October 4, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) celebrates after sacking Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) during the second half at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis defeated Arizona 17-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

Following the St. Louis Rams victory in primtime over the Arizona Cardinals, the most commonly used phrase to describe the Rams was “relevant.” Yes, the city of St. Louis finally has something to hang their hat on beside the St. Louis Cardinals, which has not been the case the the past decade. Something that has been increasingly evident throughout the first 5 weeks is the consistency of the Rams play, both positively and negatively. It seems as though St. Louis has found an odd mixture of dominate defense and good enough offense to drag the opposing team into the fourth quarter, then bury them. There were a ton of impressive performances in the game, both from players and units as a whole. Here are the Ramblin’ Fans’ three ups and three downs from the Thursday Night Football game.

St. Louis Rams pass rush: Up

Clearly the Rams defensive line had been getting pressure on the quarterback through the first quarter of the season. Although interceptions are sometimes the result of an outstanding individual effort on the part of a player, most interceptions come from a culmination of occurrences on a play. For example, pressure on the quarterback leads to forced, quick decisions, linebackers and defensive linemen can tip pass thrown in their passing lane, and  linebackers in zome can sometimes shield a safety creeping up in coverage. There is no doubt that the pass rush has been effective, and it is evident in high turnover rate and limited touchdowns given up in the passing game. However, until yesterday, the Rams were tied with the Titans and Saints at 28th in the league in sacks, with 6 through four games. Now the Rams are sitting in the upper tier of the league with 15 sacks on the season, after Robert Quinn (3), James Laurinaitis (1), Cortland Finnegan (1), Jermelle Cudjo (1), Jo-Lonn Dunbar (1), Bradley Fletcher (1), and Chris Long (1) all recording sacks against Kevin Kolb and the porous Cardinals offensive line.

Danny Amendola: Down

Even before leaving in the second quarter, Amendola was having an off night in the dome on Thursday. Danny uncharacteristically dropped 3 passes, albeit difficult ones, before sustaining an injury on the diving 3rd down attempt.

Lots of misinformation out there about Amendola injury. It’s a separated SC joint _ where the collarbone meets the breastbone.

— Jim Thomas (@jthom1) October 6, 2012

The injury does not appear to be as severe as initially thought, as some premature reports of a broken collarbone circulated for most of yesterday. However, the injury is nothing to overlook, as the separation can have lingering effects, especially in terms of range-of-motion. According the Medical Disability advisory website,

First- and second-degree dislocations have a good to excellent outcome following appropriate conservative treatment… Anterior sternoclavicular joint dislocations usually do not cause serious complications, but may result in a permanent cosmetic deformity or decreased range of motion. Posterior sternoclavicular joint dislocations, however, have a 25% complication rate… Use of the affected arm and shoulder, including lifting and overhead work, may be restricted for up to 8 weeks, with a gradual increase use of the affected arm. Following successful rehabilitation, the majority of individuals are able to resume their full work load.

Jim Thomas and, subsequently, the St. Louis Rams suggested an anticipated return time of 4 to 8 weeks, which is right on par with the previously mentioned recovery time. If Amendola were to come back in 4 weeks, he would miss only three games, Miami, New England, and Green Bay, with the Rams having their bye in Week 9.

Kevin Kolb: Up

WHAT?!?! I have never seen more hypocrisy from NFL analysts than last night after the Thursday Night Football game, as they reamed Kevin Kolb for his sub-par performance against the Rams. Just three nights before, the beloved Tony Romo threw 5 picks, sending the Cowboys to 2-2 on the season. Pundits blamed everyone in the Cowboys organization from Dez Bryant and the Cowboys offense line, to the “lack” of fans in the stadium and Jerry Jones, but gave Romo a “mulligan” in a performance that may have single-handedly lost the game for Dallas.

