Arizona

[rams24/7]

Quick turnaround vs a divisional foe on national TV at home. Your thoughts on the game?

 

[Ramrasta]

We need this win just for momentum going into next year. If we allow the Cardinals to come into our house and beat us with Drew Stanton against our recently unbreakable defense then we will lose the respect we were building. These are the only division opponents we have yet to conquer but you better believe we are coming into this one the team to beat.

 

[Hey Man]

Quick turnaround vs a divisional foe on national TV at home. Your thoughts on the game?

Limit penalties and keep playing the way we have since Hill came back with this defense and we have a legit shot to run for a 9 win season.

 

[rams24/7]

AZ has a great D that has gotten timely stops/turnovers this season, keeping the Cards in every game. Their offense, conversely, has been anemic since losing Palmer. Teams that beat AZ have all had a defense that can match the Cardinals D. Our D is playing as well as anyone, so I think this will be a low scoring contest. Imo 20 points wins it. We need to take advantage of our chances for TDs, because 7 points are HUGE in low scoring contests.

Match up-wise I think our D has the opportunity to dominate again with Stanton who has made some very risky throws over the past several weeks. I think GW can rattle Stanton with our exotic blitz looks and I think the CBs will be up for the task. Outside of John Brown I'm not overly worried about anyone on their O. Floyd is good but can be held in check and the same goes for Fitz. Ellington may not even play and even if he does he won't be at full strength. Remember last time we played the Cards we held them under 30 yards rushing.

On offense I worry about their DL. It may not be at the top of the NFL in sacks, but they run some crazy stunts and blitzes. Joesph, Wells, Barks better bring their A game. It has been and will likely be difficult to run on them, but I'd still insist on it even if we're only getting 2-3 yards a pop as it slows the pass rush. Also Mathieu is unlikely to play which helps in the pass game. Also Britt has since emerged since our last meeting now that we have a QB who can get him the ball. PP will likely shadow Britt, but PP is beatable. I also think Bailey and TA have favorable match ups. Cookie has given AZ fits in his 3 games since coming to the Rams w/274 yards and 3 TDs. Look for Cook to have another big day, especially w/o Honey Badger.

 

[DaveFan'51]

The Rams run Offense is ranked 18th-109.1 YPG. The Cards are ranked 30th-79.8 YPG, The Rams are ranked 10th in rush YPA- 4.2. The Cards are ranked 32nd with 3.2 YPA. Telling!! And add to that our Pass D, although only ranked at 18th, the Cards are ranked at 28th in Pass D! I find these points VERY Telling!! They are ours to be had!!

 

[SteveBrown]

I think if we can score 16-20 we will win. OUr defense is good, but Stanton really sux....Arians is very aggressive and nothing he does will surprise me. I have watched Stanton and he is Davis (fr Rams) with a strong arm.
I will not be surprised if we only score 9-13. Arizona is tough, and the Ram O line is not very impressive to me in the pass game nor powre run game. Mason is making the line look better than it is ....not couting raider game.

 

[iced]

I better see a lot of kendricks on Robinson's side - better believe they're glonna pick on the rookie...expect a lot of blitzes from his side

 

[rams24/7]

I have watched Stanton and he is Davis (fr Rams) with a strong arm.
I will not be surprised if we only score 9-13. Arizona is tough, and the Ram O line is not very impressive to me in the pass game nor powre run game. Mason is making the line look better than it is ....not couting raider game.

Agree 100%. Like Davis Stanton had some early success, but once teams had tape on them they exposed and exploited their weaknesses. Stanton has come back down to earth and has been known to give the opposition the ball (much like Davis).

As for OL I agree. Not sure if Long is better than GRob (may actually be an upgrade at LT), but losing Long made the OL worse. You then kick out GRob to LT, who was solid at LG, and Saffold to LG. Unfortunately the man who earnes PT from all of this is Joseph who has been BAD. Imagine if Mason was able to run behind Long/GRob/Wells/Saffold/Barks all year. Having said that, I think we've done decent considering the circumstances.

 

[rhinobean]

I say Rams 23-10!

 

[LetsGoRams]

20-10 Rams

 

[RamzFanz]

Last time the Rams and Cards met, the Cards were in much better shape. The Cards took advantage of AD to the tune of 2 INTs and 1 FF. If Hill can manage the game and the D stays hot, this should be a Rams win.

The early line is Cards +3.5. That's crazy talk. I expect that to move up to +5 and even that is silly. The line is being influenced by the W/L totals and not the teams that are being fielded on Thursday IMHO.

If the Rams can score on #1 Seattle, #4 San Fran, #5 Denver, and #9 San Diego defenses, they can score on #17 Arizona all game long. Stanton has 7 TDs to 6 TOs. Greg Williams will be sending the marauding horde creating a ton of TO opportunities.

Arizona's #23 offense just isn't scary. Besides, they'll be starting their third string QB by half time.

Also of note, on short weeks the home team has a much larger advantage than usual.

Rams 28 Cards 10 (or zero if they fall behind early!)

 

[dhaab]

The Rams will remain a 3 point favorite in this game. Book it.

 

[RamzFanz]

The Rams will remain a 3 point favorite in this game. Book it.

I edited. I read the line wrong.

Yes, they will remain the favorites but the line should move up. Rams, coming off this streak with a winning season on the line, at home on a short week, against a poor O? I can't see bettors not sniffing this one out and moving the line.

 

[Zombie Slayer]

Seems like this should be the thread where we predict the score haha. It feels so great to expect this team to win week in and week out now. I think this game will be close the first half with Arizona's defense keeping them in it. Rams pull away in the second half as the pressure gets to Stanton and the running game wears the defense down. I'm concerned though about our oline in pass protection so the running game is hugely important.

Rams 24
Cards 9

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

Rams 20
Cards 0

 

[Boffo97]

Rams 20
Cards 0

Hey! I posted that exact same score in the other thread!

 

[RamWoodie]

The way this secondary has come of age, the Cards better be get ready to be thumped. The last time, a young Austin Davis allowed the game to get away with some bad reads.

THIS TIME IT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT! Rams are going to win this going away! I call Rams 30 Cards 20.

 

[Fatbot]

I better see a lot of kendricks on Robinson's side - better believe they're glonna pick on the rookie...expect a lot of blitzes from his side

I'm worried more about Barksdale than GRob right now... but I don't think the Cards possess the type of speed-edge rusher that is Barks' weakness. I think the OL has solved a lot of the early blitz/stunt issues so I'm thinking we match up better now. It's gonna be a size & strength contest in the trenches, I like our chances but also worry about Calais Campbell wreaking havoc on Wells & Joseph. Here's a reminder of how disorganized the Rams OL was in the first matchup (painful memories): http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

 

[Dodgersrf]

Ellington is also done for the year.
The Warner curse is now affecting two teams.

 

[rams24/7]

I'm worried more about Barksdale than GRob right now... but I don't think the Cards possess the type of speed-edge rusher that is Barks' weakness. I think the OL has solved a lot of the early blitz/stunt issues so I'm thinking we match up better now. It's gonna be a size & strength contest in the trenches, I like our chances but also worry about Calais Campbell wreaking havoc on Wells & Joseph. Here's a reminder of how disorganized the Rams OL was in the first matchup (painful memories): http://www.footballoutsiders.com/word-muth/2014/word-muth-rams-collapse-desert

I thought Campbell played RDE in the 3-4 so he'll be facing Saffold plenty, not Joseph