Cardinals vs. Rams: 5 negatives from the game

While it's nice to be positive, let's call a spade, a spade. The Cardinals lost which means they did more bad than good against St. Louis. Wake up and smell the coffee.

Levi Brown

Robert Quinn had 3.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles. His sacks matched a career high, which he set last year against the Cardinals porous offensive line. Much of the blame should be placed on Levi Brown, but generally the entire team was pretty inconsistent. Hopefully, this isn't going to be the norm for the rest of the season because the Rams aren't the only NFC West team with a strong pass rush.

Pass Rush

Just as the offense failed in pass blocking the defense failed pass rushing. Not only did Sam Bradford stay sack free, he was pressure free outside of a handful of plays. The offensive lines only get better in the NFC West and someone has step up and start creating pressure.

Penalties

Five out of six penalties were dead ball penalties. Calls were made for encroachment, offside (both offense and defense) and delay of game. None of them were game changing like Tampa Bay's wild finish this week, but often the mistakes helped sustain St. Louis drives.

Tight Ends

This isn't to say Jim Dray and Kory Sperry played poorly, but the team needs better playing from this group. Bruce Arians spent the offseason talking up the importance of tight ends in his offense both for blocking and catching. A healthy Rob Housler may become that impact TE, but I seriously doubt Dray and Sperry will.

LBs in Pass Coverage

Jared Cook destroyed the Cardinals tonight. It's clear Dansby, while a good FA, has lost a step athletically and the rest of the linebackers are not strong against the pass. Until Daryl Washington returns I expect to see more TEs have big games against the team.

Bonus: Javier Arenas

The returner took two kickoffs out of the endzone, both times failing to reach the 20-yard line and the second time almost led to a turnover if not for Tony Jefferson. Not smart.