The Cardinals can’t overlook the Rams who are playing much better than they were early in the year.  They almost beat the Saints last week and they won the game before it against the Lions.  The offense is starting to really click for the Cardinals now and they will be attacking the Rams through the air the minute they get off the team bus.  The Rams are allowing 236.2 yards passing per game and the Cards are averaging 271.0 yards passing per game so Kurt Warner will be throwing the ball early and often in this game.  The Rams don’t really have the corners to deal with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston so it could be a long day for the Rams if they can’t put any pressure on Warner.  Don’t be surprised if Beanie Wells has a huge game against a Rams’ D that is allowing 142.3 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.

The Rams are going to do what they always do on offense and that’s get the ball to Steven Jackson.  Jackson is a absolute beast even if you stack the box against him.  The Cardinals are allowing 101.0 yards rushing per game and 4.2 ypc so Jackson will likely get his yards.  The Cardinals will no doubt be cheating up against the run so it will be up to QB Marc Bulger to make them pay for it.  The Cardinals are allowing 253.4 yards passing per game so Bulger could have a good game against them.  That will depend on young receivers Donnie Avery and Brandon Gibson who must get separation at the line of scrimmage.

PREDICTION:  CARDINALS 35, RAMS 14

The Arizona Cardinals are starting to lean towards making Beanie Wells the featured back in the offense.  In his last 4 games Wells has carried the ball 51 times for 271 yards (5.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has also caught 5 passes for 32 yards.  The Cardinals probably wouldn’t be able to name Wells as the full time back because he’s not a good receiver.  He has now played in 9 games for the Cardinals this season and he has carried the ball 86 times for 395 yards (4.6 ypc) with 3 TD runs and he has also caught 6 passes for 49 yards (8.2 avg).  It’s likely that Wells is about to have all of the duties except being the third down back for the Cardinals very soon.  Tim Hightower would likely still be the back for the Cardinals on passing downs as he is a much better receiver than Wells is.  He has carried the ball 88 times for 320 yards (3.6 ypc) with 5 TD runs so far this season and he has also caught 45 passes for 328 yards (7.3 avg). 

26-year old Matt Leinart has seemed to regress over the years to the point where the Cardinals have to ask themselves if he is the QB of the future.  Leinart has played in 4 games for the Cardinals so far this season completing 7 of 11 passes (63.6%) for 45 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (34.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 4 times for -2 yards (-0.5 ypc) but most of those were kneel  downs.  Leinart has now played in 25 games in four years for the Cardinals and he has completed 296 of 529 passes (56%) for 3,503 yards with 14 TD passes and 18 INTs (70.9 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 41 times for 94 yards (2.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Leinart just doesn’t look like a starting QB in the NFL so maybe the Cardinals will look into drafting another QB in next April’s NFL Draft to challenge him.

 The Arizona Cardinals (6-3) got off to a slow start Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks (3-6), but they played great in the second half and got the win.  The Cardinals defense let the Cardinals build a 14-0 lead early in the game and they finished the first half with 17 points.  They did not do a good job in that first half, but they made some good adjustments at halftime and held them to 3 second half points.  The defense gave up way too many yards in this one.  Seahawks’ running back Justin Forsett put them on the board early and finished the game with 123 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.  Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards and a touchdown on 26/52 attempts.  They let receiver T.J. The Cardinals defense did a much better job on Hasselbeck late in the game, as they intercepted him twice to help seal the victory.  Antrel Rolle and Adrian Wilson were the Cardinals players who got the interceptions.

The Cardinals offense did not play very well in the first half, but they outscored the Seahawks 21-3 in the second.  Kurt Warner led the way for the Cardinals once again.  Everyone talks about Brett Favre and how great he is playing for a 40-year old.  Well Warner is 38 and has been playing great for the Cardinals.  He had two touchdowns and no interceptions, while throwing 340 yards on 29/38 pass attempts.  He got a lot of help from the running game too, as Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower combined for 122 yards on 26 carries.  Wells ran it in for two touchdowns while also adding two catches for 32 yards.  It was a very good game for the rookie.  Warner and Larry Fitzgerald pretty much sealed the win when they connected on 18-yard touchdown pass with 6:11, but the defense has to be credited too for shutting down Hasselbeck and Hawks’ offense in the second half.

The Arizona Cardinals (5-3) are coming off a blowout win over the Bears and will be hosting the Seattle Seahawks (3-5) on Sunday.  The Cardinals have not really had much of a home-field advantage this year, with all three of their losses coming at home this season.  They are a much better team the Seahawks though, so they should be able to improve to 2-3 at home this year.  The Seahawks are coming off a win over the Lions, where their quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had a huge day and broke a franchise record for completions (39).  The Cardinals are giving up too many yards through the air (247), so they need to contain Hasselbeck as he is their best player.

The Cardinals offense should not have too much of a problem in this one.  Warner and Fitzgerald could have big games once again and it could be another blowout.  Warner needs to make sure he doesn’t turn the ball over though, as he has had some bad turnover games this season.  Maybe they can get their running game going a little more too as the Seahawks give up 102 rushing yards per game.  I think the Cardinals will win this one with conviction as they need to start having more success at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 34, Seattle Seahawks 20