The News Tribune from Tacoma, Washington • ${metadata.sectionLetter}3

THE PROS FIVE THINGS TO WATCH THIS WEEKEND 4 4 5 5 RESURGENT PANTHERS Carolina takes a three-game winning streak into Baltimore for a tough test against the 4-1 Ravens. Watch to see if the Panthers, led by defensive wizard John Fox, can force Ravens quarterback Steve McNair into another shaky performance. 2 2 TERRIBLE TITANS Tennessee is winless in five games, but a close loss at Indianapolis probably gave Jeff team some hope. Watch to see if Fisher can solve former understudy Gregg Williams, the defensive coordinator, when the teams play at FedEx Field. HUARD TIMES Damon Huard and the Chiefs visit Pittsburgh, where Steelers coach Bill Cowher probably has been feeding raw meat to his win-starved team.

Watch to see how Huard and his offensive line handle what figures to be an especially ornery opponent. DESERT DESTRUCTION Watch to see how Cardinals rookie QB Matt Leinart handles the baddest defense in the land. offensive line should be no match for the fearsome front seven. The Cardinals might need points on special teams to stay competitive. 1 1 POWER INDEX THE NEWS NFL RANKINGS BY MIKE SANDO (Last rank in parenthesis) DRILLED SERGEANT Remember how Rod drill-sergeant approach was going to whip the Lions into shape? about time they started seeing some results in Detroit.

Watch to see if Marinelli can finally collect a long-overdue first victory. 3 3 Chicago, 5-0 (1): Bears allowing 7.2 points per game. Denver, 3-1 (4): Defense finally getting some acclaim. San Diego, 3-1 (5): QB Philip Rivers playing beyond his years. Indianapolis, 5-0 (2): One-point home victory over Titans? Wow.

New England, 4-1 (6): Who said the Pats were rebuilding? Cincinnati, 3-1 (7): Eight- game winning streak against NFC. Baltimore, 4-1 (3): McNair, offense taking some criticism. Atlanta, 3-1 (8): Rushing stats distorted by totals. Dallas, 2-2 (9): Can Cowboys trust Bledsoe in the clutch? Philadelphia, 4-1 (10): Eagles riding high after Owens Bowl. Seattle, 3-1 (11): Hawks have struggled so far on the road.

Jacksonville, 3-2 (12): Told you so; beating Steelers overrated. Carolina, 3-2 (15): Panthers recovering nicely from 0-2 start. St. Louis, 4-1 (16): Bruce within 101 yards of Art Monk. New Orleans, 4-1 (18): Saints have third-most points in conference.

Washington, 2-3 (13): Skins already 0-3 against NFC opponents. Pittsburgh, 1-3 (14): Steelers suffering from Super Bowl hangover? Kansas City, 2-2 (19): Huard getting job done for the Chiefs. NY Giants, 2-2 (22): Barber still looking for first touchdown. Buffalo, 2-3 (20): Loss to Bears humbling but expected. Minnesota, 3-2 (21): Bye week lets Vikings load up for Hawks.

NY Jets, 2-3 (17): Way to show up against Jaguars, fellas. Arizona, 1-4 (23): New stadium, same old Cardinals so far. Cleveland, 1-4 (24): Browns 0-2 at home, 0-2 in the division. Green Bay, 1-4 (25): Ridiculous loss to Rams at home last week. San Francisco, 2-3 (26): Smith has five TDs, one INT in home starts.

Miami, 1-4 (29): Culpepper heads back to rehab from injuries. Detroit, 0-5 (27): Kitna on pace for zero- victory season. Tampa Bay, 0-4 (30): Galloway averaging 19.9 yards per catch. Tennessee, 0-5 (31): Henry coming off 123- yard rushing effort. Houston, 1-3 (28): Carr is top-rated passer, but be fooled.

