Here come the Cardinals

[laram0]

Our Rams will be welcoming the (2-9) that's right 2 and 9 Cardinals to the Dome on Sunday. We are going into this match-up a 6 1/2 to 7 point favorite. Versus a team that has it's Head Coaches days numbered and a rookie at quarterback. Sigh....We will finally see our Rams get a comfortable win, it's about time.

Not so fast, I'm actually anticipating another dreaded nail biter. As we all know the Rams pulled off a win at Arizona (16-14) back in week 3 of this season. Also I'm sure it's still fresh in our minds how that game ended. Marc Bulger and Kurt Warner playing "Hot Potato" with the ball, with the game on the line. Fortunatley for us Warner was the last one to fumble the Potato into our greedy little hands. What might not be fresh in our minds concerning that game was that Warner was intercepted 3 times. 2 of which were picked off in the "Red Zone". 1 at the Rams 13 and the other at the Rams 1 yard line. Rams seemed to dodge a big bullet in the desert.

So.....although I do feel like our Rams will win this rematch, it's going to be to close for comfort, again. Obviously this is another in a long list of "BIG" games, if not a MUST win situation. Our Rams are still alive in the NFC Playoff Race. As it stands now we are in 10th place needing to get to a minimum of 6th place.

NFC PLAYOFF RACE
1. Chicago (9-2)
2. New Orleans (7-4)
3. Seattle (7-4)
4. Dallas (7-4)
5. Giants (6-5)
6. Carolina (6-5)
7. Minnesota (5-6)
8. Philadelphia (5-6)
9. Whiners (5-6)
10. ST. LOUIS RAMS (5-6)
11. Atlanta (5-6)

There are some very interesting games on the schedule for this Sunday/Monday. Many of which will directly affect our Rams.

Atlanta @ Washington
Minnesota @ Chicago
Whiners @ New Orleans
Dallas @ Giants
Seattle @ Denver
Carolina @ Philadelphia (Monday Night Game)

After gazing into my old crystal ball of wishful thinking. I see that the Rams, Chicago, Washington, New Orleans, Dallas, Denver and Philadelphia all won their games. Thus changing the Playoff Race to look like this:

1. Chicago (10-2)
2. New Orleans (8-4)
3. Dallas (8-4)
4. Seattle (7-5)
5. Giants (6-6)
6. Carolina (6-6)
7. Philadelphia (6-6)
8. ST. LOUIS RAMS (6-6)
9. Minnesota (5-7)
10. Atlanta (5-7)
11. Washington (5-7)

There we go, right back into the thick of the things. 4 teams tied at (6-6) pushing for the Playoffs. Piece of cake....and the lowly Bears are next on the menu.

[RAMFANRAIDERHATER]

So.....although I do feel like our Rams will win this rematch, it's going to be to close for comfort, again. Obviously this is another in a long list of "BIG" games, if not a MUST win situation.

If this game is indeed a close one, it speaks volumes about our team, and what it says if it is close, or a loss, is we have no business in the playoffs. Look, the Cards are a bad football team. If we can't put them away in our house, what chance would we have in the playoffs, on the road? How far would this team go? How you do against the bad teams tell a lot about your team character, probably more so then how you do against the good teams.

I expect the Rams to win this game by a touchdown or more. I do. I don't care that we barely beat them early in the season, and maybe we won because we "got lucky". This teams needs to prove to themselves that they're better than they've shown us, and this is the game to do it. They need to make a statement. NOW. It's important for them mentally to gain some confidence, something I think they've lost. As far as the playoffs...
I'm not thinking about the playoffs, because I don't think the Rams are good enough at this time to be competitive in the playoffs. However, no NFC team is exactly setting the world on fire with it's play. So, there is always a chance for the Rams to still get in. Stranger things have happened.

Just my humble, honest, opinion...

[r8rh8rmike]

I just do not know what to think about this game. We seem to sink to the level of our competition so I guess anything could happen, but this is some LOW competition. The team needs some kind of positive momemtum going into the strech drive and this is the perfect opportunity IMO. Besides, we all need a game we can sit back, relax and enjoy, and again this is a perfect opportunity. Hey, just once I'd like to have a real party in the chat room instead of the usual doom, gloom and despair.