Seahawks looking to see where they stand

SEATTLE – Seattle’s search for the bottom of a two-year trough resumes on Sunday in St. Louis. How low can Seattle go? Sunday’s game will provide an indication of whether the Seahawks are prepared to bounce back or will simply continue this nosedive into the NFC West cellar. That’s the spot the Rams have occupied each of the past two seasons, holding down the bottom of the division like gravity. So two teams that spent years dueling for the division title will be wrestling in a contest that may decide who winds up at the bottom of the West. History is on the Seahawks’ side, but that’s not their coach’s concern. Neither is using today’s game as a first step toward a strong finish. “Let’s focus on the here and now, the present,” coach Jim Mora said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to prepare to beat the St. Louis Rams this week. We’re not necessarily looking at where we are or what the opportunities are for us in the future, just the here and now.” OK. Here the Seahawks are, now 7-19 since last season began. It is the franchise’s worst record for any 26-game stretch since it went 5-21 from November 1991 to September 1993. St. Louis has been the only cushion Seattle has found in its unceremonious plummet in the standings. Three of Seattle’s last seven victories have come against St. Louis. That includes the Seahawks’ 28-0 shutout to begin this season and their 23-20 victory in St. Louis last December, a game which was also the last time Seattle won away from home. The Seahawks have lost their last six away games, all by double digits. In St. Louis, the Rams are actually playing their best football of the season, but at 1-9 that’s not saying much. Running back Steven Jackson has passed Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson among the league’s rushing leaders and now ranks No. 2 behind Tennessee’s Chris Johnson. Two weeks ago, the Rams gave the unbeaten New Orleans Saints their closest game of the year. “There’s a lot of fire and a lot of hunger,” St. Louis coach Steve Spagnuolo said of his roster. “They haven’t lost that. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. This business is not easy when you have one win after 10 games.” It will get a little harder. St. Louis will start backup quarterback Kyle Boller against Seattle because Marc Bulger is out with a leg injury. Jackson (back spasms) did not practice at all this week and is listed as questionable. History isn’t providing St. Louis with much encouragement, either. Seattle has beaten St. Louis nine consecutive times, its longest winning streak against any opponent in franchise history. The streak started in 2005, and the balance of power swung in what was then the division’s most important matchup. And while today’s game won’t have any relevancy in terms of the playoffs, it will serve as a barometer for which of these two struggling teams is prepared to bounce back from the current struggles.