Quick Take: Cardinals-Rams

Published: Nov 17, 2009 at 05:32 AM

In Brief

» Last meeting: Arizona's defense scored two touchdowns as the Cardinals trounced the Rams, 34-10, on Dec. 7, 2008.
» Streaks: Arizona has won five in a row, but still trails in the overall series, 31-28-2, including the playoffs.
» Last week: The Cardinals rallied past the Seahawks, 31-20. ... The Rams put up a good fight, but ultimately fell to the Saints, 28-23.

Keep your eye on ...Kurt Warner going back to St. Louis again: Warner seems to take special delight in tormenting his former team whenever he returns to St. Louis. In three games at the Edward Jones Dome since leaving the Rams, he has passed for 818 yards (an average of 273 a game), six touchdowns and only one interception. He will look to put up similar numbers this year against St. Louis' 25th-ranked pass defense.

Darnell Dockett's domination at the line of scrimmage: Dockett's impact is not always best measured in statistics (he has only 32 tackles and 2.5 sacks this year), but his physical play at the point of attack is a big reason why Arizona has the league's eighth-best run defense. He and his Cardinals defensive linemates will have to be at their best against St. Louis' Steven Jackson, who is third in the NFL with 915 rushing yards.

Donnie Avery's emergence: While Avery has had some decent outings this season, consistency remains an issue. He tends to follow up a solid game with a disappearing act. He was sensational against the Saints, with two touchdown catches, but his challenge will be to follow that up with another good game against the Cardinals.

Did you know?

Cards RB Tim Hightower has scored a TD in his last two games against the Rams. ... Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald has a TD in six of his last seven games against St. Louis. ... Rams DE Chris Long has a sack in two straight games.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.