Kevin Kolb is not an elite quarterback, but he is tough, level-headed, and accurate in the short to intermediate game. He battled every snap, stepped into throws knowing he was going to take some punishment, and never, not even once, went after his offensive linemen, coaching staff, or skill players following a huge hit or dropped pass. Kolb threw for a pedestrian 5.8 yards per attempts, but that was because he was reading what the defense was giving him, which was anything and everything under 10 yards. Kolb is the only quarterback this season that has not thrown an interception against the Rams defense, by reading the defense and not forcing throws that weren’t there, even late in the game. He did throw for 13 first downs and drew a number of penalties that resulted in the chains moving, including the magnificent acting job in his own end zone that saved the Cardinals from having to punt deep, deep in the zone. I have never heard an analyst call for the head of a quarterback that led a team to a 4-0 start in a season. Kevin Kolb cannot play left tackle (D’Anthony Batiste), the running back spot (Ryan Williams?), or rush the passer (Darnell Dockett, Nick Eason), he can only throw the football to the best of his ability with the time given after the snap and the talent around him.

Rams receiving corps: Down

Sam Bradford may have been 7 for 21 in the Box Score, but should have, probably, been 14 for 21 had his receivers caught the ball. In the first half, Danny Amendola dropped three passes, two of which would have results in huge gains for first downs. Chris Givens dropped two passes in a row, which led to three-and-out on the following play. Kendicks dropped the first pass thrown to him after his touchdown catch, which was subsequently his last target of the night. Brandon Gibson seemed to be the only sure handed player of the bunch, with 3 receptions on 4 targets, after dropping a big one against the Bears in Week 3. With Amendola out, the rest of the receivers are going to need to help out the defense and special teams to put points on the board.

Luckily, the Rams are going up against some of the worse passing defenses in the NFL in the next three weeks. Between New England (T-26th) and Green Bay (T-24th), the secondaries have allowed 17 passing touchdowns in four games, while playing against some fairly mediocre quarterback talent, including Kevin Kolb (1), Ryan Fitzpatrick (4), and Jake Locker (1) against the Patriots, Alex Smith (2) and Russell Wilson (2) against the Packers. Miami has allowed nearly 1191 passing yards, which is less than only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins. The receivers should be able to get separation against these teams and, once they do, hopefully hold onto the ball for Bradford.

Johnny Hekker: Up

Hekker was easily the MVP of the first half for the Rams, and significantly contributed to the dominance in the field position game that allowed the Rams to kill so much time in the second half. Hekker punted seven times, averaging 56.9 yards per punt, including a 68 yarder that sailed out of bounds with no chance for a return. He pinned the Cards inside the 20 on three separate occasions, and gave enough hang time on his punts to allow the coverage team to, relatively, contain Peterson during his returns. Peterson had returned a punt for a touchdown in each of the last 2 games, but was not able to continue at that pace in this matchup. Hekker was as important as any player on the team against the Cardinals and, paired with Greg Zuerlein, may be as valuable as any of the rookies drafted in this years class.

Rams’ luck with injury: Down

Up until this point in the season, the Rams had come out of most games unscathed on the injury front. This was not the case against the Cardinals, most notably with the injury to Danny Amendola. Alongside our star wide receiver, Quintin Mikell did not return to the game after a nasty blow to the head, courtesy of a direct shot from a knee while going for a tackle. Brandon Gibson had sat out much of the week with a knee injury, but it did not appear to bother him during the game. Sam Bradford was seen gingerly massaging his collarbone/shoulder area after a big shot that resulted in the only interception of the game. It did not appear to bother him too much though, when he later bombed a 53 yard pass to Chris Givens for a touchdown. Both Steven Jackson and Wayne Hunter came into the game as “questionable,” but did not appear to miss any snaps as a result of the injuries. St. Louis will now get an extra three days to ice down and relax in preparation for the Miami Dolphins. Hopefully, the injury bug will stay away from, what appears to be, a pivotal season for the St. Louis Rams organization.