Oakland, 0-4 (32): Shell 11-1 vs. Broncos, but not for long. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ON TELEVISION THIS WEEKEND FOOTBALL FRIDAY WEEK 6 BY MIKE SANDO PREDICTIONS NY Giants at Atlanta, 10 a.m.: Falcons turn ground game loose. Falcons 24, Giants 20 Carolina at Baltimore, 10 a.m.: Panthers gaining momentum. Panthers 14, Ravens 10 Houston at Dallas, 10 a.m.: Cowboys blew it in Philly.

Cowboys 27, Texans 10 Buffalo at Detroit, 10 a.m.: Banged-up Lions finally get one. Lions 17, Bills 16 Philadelphia at New Orleans, 10 a.m.: No letdown, please. Eagles 26, Saints 20 Seattle at St. Louis, 10 a.m.: Rams playing smart, but Hawks need this one. Seahawks 24, Rams 22 Cincinnati at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m.: In Gradkowski they trust.

Buccaneers 20, Bengals 17 Tennessee at Washington, 10 a.m.: Redskins break in new kicker, again. Redskins 20, Titans 14 Miami at NY Jets, 1:15 p.m.: Avert the eyes. ets 24, Dolphins 21 Kansas City at Pittsburgh, 1:15 p.m.: Steelers must win at home. Steelers 16, Chiefs 12 San Diego at San Francisco, 1:15 p.m.: defense too much. Chargers 24, 49ers 6 Oakland at Denver, 5:15 p.m.: Poor, poor Raiders.

Broncos 24, Raiders 3 SUNDAY LAST WEEK: 13-1 SEASON: 52-21 Gore new king of Hurricanes The Associated Press SANTA CLARA, CALIF. Frank Gore, Willis McGahee, Clinton Portis and Edgerrin James check the statistics every week. They all want to know where the University of former running backs rank among the best and more important, among each other. These days, all the Hurricanes are looking up at Gore. The San Francisco udding star and St.

Steven Jackson are tied for the NFL rushing lead with 465 yards after five weeks. Gore got there with a career-best 134 yards in the win over Oakland, also moving into second in all-purpose yards behind Jackson. Gore was voted the offensive player of the week after steadily pounding the Raiders with his low-to-the-ground, high-intensity running style. Though he the tallest or iggest tailback in the league, the 5-foot-9 combination of power and speed has een tough to match. happy about where at, but a long season and got to keep he said before practice Wednesday at the training complex.

and the offensive line have just got to keep doing what After winning the starting ob from Kevan Barlow in training camp, Gore is off to a dynamic start despite an offensive line still missing guard Larry Allen, one of the greatest run-blockers in NFL history. Averaging 4.6 yards a carry, Gore is ahead of McGahee, third in the NFL with 439 yards. James has 343 yards for Arizona, while Portis has 313 for Washington. Gore has noticed all the numbers. got a chance to compete against Gore said.

competitive. I know looking at me ust like looking at 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Today Colleges 5 p.m. Pittsburgh at Central Florida, ESPN Saturday Colleges 9 a.m. Minnesota at Wisconsin, ESPN 9 a.m. Iowa at Indiana, ESPN2 9:30 a.m.

Iowa State at Oklahoma, FSN 12:30 p.m. Ole Miss at Alabama, Ch. 7 12:30 p.m. UCLA at Oregon, Ch. 4 3:30 p.m.

Oregon State at Washington, FSN 4 p.m. Baylor at Texas, TBS 4:45 p.m. Florida at Auburn, ESPN 5 p.m. Arizona State at USC, Ch. 4 Sunday Colleges 5 p.m.

Boise State at New Mexico State, ESPN Sunday NFL 10 a.m. Seattle at St. Louis, Ch. 13 10 a.m. Houston at Dallas, Ch.

7 1:15 p.m. Kansas City at Pittsburgh, Ch. 7 5:15 p.m. Oakland at Denver, Ch. 5 Monday NFL 5:30 p.m.

