How the Arizona Cardinals match-up with: the St. Louis Rams (Weeks 11 and 16)

Arizona Cardinals helmet facing a St. Louis Rams helmet

Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams

Week 11 - @St. Louis, Edward Jones Dome
Sunday, Nov. 22, 4:05 PM ET, FOX

Week 16 - @Arizona, University of Phoenix Stadium
Sunday, Dec. 27, 4:05 PM ET, FOX

All-time series: St. Louis 31 - Arizona 28, and 2 ties
Last 10 games: Arizona 7 - St. Louis 3

Interesting Stat: Both of these teams have called St. Louis home - the Cardinals from 1960-1987 and the Rams from 1995-Present...Hence, the Cardinals were in St. Louis longer than the Rams have been in St. Louis.

Quarterback
Rams - Man, was this offense horrible last year...It's hard to tell who to blame since there were mistakes at every position, but I'm going to put forth that Marc Bulger is better than last year's stats and that he's probably the least to blame. Sure, he hasn't played very well the last two years and he has suffered some injuries in that time, but if your offensive line had holes like his does, you'd be hurting too. The Rams have Kyle Boller backing Bulger up, who's not the worst quarterback in the league and they drafted a possible future NFL starter in Keith Null from Texas A&M, but let's just say Rams fans better hope Bulger doesn't get hurt.
Cardinals - Matt Leinart might get some snaps in these games...And it won't be because Warner is injured.
Edge: Cardinals, by a mile.

Running Back
Rams - Just like the quarterback position, these Rams running backs are only as good as their offensive line...and the offensive line isn't that good. For this analysis, however, let's take the offensive line out of the equation. Steven Jackson and Antonio Pittman are a very dangerous one-two punch, especially at the goalline. If Jackson gets even a little help blocking, he could have another great season like he did in 2006 when he rushed for over 1500 yards and made fantasy owners waste a high pick on him the following year.
Cardinals - If the offensive line is factored in here, it doesn't matter who the Cardinals have in the backfield, the Cardinals get the nod in this head-to-head match-up. Fortunately for the Rams, I am looking at units in and of themselves and Chris "Beanie" Wells and Tim Hightower haven't proven themselves as of yet to be at the same level as a Steven Jackson.
Edge: Rams, and this will be the Rams only hope for victory in this game.

Wide Receiver
Rams - Nobody had over 800 yards receiving last year and the Rams leading receiver from a year ago, Torry Holt, isn't even with the team. That leavs Donnie Avery and Keenan Burton to make something happen. Actually, I'm almost inclined to add Steven Jackson in with this group since he is the second leading receiver on the roster from last year, statistically speaking. But the Rams are hoping that won't happen again this year, since a lot of passing to the running back means lack of options. Sure, Jackson will still be utilized out of the backfield as a passing option because he does have great hands and moves well in the open field, but if the Rams want to have a prayer of winning games this year, Avery and Burton will have to step up.
Cardinals - Larry Fitzgerald swears he will be better this year than last year, which is prompting many fantasy football owners to take him as a top five pick in many leagues. That is some scary stuff for opposing defenses. I have to admit, I have jumped on the Fitzgerald bandwagon - I don't care if defenses double or even triple team him, he's going to come down with the ball. And if he is tripled-covered, Boldin and Breaston will make some major noise this year.
Edge: Cardinals, by a million trillion bazillion miles.

Tight End
Rams - Randy McMichael is actually a pretty solid option for Bulger and I expect the Rams coaching staff to get him involved a lot more than last year. Even if the offensive line can't hold up, if the Rams can give Bulger the option of McMichael and Jackson in a short passing game, there's a chance to open up the deeper ball. Look for McMichael and even Daniel Fells to have a few more hundred yards this year.
Cardinals - There is one positive thing about the Cardinals tight ends - Because Ben Patrick has to serve a four-game suspension, his spot on the roster doesn't count towards the final cut, so the Cardinals could theoretically carry one more tight end than normal into the start of the season. That said, the fact that they need an extra tight end to figure out who's going to play the position still has me worried.
Edge: Rams, though by the time these two teams play, this will probably change.

