The offense that will be run out by the Rams on Sunday will look a lot different from the Greatest Show on Turf era.  Steven Jackson is the beginning and end of what kind of offense they are going to be.  Expect Jackson to touch the ball 30+ times during the game.  Marc Bulger is coming into the season without having played a meaningful down in a month due to his broken finger.  Everyone at Rams Park is claiming that he is back and fine.  Watch Bulger's throws in the first quarter.  If his throws are a little high then you know that the pinkie pinger is still bothering him.  Expect the Rams to try and test Aaron Curry in his first game by using the tight ends in the passing game.  It will be interesting to see how the Rams use their wide receivers in this game.  With only four on the roster I would expect to see lots of two tight end sets.  The Rams do not have the type of offense to come from behind so getting out in front will be important.

When the Seahawks have the ball

The Seahawks are in the middle of having some big issues with injuries on their offensive line.  All-Pro tackle Walter Jones will miss the game on Sunday as will center Chris Spencer.  Anytime you start the season with 40% of your offensive line missing you have problems.  Expect the Rams to try and blitz early and often to create confusion on the offensive line.  That being said every team in the NFL will continue to try and run the football against the Rams until they stop someone.  Julius Jones had a big afternoon last year against the Rams racking up 140 yards rushing during the game in Seattle.  Who will stuff the run on the defensive line is one of the huge question marks as the Rams head into the season.  Also expect the Seahawks to try and exploit David Vobora.  After the release of Chris Draft, Vobora has been vaulted into the starting position.  Seahawks tight end John Carlson was very productive last season for the Seahawks and should be a problem for the Rams as well.  During the offseason the Seahawks went out and acquired T.J. Housmandzadeh.  A top wide receiver has been missing in the past seasons in Seattle and now that Matt Hasselbeck is back healthy and now has a big threat you can expect Jonathon Wade to be tested early and often.

Special Teams

With the Rams you know what to expect with Josh Brown and Donnie Jones.  You can expect the venom of the Seattle crowd to be directed at Josh Brown but that should not effect him.  What you don't know about the Rams special teams is if there is going to be any chance of creating a kickoff return or punt return for a touchdown.  The team continues to search for an answer at those positions.

For the Seahawks Olindo Mare had to battle for his job again this summer and remains nothing better than an OK kicker.  The Seahawks are much more dangerous at the return position with Josh Wilson and Justin Forsett.  The Rams special teams coverage was suspect during the preseason.  We'll see if the regular season has solved some of those issues.

Prediction

I believe that the game will be a lot closer than a lot of people suspect.  The spread in Vegas has the Seahawks as an 8.5 point favorite.  The Rams have been awful against the Seahawks, losing their last eight games, but this is a new era.  I think Steve Spagnuolo will have enough tricks in the bag on defense that he will make this game interesting.  The Rams might not win but it will be close in a slugfest......Seahawks 17 Rams 14

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