Game To Watch: Week 4 St. Louis Rams @ Arizona Cardinals
Week 3 concluded with an Aaron Rodgers throwing clinic on Monday night. For anyone besides Packers fans, the game had not been the battle we had hoped for. The Chiefs struggled to get it going offensively in the passing game and their defense just did not show up ready to play last week. Or quite possibly Rodgers is just that great. I'm leaning toward a combination of the both. But Week 4 brings some interesting matchups, of which there are a few good divisional games and one I am particularly excited about. St. Louis @ Arizona should be a great watch on Sunday afternoon.
This NFC West division is seemingly Arizona's to lose early on in the season. With the Seahawks struggling to return to form from the few previous years and possibly being without star RB Marshawn Lynch for another week, the Cardinals may be able to create some separation with a Seattle loss to Detroit on Monday night (this is a big maybe). Now you look at the Rams who are also 1-2 like the Seahawks, and they could gain some traction in the division with a win against the Cardinals this week. St. Louis seems to find a way to turn these divisional games into a trench war; ie. Week 1 vs Seattle; and this may play against the strengths of this Arizona team.
Arizona seems to be the more complete team, and in this regard one of the most well rounded teams in the league. With veteran Carson Palmer back under center, this Arizona offense has shown great consistency and continuity so far. With a healthy QB we all have the great pleasure of watching one of the best pass catchers in the game perform like everyone knows he can. Larry Fitzgerald at age 32 currently leads the league in receiving touchdowns with 5, and seems to be thrilled to have Palmer back. This link up between Palmer and Fitzgerald will be a fixture throughout the season and possibly one of the best combos in the league. The Arizona run game has been without Andre Ellington who is questionable to return this week, but over the past two weeks the Johnsons (Chris and David) have given this offense the balance it needs.
The St. Louis offense is not much of a threat to many defenses in the league. Especially not the Cardinals defense, which we have seen be energetic and get after the ball, but they have yet to prove themselves against a significant offense this season. They will be likely to cause 2 to 3 turnovers on Sunday against a gutsy Nick Foles who isn't afraid to let it fly down field. But the Rams do have the better of the two defense. Unlike the Arizona, St. Louis has faced two of the more dangerous offenses in the league including a Steelers team with RB Le'Veon Bell back on the field. While some of their statistic do not leave them atop the leagues best defenses, their personnel and aesthetics suggest otherwise. Most of the tenacity from the Rams defense comes from their defensive line. Aaron Donald and Robert Quinn lead the way and have the Rams defense at the top of the league in sacks on the year with 13.0.
While the St. Louis may get to Carson Palmer a couple of times, I do no think they will be able to shut down the Arizona offense to any great extent. The Cardinals balanced attack will be too much for Foles and the Rams to keep up with as well. I do not think this game will be a shootout or a defensive stalemate, 35-20 score in favor of Arizona with 4 total turnovers. Arizona will be ahead in the division by at least 2 games after Week 4 and are my favorite to win the NFC West division with a weak schedule following their week 9 bye week.