October 4, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Chris Givens (13) celebrates a 51 yard touchdown with wide receiver Brandon Gibson (11) during the second half against the Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome. St. Louis defeated Arizona 17-3. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

For a majority of the league, .500 is something that is expected, a place where you do not want to be during the season because it would mean you are losing too many games. For the Rams, it is a welcomed number, after so many season watching that number fall out of reach as the season progressed. Now, the Rams have their third win, topping the undefeated Arizona Cardinals for St. Louis’ second divisional victory in 5 days. Much like last week, the Rams won the game with brilliant special teams play, dominating defense, and rookie players stepping up to make big plays. Before the game, Ramblin’ Fan gave some predictions for Thursday Night Football, which is how it turned out…

1. Sam Bradford will throw for 250+ yards 

Bradford’s box score will read 7 of 21 passing for 141, with 2 touchdowns and an interception. However, Bradford was on point for most of the night, putting the ball in a perfect position for the receivers to catch it, only to see it hit their hands and fall to the turf. Any receivers coach will tell you, “if the ball touches your hands, you can catch it.” That did not seem to be the case on Thursday. Amendola, Kendricks, Givens, and Gibson all had some big drops during the game, especially late in the second quarter. However, at the end of the day, Bradford and the receiving corps played well enough to get the win, which always will make up for a failed prediction.

Verdict: Fail

2. The Rams will have more touchdowns than field goals

Although we all hate to see Greg the Leg not on the field, it is a sign of relief to see the St. Louis Rams offense converting for a touchdown or two against a tough, tough Arizona defense. The one high note of Bradford’s 7 completion game was that 28% of his completions were for touchdowns. Givens and Kendricks both caught their first touchdown of the season, with Bradford tossing one deep to Givens for the their second 50+ yard connection in the last two games. With Amendola out, potentially for the rest of the season, the Rams will need the rest of the receivers to continue to step up and make plays like they did last night.

Verdict: Pass

3. The Rams’ secondary will have their third three interception game

Most teams will take 9 sacks over a couple of interceptions any week. They Rams were destroying the Arizona offensive line and laying a hit on Kolb on nearly every snap. Still, if there was so much pressure, why were their no turnovers? Well, Janoris Jenkins likely could have had two picks by himself in the game. One of those would have likely been returned for an uncontested pick-6, had it not been broken up by a blatant face mask by Larry Fitzgerald. The real reason for the lack of turnovers was Kevin Kolb and the defensive line. In the past, the line had put solid pressure on the quarterback, but had trouble getting him to the ground. Passing under duress led to bad decisions, which led to bad throws, which led to Cortland Finnegan catching a ton of balls at the beginning of the season. Against the Cardinals,  Kolb was either getting dog-piled by a group of blue and gold, or was throwing the ball in places were there was simply no one to catch the ball, including his own team.

Verdict: Fail

 4. The Arizona Cardinals won’t get over 250 yards of total offense

If the Arizona Cardinals had not held the ball for 34:22 minutes or were not playing catchup from the St. Louis Rams’ opening drive, this may be a different story. Instead, the Cardinals OC had Kevin Kolb throw for a season-high 50 attempts and still called in 17 rushing attempts. The Rams absolutely shut down the sub-par running game of the Arizona offense, which forced even more passes, some of which turned into big gains later in the game against a soft zone. Still, with all of those factors considered, the Arizona offense only amassed 282 total yards in the games. Kolb averaged 4.7 yards per attempted throw, while Williams ran for a measily 2.4 yards per carry, which is not too far off of his season average. Again, at the end of the day the Rams will take giving up for extra 32 yards in favor of a win.

Verdict: Fail

5. Greg Zuerlein from 60+

(insert anticlimactic tuba sound) Of course, Zuerlein did not boot a 60+ yard field goal on the night that Ramblin’ Fan predicted he would do it. However, Zuerlein did not really see too much of the field last night, which is a good thing. He was perfect on the night in extra points and made his 53 yard field goal look like a chip shot. He also booted 4 out of 5 kickoffs for a touchdown, eliminating the Arizona return game that has plagued the St. Louis Rams in the past. It is inevitable that Zuerlein will blast one from 60+ at some point his season, it is just a matter of when and where it will happen.

