BSNblog

Neither the Arizona Cardinals nor the St. Louis Rams are in the running for the Andrew Luck sweepstakes as the Indianapolis Colts have a lock on that first draft spot at 0-10. The Cardinals came into this season with some very high expectations. Even though starting running back Tim Hightower was lost to the Washington Redskins, the Cardinals still have running back Beanie Wells. New quarterback Kevin Kolb was supposed to create a prolific duo with wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald. But a weak offensive line has kept Kolb injured for part of the season and running for his life the other part. Beanie Wells has also had injury problems that have limited his effectiveness. It has not been the year the Cardinals were expecting.

The St. Louis Rams fell even further than the Cardinals in 2011. The price per head sports fans in St. Louis were genuinely excited about the prospects of improving on a 2010 that saw the Rams challenge for the NFC West title. But quarterback Sam Bradford has not developed as hoped, and the St. Louis offensive line is even worse than Arizona’s. The price per head bookie action in St. Louis was supposed to see the Rams threatening the 49ers for the NFC West divisional title. But the Rams are averaging only 12 points a game on offense while giving up an average of nearly 25 points a game on defense. That difference is not going to win you a lot of games in the NFL.

Arizona Cardinals

A bodog review of the Cardinals’ offense shows a unit that is capable of moving the ball but incapable of scoring points. Kevin Kolb’s injury problems have limited him to only seven games this season, and in those seven games Kolb has thrown only eight touchdown passes. To make matters worse, Kolb has also thrown eight interceptions. Back-up quarterback John Skelton has three starts this season and he has thrown four touchdowns and five interceptions. The Cardinals want to believe that Kolb is the answer at quarterback. But until Kolb can show a sustained ability to put the ball into the endzone, he remains part of the problem as opposed to being an answer.

St. Louis Rams

Second-year quarterback Sam Bradford is definitely suffering from the sophomore jinx. He has started eight out of the Rams’ 10 games so far, and only has five touchdown passes. Last season, Bradford gave all of the NFL fans in St. Louis a reason to hope by throwing 18 touchdown passes in 16 games. But St. Louis fans conveniently forget that Bradford also threw 15 interceptions last season and has thrown five interceptions this season. The Rams are going to need more production from the quarterback position if it wants to win games this year.

The Bottom Line

When the Arizona Cardinals are playing well, it can be a good football team. The St. Louis Rams have not given any indication that it is capable of being a good football team under any conditions. This will be a mess to watch, but the Arizona fans should enjoy the outcome.

BSNblog Pick: Arizona Cardinals