Observations: Thursdays' Rams-Cardinals Game


Thanks to a simple subscription to NFL Rewind, I bring you some observations from Thursday night's affair in St. Louis, featuring the Cardinals and the Rams in a division battle.

St. Louis

- Janoris Jenkins looked like a very capable corner, and given a year to get used to the NFL game, he could be an absolute stud. Combine Jenkins with Cortland Finnegan and the rush from Chris Long and Robert Quinn, and it's going to be very hard to pass against the Rams.

- The Rams had very little interest in running the ball until the 3rd quarter, when they effectively moved the ball down field on the ground. The offense needed much more balance early.

- Sam Bradford looked good, but he desperately needs a reliable receiver opposite Danny Amendola. Chris Givens may get there, but the Rams should have won by much more if not for the dropped passes.

- Does St. Louis have the best kicker/punter combination in the league? I think they might. Greg Zuerlein has a canon attached to his waist, and John Hekker did a great job of directional punting to keep the ball away from Patrick Peterson.

- Rookie back Daryl Richardson looked like an excellent change-of-pace runner. With Stephen Jackson likely gone after the year, the Rams may need to find Richardson a partner, though they may think they have one in Isaiah Pead.

Arizona

- Kevin Kolb looked surprisingly competent for a QB without an offensive line. The team has figured out the best way to use him, which is to get the ball out of his hands relatively quickly.

- With Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts, Early Doucet, and Michael Floyd, the Cardinals have a very good receiving core in place. As long as they can improve their blocking, the team's offense can at least keep pace with the defense.

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3 Responses to “Observations: Thursdays' Rams-Cardinals Game”

  1. Anonymous says:

    kolb had a -11.5 epa and 4 ny/a. i understand his offensive line is terrible but that's a really low bar for competence.

  2. Anonymous says:

    That's 4 ADJUSTED net yards per attempt. What's the adjustment for? 9 sacks (potentially INTs, but he didn;t throw one). His yards per attempt was 5.8, which is about middle of the league for AYPA. So if his line wasn't a sieve, he'd be somewhere about average.

    Also, note that Kolb's AYPA was still higher than Bradford's in the game.

  3. Anonymous says:

    As a Cardinals fan I think Michael Floyd has a long way to go. He dropped a key third down pass and struggled so far this season.

    Kolb didn't even look to his left to find a wide open Fitzgerald in the end zone. He also threw to the wrong shoulder of a wide open Roberts. This was before the St. Louis line started getting to Kolb on a regular basis which at that point I felt he did only what he could do. He did miss a couple of throws due to the internal clock working a hell of a lot faster at that point.

    I find Kolb to be a very good home QB but a poor road QB. I hope that shorthanded line plays better though.

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