St. Louis Rams Vs Arizona Cardinals Review: Key Areas Answered

October 4, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford (8) hands off to Rams running back Steven Jackson (39) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE

This is a great time to be a St. Louis Rams fan. They’re finally above the .500 mark with a record of 3-2. It took Rams six years to achieve this rather reachable record. There was no better way for the Rams to make a name for themselves again in the NFL, against a strong, undefeated Arizona Cardinals. Not only did the Rams win, but they bullied and destroyed a strong NFC West contender on Primetime television. Smashing a team on a local Fox news channel is the equivalent of a hole-in one in a social game of golf, the result is the same but you don’t get the recognition you deserve. In comparison, smashing a team on Thursday Night Football is like getting a hole-in one during the club championship – everyone knows about it and you get the acknowledgement you deserve. The NFL nation now realizes that the Rams defense is top gun and that they’re no longer a laughing matter. Now they’re a team to look out for on your schedule. Rams were able to achieve the impressive win against a previously undefeated Arizona Cardinals.

Defense
You couldn’t have asked for a better result on Thursday night. It wasn’t just a win for the Rams as they also were able to make a statement to the rest of the NFL teams, ‘If you come to the Edward Jones Dome, you’re going to walk away battered and bruised.’

The Rams defensive line made their presence felt on the Cardinals opening drive. Their defensive front four essentially stopped the run for the whole game in giving up only 45 rushing yards, which forced Kevin Kolb to drop back in predictable circumstances. For most of the night, the Rams had the luxury of having a four man rush whilst still getting to the quarterback. This saw better coverage downfield, as the secondary was able to focus on the passing game. Kevin Kolb dropped back a massive 50 times, which resulted in nine sacks, 13 quarterback hits and 21 hurries. This means 86 percent of the time, Kevin Kolb was under some sort of pressure. The defensive performance was dominant.

Offensive Line
The Cardinals defensive line would have been licking their lips whilst watching video tape of the Rams rather poor offensive line. Little did they know that it wasn’t to be their day. The offensive line held the powerful Cardinals defensive line to only one sack and kept Sam Bradford up on his feet for the majority of the game.  The offensive line rush protection kept the Rams moving the chains, creating holes for both Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson to collect a total of 111 yards. Since the pass wasn’t really there for most of the night, it was essential that the Rams could get the running game going and thanks to the offensive line, they were able to do so.

The St. Louis Rams are a serious contender to make the playoffs this year in a rather hard division. If the defense is able to keep building on what they have already done, the Rams can be dangerous. The big worry from Thursday’s game was losing the much needed Danny Amendola, and it will be interesting, yet nerve-racking, to see how they can function on offense without him. The next Rams game will be against an improved Miami Dolphins at their home field.