Tonight, the St. Louis Rams face the biggest game on their schedule in the first half. This game, more than any other, has the potential to set a tone of this season. If the Rams win at home against the hated Arizona Cardinals, look out for the next home game; the Edward Jones dome will be crazy. I am still holding out hope that the Ed will be rocking tonight. Looking at past history, the game plan should be simple. Arizona can't run the ball (29th in the league) and they gave up 8 sacks last game.  Thus, on the defensive side, you would think we protect against the pass first and blitz the heck out of Kolb. 

Again, looking at history, the previously exalted Arizona defense, has sunk to 17th position in overall defense. They are decent against the rush (14th) and not quite as good against the pass (21st). Furthermore, Miami just torched Arizona for 400 plus passing yards. Thus, you would expect our passing game to be featured, and it would be complemented with an attempt to run the ball from time to time. 

However, the above stats are a bit misleading. The Arizona game against Miami skewed the stats. Additionally, this is the NFL, which stands for "Not For Long". While that phrase was intended to refer to player longevity, it also applies with game plans from week to week. Seattle had 8 sacks against Greenbay in week 3 and came into the Rams game licking their chops. The Rams showed pass protection problems the week before giving up 6 sacks to Chicago. Somehow, the Rams only gave up 2 sacks to Seattle.  

The point? Arizona's coaches will learn from mistakes in the last game and make adjustments. Thus, I do not expect a 400 plus yard performance by the Rams passing offense. Looking at how Arizona has performed in all games this season, this is what I think the Rams need to do to win the game:

1.  STOP THE RUN. PERIOD.

There is no excuse in this game for the defense.They have to stop the run. 

The Arizona Cardinals - check that, THE FOUR-AND-OH ARIZONA CARDINALS - have been the biggest surprise in the NFL season so far, and a major factor that sees the NFC West leading the league in wins at the quarter pole. But now they prepare  to take on an improved Rams team that is undefeated in their home stadium so far. 

If respectability starts at home - and the four NFC West teams are a perfect 8-0 in their own stadiums - true respect comes from big wins on the road. As suddenly tough as this division is, whoever can steal those road wins may just land themselves a playoff spot in the process. The Cardinals notched an impressive one over Josh McDaniels and the New England Patriots in week 3, but how will they respond on short rest and in prime time? 

I'm not ashamed to say that I badly miscalculated the Cardinals' chances this season. I pegged them for a four-win team at best, with their QB and offensive line situation being what they are. So I was happy that Seth Cox, founder of The Sports Headquarters and lover of all professional sports of the desert climes, agreed to give me his inside perspective on this mystery team. 

Is their 4-0 start for real? Is their success sustainable? Seth gives us his answers after the jump. 

Pre-Snap

The Rams come out in 12 personnel (1 back, 2 tight ends) in a Trips right formation.  Chris Givens (13) split out wide to the right and Brian Quick (83) to the left.  Tight end Mike Mulligan (82) is on the line to the right of the formation and Lance Kendricks is (88) lined up 1 by 1 off the line just to the right of Mulligan.  Bradford is under center with Steven Jackson 7 yards behind him. 

Prior to the snap, Lance Kendricks does a Jam motion across the formation.  Jam motion tells us that Kendricks is moving away from the Y receiver (here Mike Mulligan).  When the tight end is aligned on the edge as Kendrick is here on the right, he initiates and ends his movement on the edge on the opposite side.  The motion puts the Rams in what is known as a Deuce formation. 

The 2012 St. Louis Rams are work in progress. They had their worst tackling game of the season, a good first half of rushing, a horrendous second half of rushing, and way too many third and longs against a pass rushing defense. Yet, they won. They won this game on coaching.

Jeff Fisher outcoached Pete Carol in many ways. Some of his play calls were better (ex. fake field goal). However, Fisher's coaching can also be noticed in the team's personality. They never get down because they believe in themselves. They have confidence. Look no further than Greg Zuerline, who doesn't even flinch when he is asked to kick a 50 plus yard field goal in his rookie season. I would dig a little deeper into the game, but Will already has a good game review article posted to the web site. Also, this is a short week, and I need to do another preview already. 

Let's review the preview and see whether the factors I highlighted made any difference:

Photo by Chantal Overton (@OhhMyOnlineNet).

One quarter of the way through the 2012 season, the Rams are already ahead of schedule. We were supposed to be the young team that learned how to fight, but would have a hard time closing games and putting wins in the standings. We were supposed to be in the "rebuilding" year - an NFL euphemism for "acceptable losing season, as long as the writers have something positive to write about."

The winning wasn't supposed to come for another year, not until the next round of blue-chip draft picks came in. But don't tell that to the 2012 draft class, who are busily scattering chips - blue, red and otherwise - across the table like a bachelor in Vegas.

