St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals Preview

By John Onan | Saturday, September 17, 2005 | ( 0 )

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In an NFC West battle between two teams who had disappointing efforts in week one, the St. Louis Rams travel to the desert to take on the Arizona Cardinals. This game will also mark a meeting between teacher and student, as former MVP Kurt Warner faces the team he enjoyed his greatest success. He will be facing off against his successor at quarterback for the Rams, Marc Bulger. Kickoff is set for 4:05 PM EST.

The St. Louis Rams will be aiming to bounce back after an opening day loss against the San Francisco 49ers, as they found themselves behind most of the game, but almost made a valiant comeback before falling short, 28-25. In that game, Bulger was forced to throw the ball 56 times, completing 34 for 362 yards. He also tossed two touchdown strikes, but also had a costly interception in the last minute of the game to seal the defeat.

St. Louis was unable to consistently establish the running game, and after getting behind, had to put the ball in the air to play catch up. Marshall Faulk has officially passed the starting running back torch to 2nd year man Stephen Jackson, who gained 60 yards on 19 carries in week one.

The main issue for both teams will be getting a better defensive effort and to shore up some spotty special teams play. The Rams gave up a punt return for a touchdown, and the Cardinals were torched by two big special teams plays in last week's loss to the NY Giants. 42-19. They gave up a punt return and a kickoff return for scores in the second half that sealed their fate.

Warner did a good job in his Arizona debut, completing 27-of-46 passing for 264 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Their preseason struggles with the running game continued, as they only gained 31 yards on the ground for the game. If they are to establish themselves as a contender in the division, they'll need to do much better than this.

Considering both clubs are average at best on defense, and have yet to patch up holes on special teams, we could be in store for an offensive shootout.

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