Verdict: Fail

Sept. 30, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb (4) is sacked by Miami Dolphins defensive end Cameron Wake (91), defensive tackle Randy Starks (94) and outside linebacker Koa Misi (55) during the second half at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cardinals beat the Dolphins 24-21. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-US PRESSWIRE

In a couple of hours, the St. Louis Rams will hit prime time against the, surprisingly, undefeated Arizona Cardinals. The Cards’ sit atop the NFC West, holding a 1-0 record in the division after an upset over the Seattle Seahawks early in the season. The Rams are coming off a similar win, which bumped their record to a respectable 2-2, with a couple of close losses on the road. So far, St. Louis has been a dominate force at home, and are undefeated in the division. A win tonight means that the Rams are 2-0 in the division, 3-2 overall, and hold would hold the tiebreaker against both the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks. So, without further delay, here are the five bold predictions for the game:

1. Sam Bradford will throw for 250+ yards 

If you have been following the bold prediction since the beginning of the season, you likely remember the breakdown of the St. Louis Rams versus various defenses in the NFL. Against the Redskins, Ramblin’ Fan correctly predicted a dominating performance by the St. Louis offense, which we based primarily on Sam Bradford’s success against the 3-4 base defense in 2010, which was his first, and only, full season as the starter with healthy players,

Lucky for Bradford, the Cardinals technically play out of a 3-4 base, although they often shift a linebacker up to the line of scrimmage. For the same reason he has success against the Redskins, Bradford should have success against the Cardinals. The offense is run out of 3-step, quick passes to crossing route over the middle of the field, and the occasional long-ball off of a play action. If Arizona plays a true 3-4, the defense will not reach Bradford before the ball is out of his hands.

2. The Rams will have more touchdowns than field goals

The Rams are easily sitting at 0-4, in the depths of the NFL with the New Orleans Saints and Cleveland Browns, if it weren’t for the leg of Greg Zuerlein. Aside from Johnny Hekker’s touchdown pass last week, Zuerlein’s kicks have been the only source of points for the last two games. Bradford has only four touchdowns passes on the year, three of which came against the Redskins. Worse, the Rams have yet to “officially” rush for a touchdown this season.

However, this game will be the turning point for the offense. Against the Miami Dolphins, the Cardinals allowed Ryan Tannehill to throw for 431 yards and a touchdown. Brian Hartline single-handedly destroyed a weakened Arizona secondary, putting up 253 yards on 12 receptions. No, the Dolphins are not that good. The real difference in the game was the absence of Darnell Dockett and the lingering injury of Adrian Wilson. William Gay got burnt on every snap, and essentially forced the rest of the secondary out of position to compensate. The same will happen tonight, with the exception that Sam Bradford is not Ryan Tannehill (in a good way), and will be able to convert those passing yards into touchdowns.

3. The Rams’ secondary will have their third three interception game

Kevin Kolb has yet to play against an elite secondary so far this season. He would have had to play against one in the opener at Arizona, but was busy riding the bench behind John Skelton until the last series of the game. Between then and now, the Kolb has faced the mediocre New England and overrated Philadelphia secondaries, before throwing two picks against the Miami Dolphins. The Rams have had an interception in every game this season, and snagged three interceptions twice already, against the Detroit Lions and the Seattle Seahawks. St. Louis will not only be the most dominate secondary that Kolb has faced, but also best pass rushing defensive line. That combination, mixed with the fact that is a road game, on a short week, in a dome, will spell trouble for Kolb and the Arizona receiving corps.

 4. The Arizona Cardinals won’t get over 250 yards of total offense

The Cardinals are currently one of the worst offenses in the NFL, with the 25th ranked passing  and 29th ranked rushing offenses in the league. The combination of Ryan Williams and Beanie Wells has spelled trouble more often than not, with untimely fumbles and extremely low yard per carry averages. Kevin Kolb is playing well above average, but still is not generating that many points. Instead, like the St. Louis Rams, they have relied on their defense to win games. However, unlike the Rams, the Cardinals are not a full strength defensively at this point in the season, which will put added pressure on the offense. Predicting only 250 yards for the game may seem extremely low, but when you consider that the team has only averaged 271 yards per game over the first quarter of the season, it isn’t really that far off from the norm. To meet this “goal” the Cardinals offense and Rams defense simply have to continue playing at their normal levels.

5. Greg Zuerlein from 60+

This is much less of a prediction and more of wishful thinking. After a historic night in the dome last Sunday, Zuerlein has a chance to completely re-write the books with another performance tonight. As previously mentioned, I think that Zuerlein will not see as much of the field on kickoff as he is used to, but I do think he will at least get two chances to split the uprights tonight. Cheers to Greg Zuerlein, in hopes that we see a kick from 64 or more yards for that NFL record.