Rams Banged Up After Win

Before I get to the injury report that turned out to be worse than expected, let’s take a look at how the Rams fared with my keys to the game.

Early And Often – The Rams didn’t jump on the Cards right out of the gate, but they did manage to get a lead and Arizona did roll over. The Cardinals have a ton of problems right now, none more prevalent than at the quarterback position. Still, the coaching staff over there made the move to bench Derek Anderson after we got up, and the rest of the team might as well have joined him on the sidelines.

That’s Fine – I don’t think much really needs to be said here. Anderson was 7-for-20 for 93 yards and a pick when he got benched, and the Rams were really in his face all day. The fact of the matter is, he isn’t very good. When Max Hall came in, the Rams really pinned their ears back and came after him, and it resulted in him being sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Running Men – This one I got wrong, because the Cards did actually manage to run the ball effectively. Tim Hightower picked up 81 yards on 15 carries, and Beanie Wells got another 24 on just three carries. They played from behind so they had to abandon the run in the second half, but they did show the ability. The Rams defense will have to be better against the run in the next few weeks if they are going to pick up victories.

Keeping Pace – This was a big one for the Rams, and they came through. I know it wasn’t against a great team, but they went on the road against a divisional opponent and came away with the win. The next step is finding a way to beat a team that’s better than us. If we do that, we’ll be in the playoffs this season.

Injury Report: Now, on to the bad news. Linebacker Na’il Diggs is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. Diggs will have surgery on the area, so he is done. I’m going to take a look in tomorrow’s post at possible replacements for Diggs on the strong side, but this one hurts. Sam Bradford is dealing with a sore ankle, but he is expected to be fine for Wednesday’s practice. Ron Bartell is day-to-day after the shoulder stinger, as is Craig Dahl with a knee. Chris Chamberlain’s X-rays came back negative on his hand but is expected to practice this week, as is Jason Smith, who suffered a sprained ankle.