Chicago at Arizona, ESPN MONDAY NIGHT Chicago at Arizona, 5:30 p.m.: Bears show no signs of slowing. Bears 27, Cardinals 10 Louis is deemed a big game for so early in the season. Rams running back Steven Jackson said important for his team to show its 4-1 start under new coach Scott Linehan is not a fluke. game is pretty important for us. It helps establish ourselves as a legit contender in our Jackson said.

looking for an exciting game with two teams that have been going back and forth in the battles between each Fullback Mack Strong has been with the Seahawks since 1993 and was on hand for some rocking games back when Seattle played in the AFC West. He said games against the Rams are starting to remind him of some of those clashes the Seahawks used to have with the Oakland Raiders. quickly developing that kind of a Strong said. year when we play the Rams I think the biggest game of the year at that point. coming along nicely and going to be as good if not better than some of those old Se- ahawk-Raiders That may sound unlikely to some longtime Seahawks fans, who recall fondly the hatred they held for the Silver and Black for 25 years.

After all, it was the Raiders who drew the most fans to the Kingdome for a single game (66,400 on Oct. 3, 1999) and Husky Stadium (68,681 on Dec. 16, 2000). It was against the Raiders that Seahawks kicker Efren Herrera scored the winning touchdown off a fake field goal in one of those moments frozen in time. Those rivalry memories be easily replaced.

heard that from a lot of Holmgren said. fact, take those things to their grave. be at the nursing home and some old guy will tell me, remember the Raiders? It was never like that But I understand that. the way it Said Strong: (Raiders games) were games that it truly matter what the records were. There were going to be sellout crowds and people were going to be crazy.

It was always going to be a great game. I expect going to be like that with St. Familiarity is a key element. Rivalries be microwaved; they have to be slow-cooked, marinated in competitive juices and chock full of exciting big plays and crazy finishes. The Seahawks-Rams division rivalry is in its fifth year and already there have been those types of moments in eight regular season games and one playoff game the teams have played.

(See accompanying chart for a breakdown.) a rivalry to really happen, it has to be over a period of four, five or six years where the same set of guys playing against each said Seahawks defensive end Bryce Fisher, who played for the Rams between 2002-2004. when it becomes a rivalry instead of two good teams playing. The team that wins this matchup over the last few years has been the team that represents the division in the conference The Rams and Seahawks have been the dominant teams in the division, which has raised the stakes when the teams play. The Seahawks won NFC West the past two years and St. Louis won in 2003.

The turning point of the rivalry came in the NFC wild card playoff game, a 27-20 victory by the Rams on Jan. 8, 2005, at Qwest Field. The Seahawks (9-7) were the division winners. The Rams (8-8) earned the wild card and a trip to Seattle for a first-round game with confidence built on having deafeated the Seahawks twice during the regular season. When Bobby Engram failed to corral a Matt Hasselbeck pass in the end zone in the final seconds, the Seahawks were bounced out of the playoffs by a team they desperately wanted to beat.

they beat us three times, including in the playoffs, when it really Strong said. changed the intensity a little bit. This was now a big-time game. me, what builds a great matchup and a great rivalry. The stakes have to be extremely high, a winner-takes- all That game set the stage for the first meeting last year, on Oct.

9 in St. Louis. The Seahawks were 2-2 and coming off an overtime loss to the Washington Redskins. To get back on track, Seattle would need to win in the always difficult setting of the Edward Jones Dome, where it had not won since 1997. The Seahawks won the back-and-forth game, 37-31, and used the momentum to begin an 11-game winning streak that ended in a division title, a conference title and the first trip to the Super Bowl.

Seahawks defensive back Jordan Babineaux iced the game when he forced Shaun McDonald to fumble a punt with less than four minutes to go. J.P. Darche recovered it, and Seattle ran out the clock. have to prove yourself every year and every Sunday but that year we lost to the Rams three times, it was big for us to come out and prove that we were the dominant team in the Babineaux said. The Seahawks are faced with having to prove it again on Sunday in St.

