By Joe Torosian
Sunday, I like the Rams over the Arizona Cardinals—31-14.
Last night, I dreamed the Cardinals beat the Rams, 31-6. Fortunately, I don’t put much stock in dreams that strike like lightning and fade away before the sun comes up.
Do I have a concern? Yeah, I’m concerned about Chandler Jones lining up outside of 39-year-old Andrew Whitworth or the strong, but not-so-nimble, Rob Havenstein.
What do I believe? I believe the Rams are going to run on Arizona. The Cards are soft up the gut, and that’s where Sean McVay should hit them. Darrell Henderson is supposed to be available (he’ll be limited), but he and Sony Michel should share the load.
Matthew Stafford will carve up a Cardinals secondary that doesn’t have the personnel to match the Rams receiving corps.
Upfront, Arizona registered 6-sacks in Week 1—Chandler Jones had five. Fabulous, but since then they’ve combined for only three, and Jones has none.
Kyler Murray is terrific, but he’s yet to be terrific against the Rams—0-4, 11-sacks, 3-fumbles lost. Keep an eye on Kenny Young. He’ll likely be the spy in the middle of the field, ranging sideline to sideline.
Murray will make big plays–that’s a given–but he struggles to sustain offensive momentum against solid defenses. Don’t freak out if he scrambles for 50-yards behind the line of scrimmage and then launches a 40-yard scoring pass to DeAndre Hopkins. He may do it once, maybe twice, for big plays…but don’t expect a whole lot beyond that.
Justin Hollins’ injury opens a door for Terrell Lewis on the Edge. This will be interesting in terms of Lewis’ future. Expect Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, fresh off the IR, to get some snaps.
Through the first three weeks, the Rams defense has allowed 14, 17 (not counting the special teams’ miscue in Indy), and 17 (not counting the garbage time touchdown the Bucs got). A pick-six, a special teams failure, a late touchdown at the end will make it appear closer…but Arizona won’t score more than 17 meaningful points against Raheem Morris’ defense.
If Los Angeles plays the way it should, this game shouldn’t be in doubt.
The Rams take “The Ollie Matson Trophy.”
(Ollie Matson was traded to the Rams by the Cardinals in 1959.
Rams GM Pete Rozelle sent seven players, a second-round draft pick, and a player to be named later to the Cardinals for the eventual Hall of Famer.)
The Rams lead the Cardinals head-to-head: 47-38-2 (including 1975 playoff win)
The last time these teams met on an October 3rd was also the first time they met. In 1937, in League Park, the Chicago Cardinals beat the Cleveland Rams, 6-0, in front of 10,400 fans.
In the second quarter, Cardinals’ end Gaynell Tinsely returned a fumbled 20-yards for a touchdown for the game’s only score.
In 1975 the Los Angeles Rams beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 35-23, in the Coliseum in the first round of the playoffs. Jack Youngblood and Bill Simpson had pick-sixes, Ron Jaworski was the starting quarterback, and Lawrence McCutcheon led the way with 202-yards on 37-carries.
Rick Kay, Los Angeles Rams LB, 1973-1977.
Days & Numbers of Future Past:
Lewis #52—(Mike Jones, LB, made THE TACKLE to seal the Super Bowl 34 victory. Tommy Polley, Alec Ogletree played well for the Rams wearing #52. Two promising linebackers, however, suffered knee injuries that derailed their careers wearing the number. George Andrews 1st/Rd-1979 out of Nebraska and Rick Kay free agent 1973 out of Colorado. The irony is, of course, Lewis wears #52 and suffers from knee issues.)
Young #41—(Todd Lyght—1991-2000—wore #41 and was a key member of the 1999 Super Bowl team. Eddie McMillan—1973-1975–played cornerback for the Rams and picked off 7-passes before going to the Seattle Seahawks in the 1976 expansion draft.)
Henderson #27—(Four prominent players wore #27 consecutively for the Rams: CB, Irv Cross—1966-1968. K, David Ray—1969-1974. CB, Pat Thomas—1976-1982. CB, Gary Green—1984-1985.)
Bengals 24, Jaguars 21:
***How does everyone feel about Trevor Lawrence today? How do they feel about the Jags? Maybe the “experts” should back off on Urban Meyer a bit.
***I was either way on Joe Burrow. Not anti-Burrow, just not necessarily pro-Burrow. Last night I changed my mind. He was great to watch. Granted, it was the Jags, but the dude was in command. And you should always trust a quarterback named; Joe.
***Give credit to Bengals fans. They may be the toughest in the NFL. Rams fans walk-away when their team struggles, but Cincy fans have continued to stick it out with zero playoff wins since January 6, 1990.
Week-4 Picks
(Winners in Bold)
Titans-Jets—Tennessee can all but wrap up the AFC South this week. That’s not even a joke.
Lions-Bears—Chicago needs this bad, but Detroit’s playing better. I hear Rex Grossman’s working out.
Colts-Dolphins—Unless the Horseshoe trots out Bert Jones, take the ‘Fins.
Browns-Vikings—If Cleveland wants to be taken seriously it needs to win on the road.
Washington-Falcons—If Washington can’t win this one, DC Jack Del Rio will need an ultimatum.
Texans-Bills—Houston looking for credibility, Buffalo looking to be great. No contest.
Giants-Saints—New Orleans is back in the Superdome and it should be loud. I want to root for the Giants, but they’ve been struggling since David took down Goliath.
Chiefs-Eagles—KC is struggling, Philly’s been exposed, Chiefs go yard. Blowout.
Panthers-Cowboys—My soul wants to take the Cats, but their offensive line forces me to take Dallas.
Seahawks-49ers—This game could go either way, but go with Frisco at home. Seattle is playing the way downtown Seattle looks.
Cardinals-Rams—I believe in the Phoenix Suns, I believe in Cactus League baseball, but I don’t believe in the Arizona Cardinals.
Steelers-Packers—Pittsburgh’s got some pieces back, but none of them are Terry Bradshaw or Mike Webster. They won’t have enough in Lambeau.
Ravens-Broncos—Denver’s done well against a soft schedule—but they haven’t been in a brawl. Baltimore is street-tough and wins in Mile High without the aid of Rahim Moore.
Sunday Night
Buccaneers-Patriots—Who do you take? What team is Brady on? Okay, choice made.
Monday Night
Raiders-Chargers—More points on the board or more fights in the stands? Las Vegas has been living on the edge, I think they come up craps at SoFi. But then again—there’s always Jared Cook to consider.
Joe T. is the author of “Tangent Dreams: A High School Football Novel” … “Temple City & The Company of The Ages” … “The Dead Bug Tales” … “The Dark Norm” & “FaithViews for Storm Riders”…all five available through Amazon.com.
www.JoeTorosian.com
jtbank1964@yahoo.com
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From The RamCave—Every Friday
