Rams-Cardinals Preview

SCOUTING REPORT

Arizona struggles to run, but that won't matterAfter dropping two consecutive games, the Cardinals are trying to get back on track and they have a chance to rebound against the division rival Rams. The Cardinals will have the added benefit of some extra rest after playing on Thanksgiving Day, but the Rams will be looking to play spoiler and try to delay the Cardinals' plans of securing the NFC West division title. The Rams are entering a tough environment because the Cardinals are hard to beat in Arizona.

· Full Scouting Report

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
STL	2-14	232	465	1-7	1-7	0-6	2-10
ARI	9-7	427	426	6-2	3-5	6-0	7-5
· Complete Standings

Individual Leaders

St. Louis Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Bulger 56.7 1469 5 6 Boller 57.0 481 2 3

Arizona Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Warner 67.5 2718 20 11 Leinar... 68.0 119 0 1

St. Louis Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Jackso... 215 1031 4.8 3 Darby 11 57 5.2 0

Arizona Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Wells 100 469 4.7 4 Highto... 102 430 4.2 5

St. Louis Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Avery 30 418 13.9 4 Burton 25 253 10.1 0

Arizona Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Fitzge... 71 792 11.2 9 Boldin 51 612 12.0 2

Full Player Stats: St. Louis | Arizona

TEAM AVERAGES & NFL RANKS
TEAM OFFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Total Yards	STL	287.0
	ARI	366.0
Yards Passing	STL	184.2
	ARI	292.1
Yards Rushing	STL	103.1
	ARI	73.6
TEAM DEFENSE	TEAM	PER GAME AVERAGE
Yards Allowed	STL	371.9
	ARI	331.5
Pass Yds Allowed	STL	217.2
	ARI	221.3
Rush Yds Allowed	STL	154.7
	ARI	110.3

HEAD TO HEAD MATCHUPS (SINCE 2001)
Series tied 7-7
Nov 2, 2008	STL 13, @ARI 34
Dec 30, 2007	STL 19, ARI 48
Oct 7, 2007	STL 31, @ARI 34
Dec 3, 2006	STL 20, @ARI 34
Sep 24, 2006	STL 16, ARI 14
Nov 20, 2005	STL 28, @ARI 38
Sep 18, 2005	STL 17, ARI 12
Dec 19, 2004	STL 7, ARI 31
Sep 12, 2004	STL 17, @ARI 10
Nov 23, 2003	STL 30, ARI 27
Sep 28, 2003	STL 37, @ARI 13
Dec 15, 2002	STL 30, @ARI 28
Nov 3, 2002	STL 27, ARI 14

Venturing outside the comfort zone of the subpar NFC West has brought the Arizona Cardinals back down to earth.

Some extra time off and facing a division rival may be just what the Cardinals need to get back on track and clinch their first division title since 1975 on Sunday when the St. Louis Rams visit University of Phoenix Stadium.

"To play a game like this at home, if there is any mini-crisis of confidence, I think it will evaporate pretty quickly," coach Ken Whisenhunt told the team's official Web site.

The Cardinals (7-5) are all but assured of winning the terrible NFC West, needing only one win or one San Francisco 49ers loss over the final four weeks. But Arizona has looked vulnerable lately with back-to-back defeats to NFC East teams, following a home loss to the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants with a 48-20 pounding at the hands of the Philadelphia Eagles on Thanksgiving night.

Before those two losses, Arizona had won five of six, including three straight against division opponents. The Cardinals are seeking their first division title since they were located in St. Louis and won the NFC East 33 years ago.

"We were playing well," safety Adrian Wilson said. "We are in a situation now where you want to be playing well. It's December. ... Obviously we need a lot of confidence right now."

The running game has been nearly non-existent for the Cardinals recently, rushing for 25 yards on 10 carries against Philadelphia after being held to 23 yards in 15 attempts versus New York. In four of their five defeats, they have been held to 50 or fewer rushing yards, putting more pressure on quarterback Kurt Warner, who canceled out his three touchdown passes last week with a season high-tying three interceptions.

"It's not the game we wanted to play," said Warner, who is 259 yards shy of becoming the eighth quarterback in NFL history have three 4,000-yard seasons.

Warner has played well against the Rams, with whom he entered the league as an undrafted free agent in 1998 and won a Super Bowl in 2000. He threw for 343 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-13 victory Nov. 2, and has thrown for 1,701 yards and 10 TDs in six lifetime games against St. Louis, winning four.

However, Whisenhunt may try to involve running back Tim Hightower more since the rookie rushed for a season-high 109 yards -- the most by a Cardinals running back this year -- in his first NFL start in the Nov. 2 victory. He was limited to seven yards in seven attempts against the Eagles, and has totaled 85 yards on 42 carries in his last four games.

Nine players have more than Arizona's 917 rushing yards, which is last in the NFL.

The Rams (2-10) are assured of missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year and already clinched their third 10-loss season in that span following last Sunday's 16-12 defeat at Miami. Marc Bulger was intercepted three times as St. Louis was held without a touchdown for the third time in four games and lost its sixth straight overall.

In addition to Bulger's struggles, tension remained between interim coach Jim Haslett and running back Steven Jackson. Jackson rushed for 94 yards after missing three games with a strained thigh, but got only one carry in the fourth quarter after Haslett thought he was "gassed."

Jackson insisted he was fine before adding, "I wish he'd stop saying that," in reference to Haslett's critique.

On Monday, Haslett said Jackson's conditioning was fine and that he was dragging because of soreness.

"He got sore about the 30th play and started dragging a little bit. His conditioning was actually fine," Haslett said. "He did a great job with that. You could tell he hasn't played in a month. He's a little sore and I commend him for fighting through it and trying to get in there and play."

Jackson was limited to 17 yards on nine carries in the first matchup against Arizona, but sat out most of the second half because of the effects of the thigh injury originally suffered against Dallas on Oct. 19. Jackson has never had a 100-yard game in seven lifetime contests against the Cardinals.

The Rams have scored just four touchdowns during their six-game losing streak, their longest since starting last season 0-8.

Arizona has won the last four games between the teams by a combined 150-83 score.

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