Louis. The Seahawks (3-1) trail the Rams (4-1) in the NFC West by a half-game and have had a week to recover from the 37-6 beating they took against the Chicago Bears. had a pretty poor showing the last time we were on the field. We have to go back out, re-establish Seahawks defensive end Grant Wistrom said. is a big one.

a division opponent. the Holmgren said. think we have a very healthy rivalry with the Rams at this stage. The games are usually barn-burners of one kind or another. So early in the season, a big Darrin Beene: 253-597-8656 darrin.beene@thenewstribune.com RIVALRY CONTINUED FROM 1 RAM-TOUGH RIVALRY The Seahawks and the St.

Louis Rams became division opponents in 2002 when the NFL realigned into four divisions in each conference. The Seahawks are 4-5 against the Rams in that span, including a wild-card playoff loss. A closer look: 10-20-02 RAMS 37, SEAHAWKS 20 THE BEGINNING: The three-time defending NFC West champion Rams were 1-5 entering the first matchup between new division opponents but had enough to defeat the Seahawks behind Marshall big day. Faulk scored four TDs and gained 183 yards. 12-22-02 SEAHAWKS 30, RAMS 10 BREAKOUT FOR HASSELBECK: Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, recently installed as the starter, passed for 303 yards, giving him a franchise-record 1,613 yards over a five-game stretch in the first victory over the Rams.

9-21-03 SEAHAWKS 24, RAMS 23 LATE LIGHTNING: Linebacker Anthony interception set up the winning drive, which culminated with a Matt Hasselbeck to Koren Robinson last-minute TD pass to lift the Seahawks past the Rams. Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander was a late arrival to the game, missing action in the first half because of the birth of his first child. It snapped a string of 34 consecutive starts. 12-14-03 RAMS 27, SEAHAWKS 22 TITLE DECIDED: The Rams clinched the division title for the fourth time in five years with a narrow win over the Seahawks. St.

Louis opened up a 14-2 first quarter lead and then held on, with the last ditch attempt ending at the 34 in the final seconds. 10-10-04 RAMS 33, HAWKS 27 (OT) FOURTH-QUARTER FOLD: The Rams overcame a 17-point deficit in the final six minutes of the fourth quarter to force overtime and then won the game on Shaun 52-yard touchdown pass from Marc Bulger. The Seahawks entered with the top-rated defense but wound up giving up 441 yards, including 325 passing by Bulger. 11-14-04 RAMS 23, SEAHAWKS 12 FIT TO BE TIED: Marshall Faulk ran for 139 yards and the Rams bolted to a 17-0 lead to force a tie with the Seahawks atop the division. Shaun Alexander had a big day, gaining 176 yards, but he and the Seahawks were kept out of the end zone, settling for four Josh Brown field goals.

1-8-05 RAMS 27, SEAHAWKS 20 (NFC WILD-CARD PLAYOFFS) NO QWEST SUCCESS: Matt hurried pass went off the hands of Bobby Engram in the end zone as a Seahawks rally fell just short in the first playoff game at Qwest Field. The Seahawks led, 20-17, in the fourth quarter but gave up 10 straight points in a six-minute span. 10-9-05 SEAHAWKS 37, RAMS 31 STATEMENT GAME: The Seahawks took over first place in the division, getting big games from Matt Hasselbeck (316 yards, two TDs) and Joe Jurevicius (nine catches, 137 yards, one TD) to win in St. Louis for the first time since 1997. It snapped a four- game losing streak to the Rams, propelling Seattle to its best season ever.

11-13-05 SEAHAWKS 31, RAMS 16 ALL ALEXANDER: Shaun Alexander rushed for 165 yards and three TDs, and Seattle completed a season-sweep against St. Louis. After the Rams cut the lead to 24-16 with seven minutes left, Alexander capped a 69- yard drive with a 17-yard TD run to ice the win. Darrin Beene, The News Tribune BRUCE KELLMAN News Tribune file When Bobby failed touchdown grab in the final seconds of the 2005 NFC wild-card game sealed the third win over Seattle that season, the intensity of the rivalry increased. year when we play the Rams I think the biggest game of the year at that point.

going to be as good if not better than some of those old Seahawk-Raiders MACK STRONG, Seattle fullback THENEWSTRIBUNE 3.