around, made some good runs," offensive tackle Sean Locklear said. "It's just that love-hate match. We're in the division. We see each other. They know us well."

The Rams, Locklear said, blitzed Seattle 85 percent of the time, and he expects more of the same against Wallace.

But do all the wins — and major blunders like when the Rams fumbled the center exchange near the goal line as they were poised to score the go-ahead touchdown on the final play of the game at St. Louis last year — give the Seahawks a psychological advantage?

"It could be," Locklear said. "Honestly, if it wouldn't be for luck, we probably would have lost last year."

José Miguel Romero: 206-464-2409 or jromero@seattletimes.com