Aug 5, 2012; Canton, OH, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) lays on the field after an incomplete pass against the New Orleans Saints in the first quarter of the pro football hall of fame preseason game at Fawcett Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-US PRESSWIRE

It might not have been the Rams, but it was still football, and football is good. The Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints opened up the 2012 preseason on Sunday night in the Hall of Fame Game, with the Saints beating the Cards 17-10.

As with most preseason games, the final score wasn’t what was important. What is important, however, is that Arizona’s quarterback situation looks just as bad as it was last season. Potential starter Kevin Kolb came out and promptly threw an interception on his first pass of the game, then after a three-and-out, he was hit and left the game with a rib contusion. Yeah, that sounds about right for Kolb. John Skelton actually looked pretty solid during his turn, but everyone who is saying the Rams are a sure thing to finish last in the West again should probably rethink that opinion until Arizona finds a quarterback.

Drew Brees was Drew Brees in his only drive of the evening, as he marched the Saints down the field for a touchdown and finished 4/5 for 41 yards. Mizzou great Chase Daniel had a nice night after Brees left, as he finished 15/20 for 203 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT. Not bad.

Overall, although I didn’t really care much about this game, it was still great to see NFL football back on the TV screen. Now we just have to wait a week to finally see the Rams.

1. Block Calais Campbell – Campbell showed in our last meeting that he is a tough matchup for any offensive line, but with the Rams down up front, Campbell and the rest of the Arizona D-line could be a major problem. It’s not a good situation on the line right now, so some guys are going to have to step up if the Rams are going to move the ball.

2. Keep Patrick Peterson in check – It goes without saying that the Rams absolutely cannot let Peterson beat them in the return game again on Sunday. Peterson is a major talent, and under no circumstance should he get an opportunity to return a kick or punt. We don’t necessarily have to kick out of bounds, but we do need to eliminate him from the game on special teams.

3. Establish a ground game – We know about the offensive line problems already, but if the Rams are forced to throw regularly then Sam Bradford is going to be in trouble. They have to find a way to open holes for SJ39 early in the game to control the clock. If they can get the run going and use the play-action to keep the defense off Bradford, they should be able to score some. More on next page…

Now, on a less bitter note, I thought the defense was outstanding today. It wasn’t just that they forced safeties on back-to-back Arizona possessions — which I don’t know that I’ve ever seen before — but they absolutely shut down the running game for most of the four quarters.I really thought the secondary did a nice job again, and the defensive ends played well again also. I didn’t see much from the defensive tackles in the pass rush, but I thought they did a nice job moving the line on running plays for the most part. It really looks like this defense is starting to figure things out, which is pretty huge. It’s no secret that the offense is going to struggle, so the defense is going to have to keep us in games. I know Arizona isn’t the greatest offense in the world or anything, but Beanie Wells is a nice player who had absolutely no room today and Larry Fitzgerald is an elite receiver who was largely kept in check for much of the contest. He did catch the TD pass, but that wasn’t so much bad coverage as it was a great throw by John Skelton. More on the next page.