Before the season began, both these teams would have hoped this game would have had serious playoff implications. Sadly, their struggles, coupled with the dominance of the 49ers this year, have wiped away to those hopes and dreams. Instead, this is a divisional matchup with little more than pride on the line.
After being pipped to the division crown at the last hurdle last year and Sam Bradford’s impressive rookie year, the Rams looked primed to win a weak NFC West but poor offensive line play, the lack of a playmaker for Bradford, and he himself not being at the same level, left the Rams out of it very quickly.
In Arizona, they must have felt that Kevin Kolb’s addition to go along with the ever impressive Larry Fitzgerald would lift them from the basement of the division but Kolb’s injury, coupled with some of the worst play from the offensive tackle spots that we’ve seen, derailed their season early on. All that adds up to a game that won’t get a lot of attention but still has players worthy of paying attention to.
Arizona’s D-Line vs. St Louis’ O-Line
Despite their struggles this year, the Cardinals boast of the best 3-4 defensive ends in the entire league in Calais Campbell (+18.4). Campbell has been dominant as a pass rusher with six sacks, seven hits and 18 pressures. His fellow defensive lineman Darnell Docket (+4.7) has also impressed as a pass rusher with one sack, eight hits and 25 pressures. Both, however, have struggled against the run. The Rams' offensive line has had to deal with their share of injuries this year but the only member of the line to play every snap, right guard Harvey Dahl (+0.5) has also been their best performer. Manning the other offensive guard spot, Jacob Bell (-13.7) hasn’t has a positively-graded game since Week 7. The Rams are sure to need improved play along the offensive line if they are to slow down the Cardinals' D-line on Sunday.
Larry Fitzgerald vs. Rams Corners
No top receiver has impressed me more than how Fitzgerald (+9.8) has played this year despite the struggles all around him. Fitzgerald has only dropped three passes from 89 targets while averaging 17.4 yards per catch and reeling in six touchdowns. That’s not good news for a Rams secondary that has been nothing short of porous at their worst, the biggest offender being Justin King (-19.4). King hasn’t hit the lows of his Week 3 shocker against Baltimore rookie receiver Torrey Smith, but he has still allowed six touchdowns and opposing QB’s benefit from a QB Rating of 122.8 when throwing into his coverage. Al Harris (+4.4) had been the best member of the Rams' secondary prior to being lost for the season with a torn ACL. Josh Gordy started the last two games and carries a coverage grade of -6.0 for the season.
Brandon Lloyd
As we covered at the top, the Rams struggled with the lack of a true top target for Sam Bradford early in the year. Already he has shown how much he wants to get the ball to Brandon Lloyd (+6.2 receiving) after they traded for him midway through the season. Lloyd has yet to be targeted any less than nine times in a game since his arrival and has a reception of 20 or more yards in four out of five. He has dropped the ball more than you’d like in St Louis with four of his five drops on the year coming since the trade but he has also scored all three of his touchdowns for the Rams. Lloyd may not be hitting the heights that he did in Denver last year when he had nearly 1,500 yards receiving but he has shown himself to be Bradford’s favorite target, expect that to continue on Sunday.
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