Offensive Line
Rams - The Rams allowed a sixth-worst 45 sacks last year, but there have been some changes that should lend to fan optimism. First off the long-tenured Orlando Pace is gone and though Jason Smith, the Rams first round pick from Baylor, will ultimately protect Bulger's blind side at left tackle, he will most likely live on the right side his first year. That leaves Alex Barron on the other side. Barron is an average pass blocker and a below-average run blocker and I believe the Cardinals will exploit whichever side he's on. The biggest change on this line occured at the center position, where the Rams made a great offseason move by signing Jason Brown from the Baltimore Ravens. I expect this line to be immensely improved in the run game this year, especially with the addition of Brown, but I am still very worried about pass protection and think the Rams have one more year before they will be solid here.
Cardinals - Five offensive linemen started 20 games last year. 20. That means they went to the Super Bowl. And those five linemen will all be coming back this year. Enough said.
Edge: Cardinals, without any question.

Defensive Line
Rams - There are definitely a lot of questions along this line, but it's not for lack of talent. Chris Long and James Hall will battle it out for pass rush extraordinaire and Leonard Little and Victor Adeyanju will probably split time dependending on the situation. Adam Carriker, Clifton Ryan, and draft pick Dorell Scott all have excessive amounts of talent. So why are they underperforming? I don't know the answer to that. Coaching? Maybe. Line chemistry? Could be. regardless of what it is, there wasn't a whole lot of focus here in the offseason, so the staff must be confident in what they have. I, on the other hand, am not as confident.
Cardinals - Darnell Dockett and Bertrand Berry are animals at the line of scrimmage and if Calais Campbell can play this year to the level we all expect, this line could be one of the top in the league.
Edge: Cardinals, and again it's not even close.

Linebacker
Rams - Another question mark and weak spot for the Rams, though they got a solid prospect in the draft with James Laurinaitis, Chris Draft and Wil Witherspoon don't necessarily strike fear into the hearts of offenses. I think the Rams needed to strengthen this position more in the offseason.
Cardinals - Karlos Dansby and Gerald Hayes by themselves could take on all three linebackers from the Rams, but add a productive Cody Brown to the mix and you've got possibly one of the best linebacking corps in football. If Brown plays to his potential, this unit will be fierce.
Edge: Cardinals, again.

Secondary
Rams - The two safeties, Oshiomogho Atogwe and James Butler, are as solid as they come. Atogwe brought down five picks last year and Butler comes from Spagnuolo's incredible old Giants secondary. Unfortunately, there's more to a secondary than just the safeties. That's where Tye Hill and Ron Bartell come in...sort of. I mean, they try. But they lose sight of their man more often than not and that's no way to practice pass coverage. The Rams tried to grab another cover corner with Bradley Fletcher from Iowa, but I'm not sure I see him cracking the lineup anytime soon. The rams don't play their first game against the Cardinals until week 11, which could serve this secondary well and who knows, by this point, Fletcher could be starting.
Cardinals - Very much like the Rams, the Cardinals have two great safeties and just recently grabbed what could be their future corners, but the Cardinals are one year ahead. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie should make the Pro Bowl this year and Bryant McFadden, an offseason pickup from the Steelers, should help a lot with the Cardinals secondary troubles from last year.
Edge: Cardinals, by one year.

Special Teams
Rams - Josh Brown is hands-down the right choice at kicker and Donnie Jones was phenomenal last year punting the ball. These are two areas the Rams have nailed. Derek Stanley should again be returning punts, though he was less than stellar last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if Laurent Jones took over the kick returning duties.
Cardinals - Though the Cardinals have the kicking game figured out with Neil Rackers, that's about all they have figured out. The punting is for lack of options and the return game is undecided because of so many options. The Cardinals probably don't want to use Breaston on returns as they did last year since he'll be so important to the receiving corps, so we'll just have to wait and see what training camp brings.
Edge: Rams, by a bit.

Overall
Rams - I know, as an objective media member, I should never use absolutes, but hey, what the hell...the Rams will not beat the Cardinals. Actually, I take that back, the Rams may beat the Cardinals in week 16...if Arizona is playing their back-ups after clinching the division.
Cardinals - I'll make this quick - the Cardinals can pad their stats in week 11 and Leinart can get some much needed experience in week 16. Any given Sunday? I don't think so...

Week 11 (pre-training camp) prediction: Arizona 34 - St. Louis 13
Week 16 (pre-training camp) prediction: Arizona 28 - St. Louis 21