Seahawks
Rams corner young Hawks

By José Miguel Romero
Seattle Times staff reporter

ROD MAR / THE SEATTLE TIMES Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant breaks up a pass intended for Torry Holt.

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This one hurt, and it was easy to see how much from looking at the long faces in the Seahawks locker room.

The beginning of the Seahawks' demise started with about four minutes left in regulation of the third quarter, when the Rams' heralded passing game began to click. It happened at the expense of a defensive backfield that had, until that time, intercepted two passes and picked off another before the game was over.

Sometimes quarterbacks get hot. Sometimes the receivers' routes are run to such precision that if the ball is thrown in the right place, a play works. Sometimes, as a defensive back, you can go from making the big play to giving it up in a matter of moments.

All of that worked against the Seahawks in the final 22 minutes of their 33-27 overtime loss to the St. Louis Rams yesterday at Qwest Field. It seemed fitting that after spending much of that time chasing the Rams' quick receivers all over the field, Seahawks safety Terreal Bierria found himself in futile pursuit of the Rams' Shaun McDonald on the play that won the game.

"They're not the fastest group we're going to see this year, but they're probably the best route-runners in the NFL," Seahawks cornerback Ken Lucas said of the Rams. "If you let them just run out the ball and get into their patterns, then it's going to be kind of hard to stop."

But these weren't the typical crew of Rams offensive threats who found holes in the secondary. The big names — Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce — made most of their catches before the Rams' passing offense took flight. This time, the supporting cast became the stars, as second-year receivers Kevin Curtis and McDonald caught touchdowns in crunch time.

McDonald's winner was simple — quarterback Marc Bulger hit him with a fine throw as the receiver raced past Bierria, and McDonald ran into the end zone as a sellout crowd stood in stunned silence.

"If they blitz, if they come off me, then I'll run a nine (route) right there," McDonald said.

The defensive back on that side rushed Bulger, leaving Bierria alone to stay with the speedy McDonald. It was pitch and catch, despite Bierria's efforts to recover.
 
The thing was, the Rams stayed within their offense and took what was given to them.

"There was no miracle calls, there wasn't anything super smart about what we did," Rams coach Mike Martz said.

Curtis had success on a similar play with 3:37 left in regulation. He ran past Bierria and cornerback Lucas, creating enough space for Bulger to lay the ball into his hands in the end zone for a 41-yard touchdown that cut the Seahawks' lead to 27-24.

"We felt like we could run by the safeties. We didn't feel they had very good speed," Curtis said.

The numbers told the story — the Seahawks gave up 273 passing yards in the second half after allowing only 44 in the first. They allowed 204 of those yards in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Bulger threw two passes into Lucas' hands and one to Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant. But he overcame that and made pinpoint passes when the Rams needed them the most.

"We just weren't in the right positions where we should have been," Bobby Taylor said. "But it's definitely something we can learn from and we'll get it together."

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