Rams vs. Cardinals NFL Week 12 Preview

By Anthony Blake
St. Louis Rams sack-fest vs. Arizona Cardinals
Jeff Curry-US PRESSWIRE

In the first meeting of the St. Louis Rams and Arizona Cardinals at the Edward Jones Dome, the Rams knocked the Cards from the realm of the unbeaten. Since that point, neither team has won a single game with the Rams going 0-4-1 and the Cardinals a dismal 0-6. This week will be the perfect chance for one of these clubs to get off the schneid. Here are some ways for the Rams to be the team that gets the win when these two meet again in Week 12.

RATTLE THE ROOKIE

This week marks the first career start of rookie sixth round pick Ryan Lindley out of San Diego State. The Cards have gone through quarterbacks at rapid rate in 2012 mostly due to an abomination of an offensive line. Lindley will step into the fire against a Rams team that put Kevin Kolb on his back nine times when these two met in week 5 so it could be an interesting welcome to the league for Lindley.

RED ZONE CONVERSIONS

When a team struggles to score points in the first place like the Rams do, it becomes even more important for them to cash in for touchdowns when they make a trip into the red zone. St. Louis has seen a nice turnaround in that area since their bye week going 4-5 in trips to the red area with the only exception coming on a field goal in the game against the San Francisco 49ers. If the Rams can score points when they get in position, the game would instantly become a whole lot easier.

REMATCH FACTOR

Clearly just channeling some of the same strategies utilized in the first meeting between these two clubs would be good for the Rams. Their defense put forth a suffocating performance in the first clash holding the Cards to just three points in the 17-3 victory. The Rams were super effective on the ground rushing for 111 yards on 27 carries split between Steven Jackson and Daryl Richardson. Look for a similar grind-it-out approach this time as the Rams try to limit their mistakes and manage this game to a win.

Beating the same team twice in one season is always a difficult task as these familiar divisional foes know. For the Rams, sticking to the principles they utilized in Week 5 will be essential and making their drives into scoring range count will be a must if they want to repeat their success from earlier in the year.

Follow Anthony Blake on Twitter @AnthonyMBlake or on Facebook at Anthony Mizarkus Blake

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