While there are a lot of factors in play, with coaching at the very head of the list, we can't ignore the impact that this year's rookies are making on the field, and on the character of the youngest team in the league. Here is a rundown of each rookie's contribution to the season so far, and our expectations for the rest of 2012.

If you are a fan of the St. Louis Rams, this is required reading. Fandom comes with very few strings. You can claim to your friends that you are a huge fan, and very few will question the legitimacy of your claim. I now say to all fans of the Rams, if you do not attend this Thursday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, you deserve to have your fandom questioned for ever more.

This game is a momentous event of unprecedented significance. Yes, the Superbowl win of 1999 had historic implications far beyond this game. At the same time, attendance at the game was in no way necessary. In fact, attendance at the game would have been considered more of a reward for a fan than a burden. I can think of no other game since 1995 that offered as little reward to a fan, yet had the pervasive effect on an entire season, even on the future of the Rams in St. Louis.

This is the one game in the 2012 season that is a mandatory attendance event.  Here are all of the reasons why:

1.  The Rams future in St. Louis is in question. This may be the reason why the Rams currently are last in the NFL in attendance. Yes, last. According to ESPN, the Rams are averaging 53,586 per game in 2012. The stadium has capacity for 66,000. Thursday night's game is on national TV against an undefeated team in our division who has a history in St. Louis. If we can't get full attendance for this game, we deserve to lose the Rams. Some may argue this point.  However, anyone who thinks that people watching the game or executives in the NFL will not be thinking this exact thought is naive.

2.  The Rams have won both home games in 2012, and the fans in attendance have given it their all to establish a home field advantage. Nevertheless, we have not had one penalty on the opposing team that was obviously caused by noise.  On almost every significant defensive play, you can see the players calling for more. The fans get louder, but there simply are not enough cheeks in the seats to raise the roof of that cavernous dome. To give the Rams the best chance to win this game, they need a real home field advantage. 

3.  Moreover, this game, has an ability to affect future games at the dome. If the Rams win on national television and everyone sees the effect of the crowd on the game, opposing teams will have to prepare for and worry about coming to the Edward Jones Dome. 

4.  Finally, given that this is a evening game it is highly likely that the fans will imbibe large quantities of festive libations, which has the potential to create a raucous atmosphere.  A win in that atmosphere will cause many St. Louisans to want to attend the next game. If attendance for this season rises, the Rams will have a difficult sell to the NFL why they need to leave. More fans in attendance also raise the possibility of more wins.

In the end, I do not believe that this one win will guarantee a great season of winning football. However, I do believe a sold out party atmosphere has the ability to minimize memories of past failures and focus people on the next game at the Ed for the team that is undefeated at home.

I acknowledge this game offers the fan very little reward. We can all find a good excuse to party, without having to drop serious money on tickets and 8 dollars on beers. Nevertheless, I believe this game demands something of the St. Louis fans.  This game demands your attendance.

If you agree with this article, please forward it on e-mail, like it on facebook and/or retweet it to your followers. Let's get more cheeks in the seats on Thursday night.   

It should be noted that the Rams have special events planned for the game and special pricing. http://www.stlouisrams.com/

If you line up all the Rams' wins at the end of the season and held a beauty pageant, this 19-13 grunter over the Seattle Seahawks would rank dead last. But in the standings, all wins look beautiful. With a 2-0 record at home, and a 1-0 mark in the division, Jeff Fisher and his team won't be apologizing to anyone for lack of appearances.

Aesthetically speaking, there was very little to be proud of. Our run defense got trampled, as Marshawn Lynch and Robert Turbin averaged 6.2 yards per carry in their 26 touches. Our passing game alternated bad plays for good, with Bradford completing barely half his passes and no single receiver emerging as a go-to threat. (Somehow, Bradford hit eight different receivers with only 16 completions, a new high-mark in egalitarianism.) And our one touchdown came on some special teams tomfoolery that caught the Seahawks napping.

But boy, those special teams. Rookie kicking tandem Johnny Hekker and Greg Zuerlein accounted for all 19 Rams points. Hekker, a former high school quarterback, found Danny Amendola in the crouching tiger position on the far right sideline, unnoticed and uncovered in the end zone on a masterful fake-FG-turned-touchdown. And Greg Zuerlein ...

The kid from Missouri Western is a weapon that can be used at any time, lethal from anywhere north of the 50 yard line. Young Geezy / Greg the Leg / Legatron ... the sixth-round rookie already has earned more nicknames than the rest of the class of 2012 combined. He is also the first to etch his name in the Rams' record book, breaking (and then re-breaking) the team's longest field goal record with kicks of 58 and 60 yards. He may also have written his name in the NFL record books as the first kicker to make two FGs of 58 yards or longer in the same game.