Arizona Cardinals (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) vs. St. Louis Rams (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS)
NFL Week 1
Date/Time: Sunday, September 8, 2013 at 4:25PM EST
Where: Edward Jones Dome, St. Louis, Missouri
TV: Fox
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: AZ +4.5/STL -4.5
Over/Under Total: 41
The Arizona Cardinals travel to the Edward Jones Dome to take on the St. Louis Rams in a matchup of two up-and-coming teams looking to make their mark in a tough NFC West division. Bruce Arians is the new head coach for Arizona and looks to take a Cardinals team to the next level with a slew of team-wide improvements. St. Louis, meanwhile, looks to improve in coach Jeff Fisher’s 2nd season. There is a lot of promise, including the fact that they were 4-1-1 in this division last season, including a pair of wins over the Cardinals.
The Rams should continue gelling under a really good coach in Fisher. Sam Bradford is in his 4th year, a time when quarterbacks have been known to make a step forward. Bradford now has a lot of speed around him. The Rams lost longtime contributor Steven Jackson, but Daryl Richardson is pretty darned good and rookie Zac Stacy could give St. Louis a nice 1-2 punch. In the passing game is where they seemed to make serious gains. They have a nice rookie tandem in college teammates Tavon Auston and Stedman Bailey. Chris Givens is a nice rookie and Austin Pettis and Brian Quick are developing nicely. Bradford has weapons.
Bradford gets a good left tackle in Jake Long and with Rodger Saffold on the right side, the tackles are good, though guard play is an issue. When you look at the Rams, it’s obvious that they have taken some of the necessary steps in the right direction. The pass game seems to be on the upswing, with a lot of explosive guys at the skill positions. Look for some of the aforementioned, maybe Austin, to serve as a productive returner, as well. If this offense can find some balance and O-line comes together on the inside, this could be a surprise team.
Arizona now has lots of talent, led by an all-around coaching staff that can get it done. Bruce Arians took a Colts team that has a lot less talent on paper than this Arizona squad and led them to the playoffs, so Arizona could be a team to watch. Carson Palmer as a starting quarterback at this point doesn’t mean what it might have 6-7 years ago, but he’s a major upgrade from the carrousel of mediocrity that has been the Cardinals’ QB position of late.
RB Rashard Mendenhall fell off his top form in Pittsburgh the past few years, but maybe he can find new life in a Cardinals’ uniform. They added some pieces for the defense also. They got S Tyrann Mathieu who could be a difference-maker. They got some help with the pass rush by bringing in John Abraham, in addition to beefing up the “D” by getting LB Jasper Brinkley, CB Antoine Cason, and S Yeremiah Bell--guys who can make a difference right away.
The Cardinals may have improved up front, which would really help Palmer establish the run and therefore open up the pass. With Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts, and Michael Floyd, that could be a strength of this team. Last season, the O-line was dodgy at times, but LT Levi Brown is solid, C Lyle Sendlein is back healthy, but Jonathan Cooper, a rookie first-rounder, will be out after suffering a broken leg in the 3rd preseason game.
From 2006-07 to before last year, the Cardinals had really been beating up on St. Louis. Then last season, the Rams won both games. Sure, the Cardinals stunk last year, losing 11 out of 12 after a 4-0 start, so maybe that’s a bad gauge. St. Louis finished last season with only a 7-9 record, but showed improvement in closing by winning 4 of their last 6 games. They enter this season as a darkhorse to win the NFC West at +650, with Arizona going off at +2000. It’s obvious who the Vegas guys think will be the better team this season.
Maybe people are overlooking the Cardinals. Carson Palmer’s name carries virtually no sizzle in 2013. He has come full-circle as a player who went from overrated to perhaps overlooked and under-valued. Arizona looked like one of the absolute worst teams last year winning one lousy game from early October to December 30. But Bruce Arians deserves a little benefit of the doubt, doesn’t he? The Cardinals have perhaps the most exciting secondary now, with CB Patrick Peterson and now Mathieu, Antoine Cason, and Bell back there making plays. It’s not such a dire-looking situation in Arizona.
Still, St. Louis has earned the right to be favorites in this game and to be regarded as the team with greater overall hopes for 2013. It’s just that it’s hard to not notice how 2013 is one of those preseason periods where people are saying that about at least ten different teams, so some of these alleged up-and-coming teams like St. Louis are going to fall well short of their high hopes. The Rams will be better, but over time, and that doesn’t mean they’re going to open this season looking like world-beaters. Then again, they really wouldn’t have to in order to beat this Cardinals team.
Loot's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: Take the St. Louis Rams giving 4.5 points.
