Before delving into the quotes that came in postgame media access, here are some of my thoughts after watching the Arizona Cardinals defeat the St. Louis Rams 30-10 on Sunday.
1. The run defense was again stout
The Rams offense is built around running the ball, especially with Kellen Clemens as their quarterback. While the numbers say that Arizona gave up 100 yards on 19 carries, that is not the whole story. There was one huge play by Tavon Austin that went for 56 yards on an end around. Arizona held their workload back Zac Stacy to 25 yards on 14 carries -- 1.8 yards per carry. Coming into the game on Sunday, Stacy had gained 696 yards with an average of 4.4 yards per carry.
2. The offensive line played really, really well
Carson Palmer was sacked only once and officially hit only twice. More importantly, palmer looked comfortable the entire game throwing the ball. Robert Quinn was shut out after having three sacks in Week 1. As a result, this leads to...
3. Carson Palmer was super sharp on Sunday
Palmer finished 27/32 for 269 yards and a touchdown. he was on target with almost every single throw. Andre Roberts dropped a pass, Rob Housler lost his footing on a route in the seam where the ball was well placed. I can recall only one throw that I thought was a bad or questionable throw.
He threw his 20th touchdown pass of the season, something that only Kurt Warner, Neil Lomax, Jim Hart and Charley Johnson have done in a season for the Cards. That is both impressive and depressing at the same time.
4. Larry Fitzgerald was balling (as they say)...but...
He hauled in 12 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown. It was the most catches in a game since 2009 and one off his career high.
However, it was not a huge dominant game. He was open a lot. Palmer got him the ball. I'm not complaining, but it was nothing like the games we have seen recently from Michael Floyd.
That brings me to...
5. Michael Floyd didn't look right
He had two receptions and both went for first downs, which increased his streak of catches that result in a first down -- it is now 22 -- but he looked affected by something. It was probably his ankle, but I did not see him re-enter the game after his second catch inside the 10-yard line. It looked like he was shaken up on the play. I would not be surprised to see him show up on the injury report with a concussion. It looked like he took a hit to the chin or facemask as he was falling forward on the play.
6. Karlos Dansby is playing well...really well
He had eight tackles, two for losses, including a sack. He picked off a pass and scored a touchdown. It just adds to the gaudy number he has had on the season. He said after the game, "I don't see nobody outplaying me right now." he said that this season is the best he has had in his career and answered "why not?" about making the Pro Bowl.
But he wasn't the only one to dominate.
7. John Abraham is not Joey Porter
At age 35, he is producing as a pass rusher like no one the Cardinals have had in a while. He picked up three more sacks, giving him 11 on the season. It was the first time a Cardinals player had reached the 10-sack plateau since Bertand Berry did it in 2004. He also passed Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O'Neal on the all-time list, putting him at number nine in history.
8. Jay Feely looked preseason bad
Feely missed both a 50-yard and a 25-yard field goal, pushing them both to the right. The team was fortunate that they did not need the points. Hopefully he gets things right before he has to kick against the Titans next week. It was games like this that made the team bring in Dan Carpenter to compete with him.
9. The Rams were a mess
St. Louis was flagged 11 times for 90 yards on penalties. Very, very sloppy.
10. No Jared Cook problems
The tight end that torched the Arizona secondary for 141 yards and two scores in Week 1 picked up three catches for 49 yards, which led the team. He was targeted only six times. Finally!