Arizona Cardinals @ St Louis Rams
The NFL game today comes from the much maligned NFC West, but although the teams in the division, apart from the 49ers, were expected to struggle they've all come out & put up some decent performances & gained results especially the Arizona Cardinals who remain one of three unbeaten sides in the league. Here the Cardinals travel to St Louis to take on the Rams who finished with a woeful 2&14 record last year but they've already equalled last year's win record by triumphing against the Redskins & divisional rivals the Seattle Seahawks.
(Danny Amendola has stepped up big time for the St Louis Rams)
The Rams look to have a little more about them now & have a big advantage with this being a home game as the Cardinals will barely have time to get a practice in between their Sunday game & now with the travel to St Louis. Steven Jackson would normally be the Rams' go to guy but he's been struggling a little with a groin problem & has only gained 3.3 yards per rush attempt so they've used rookie Daryl Richardson plenty of times too & he's made a nice start to his career with 5.0 yards per attempt. St Louis's real offensive star this year though is wide receiver Danny Amendola who has gone wild this year with 351 yards & 31 catches already to put him 21 receptions clear of the next Rams player. They've also looked pretty solid defensively & have already come up with 8 interceptions which should help against the Cardinals' lethargic offense that has only racked up an average of 271 yards per game, although that is in part thanks to them regularly gaining excellent starting field position & not having to go so far to the end zone. Cornerback Cortland Finnegan seems to be enjoying himself after moving from the Titans & he's accounted for 3 of those interceptions, he's also not afraid to get in opposition players faces when needed.
The Cardinals are where they are, with an excellent 4&0 start thanks to a great defense & great special teams including the indomitable Patrick Peterson who's been great on defense & kick returns this year. Inside linebacker Daryl Washington has stepped up from his first two promising seasons is now getting through opposition offensive lines with regularity & has already picked up 34 tackles in jut 4 games plus 3 sacks. he offense of the Cards just can't be shouted about too much, ranking jut 31st of 32 in the league in terms of yards gained & the rush has been pretty poor indeed with Beanie Wells dropping off after a 1,000 yard rushing season last year - he's now gaining an average of just 2.6 yards per attempt & new first choice Ryan Williams isn't doing much better. Quarterback Kevin Kolb has come in after John Skelton got injured & was being very efficient for his first couple of games, if not getting many yards, then against Miami he threw his first two interceptions of the season bu also gained 324 yards as they came from behind, that game probably forced the Cardinals' hand a little but he just about managed it whilst still giving cause for concern.
It's a pretty tough game to pick a winner from as neither side are great offensively & the Cardinals have momentum but the Rams have the home advantage in a short week, instead we think a bet of this being a low scoring game & going under 38.5 points is a prudent selection. The Rams' last two games have totaled 29 & 32 points whilst the Cardinals' have only had one game go over the line which was last week's overtime win against Miami.
Selections:
Under 38.5 points in Arizona Cardinals v St Louis Rams game at 10/11
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