THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Don't blame the messenger because your Seahawks lost

I’m looking for the right word to describe your reaction.

It’s right there, buried somewhere in all the unhappiness and muttering in the emails I’ve been reading…

And reading…

And reading.

One thing is clear: Pretty much every living soul in the Northwest expected the Seahawks to dispatch the Rams on Saturday.

The shock of that 30-20 loss was evident in the boatload of messages I’ve received.

A lot of them seemed to be blaming ME for the Hawks’ flameout.

Hey, gang, I didn’t miss any blocks or let Cam Akers run over the top of me.

I didn’t throw an interception or fumble or generally get my backside whipped.

Sheesh!

It wasn’t MY fault.

Ah, wait!

I think I’ve come up with that word I mentioned, the one that sums up your reaction to Seattle’s first-round departure from the playoffs.

Angry.

That’s what I was getting from all those emails.

You’re just damn angry.

THIS IS a case of shooting the messenger.

You’re frustrated with us because so many good things were written and said about this Seahawks team — which is what happens when you go 12-4 and win a division title.

Fans keep hearing about a team with a legitimate chance to win the Super Bowl, so when this same bunch falls over itself in the first round, well…

You’re thinking we dreamed up the compliments, right?

Or…

If we were telling you the truth about the Seahawks, how in the world did they get run into the ground by the same Rams team that they defeated 20-9 just 13 days earlier?

OK, let me explain what happened.

No, first, let me tell you what did NOT happen.

A columnist in Seattle described the Seahawks’ failure on Saturday as a “60-minute choke job.”

Nonsense.

For professional athletes to “choke” — which is almost never the case — they’d have to be miles better than their opponents, take them lightly, get in trouble and then fail to run, throw, kick and so on because their minds have locked up.

That’s choking, and you won’t see it a half-dozen times in your entire life.

IF YOU want an explanation for the Rams’ smashing victory, try the obvious…

The Rams are simply better than the Seahawks.

More specifically, they are dominant on defense — and particularly along the line of scrimmage, where Seattle is the weakest.

If you think back through the past couple of months, Russell Wilson has been under siege from opposing pass rushers.

Credit to Russ, he’s managed to evade some of these guys and find his receivers.

But good defenses have stuffed Seattle fairly often in the second half of the season (once adjustments were made to deny Wilson a deep passing game), and the Rams have the best defense in the NFL.

Truthfully, L.A. could have won that game a couple of weeks ago, except that its own offense couldn’t get touchdowns out of several trips to the red zone.

That problem was cured on Saturday, as Akers (28 carries for 131 yards) barreled in for one TD, and Jared Goff — knowing the Seahawks were keying on Akers — tossed an easy touchdown pass to Robert Woods.

Oh, and please…

Don’t blame Wilson for this sudden exit from the playoffs.

RUSS WAS sacked five times, hit on 10 more passing attempts, and only threw that pick-six because rookie receiver Freddy Swain totally missed a block — giving Darious Williams a free shot at the ball.

That’s a pass Russ has to release the instant he takes the snap.

If Swain makes any contact with Williams at all, the ball reaches DK Metcalf and anything can happen after that.

All the criticism of Wilson is crazy.

The guy never had a chance in this game, not with the Rams pursuing him like tigers after an antelope — and doing it with only four rushers, meaning that there were seven defenders clogging things up in the secondary.

For the record, the Rams are an imperfect team.

They will struggle to score against some of the teams remaining in the playoffs.

On defense, though?

They’re awesome, and Seattle’s offensive line is the place where repairs are needed.

Put all that together, and Saturday’s result was not an upset.

Nope.

Sorry.

Email: [email protected]

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. “Moments, Memories and Madness,” his reminiscences from several decades as a sports journalist, runs each Sunday.

Steve also writes Zags Tracker, a commentary on Gonzaga basketball which is published each Tuesday.