(SportsNetwork. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping .com) - Injuries have most observers scurrying to jump off the Arizona Cardinals bandwagon. The Cards, however, enter Week 15 of the NFL season on the precipice of the postseason, tied for the leagues best record at 10-3 and one-game ahead of the reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks in the ultra-tough NFC West. Arizona will try to keep its critics at bay and inch closer to a playoff berth when the visit the stingy St. Louis Rams on Thursday Night Football. A win by the Cardinals will send Bruce Arians club to the playoffs as long as the Dallas-Philadelphia game set for Sunday night doesnt end in a tie. Arizona can also lock down a postseason berth with a win in St. Louis, coupled by a Detroit loss against Minnesota on Sunday and a Green Bay win or draw in Buffalo. Drew Stanton tossed a go-ahead 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown late in the third quarter last weekend and Arizonas defense held off Kansas City from there as the Cardinals edged the Chiefs 17-14. This was another typical Cardinal football game, said Arians. We played hard and made a mistake or two, but when it comes to second-half football, this team has shown its resiliency. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce fumbled the ball at the Arizona 16 with 5:23 remaining and the Cardinals drained the remaining time off the clock by picking up a pair of first downs. Kerwynn Williams, elevated from the practice squad to fill in for Andre Ellington, who was placed on season-ending IR earlier this week with a hip injury, carried the ball 19 times for 100 yards. I didnt know what my role was going to be, said Williams, who had never touched the ball before. I just wanted to be prepared whatever it was. Stanton had lost two of his three prior starts since replacing starting QB Carson Palmer, who was lost for the season with a knee injury during a Week 10 victory over the Rams. Stanton finished 15-of-30 for 239 yards. The injury bug continued to be ever present, though, as cornerback Antonio Cromartie hurt his left ankle during the middle stages of the fourth and had to be carted off the field. The injury was initially believed to be an Achilles so the Cardinals were breathing a sigh of relief. Things can change, but it wasnt on the surface as severe as I thought it looked, general manger Steve Keim said. Cromartie was listed as a limited participant on the injury report Tuesday and is listed as day-to-day but the short week obviously wont help. The Rams, meanwhile, are coming off their second straight shutout, a 24-0 whitewashing of Washington made far worse for the Redskins because St. Louis is the team they gave a kings ransom to in order to get Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL Draft. Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree and Greg Robinson, who were among the slew of players the Rams received from the blockbuster RG3 trade with Washington, were in St. Louis starting lineup but Griffin was on Washingtons bench due to ineffectiveness, at least for the first 58 minutes. Rams signal caller Shaun Hill tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Jared Cook and after Tavon Austins 78-yard punt return staked the Rams to a 24-0 advantage late in the third quarter, chants of RG3, RG3, RG3, reverberated throughout FedEx Field. Griffin, though, never got the call until two minutes remained after Colt McCoy departed with a neck strain. Hill finished 16-of-22 for 213 yards, while Cook hauled in four passes for 61 yards for St. Louis, which posted back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 1945. The Rams blanked Oakland 52-0 last Sunday. Pretty impressive, Rams coach Jeff Fisher said of the shutouts. I look at this as we can play better. Fishers defense, led by a strong front four featuring star pass rusher Robert Quinn and impact rookie Aaron Donald, recorded seven sacks, two interceptions and eight tackles for loss while holding Washington to 206 total yards in the triumph. The Cardinals, of course, used to call St. Louis home from 1960 until moving to the desert for the 1988 season. The franchise has won two straight over the Rams and holds a slim 35-34-2 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams, including a 31-14 triumph in Arizona on Nov. 9 when Cards cornerback Patrick Peterson picked off two Austin Davis passes and returned one for a 30-yard score. His running mate, Cromartie, added a 14-yard TD off a fumble recovery. The Cards traditionally do very poorly on short weeks, compiling a 7-20-2 all- time mark on Thursdays. The Rams are better but still underwater at 6-7. WHAT TO WATCH FOR The Cardinals are 7-0 at home this season, the most wins for the franchise as the host in a single season since 1925 when Chicago was its home. Simple math makes them a far more pedestrian 3-3 on the road where they have lost two straight so maybe they will try to pretend that the Gateway to the West is still where their heart is. The problem here is that Arizonas offense has been struggling mightily since Palmer went down in the first matchup with the Rams and St. Louis possesses the hottest defense in the game. We are really focused in well right now and I thought it was huge to get two wins in a row, said Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis. We have to challenge ourselves really hard the next three days in preparation for Arizona on Thursday night. We have to lock it in, and keep this thing going. Theres definitely momentum right now, and we just have to keep fighting and keep stacking wins. The Cardinals have managed just four offensive touchdowns in four games since Palmer tore his ACL trying to avoid a sack by Rams safety Mark Barron in the fourth quarter of Novembers contest. St. Louis stop unit, meanwhile, has allowed only 34 points while going 3-1 since falling to Arizona and will be attempting to become the first team to put up three straight goose eggs since the legendary Steel Curtain with Pittsburgh did so in 1976. Granted the Rams two shutouts didnt come against offensive juggernauts -- the Raiders and Redskins -- but any time you can pile up the zeros in an era where just about everything is skewed toward offense, its impressive. I want to see it again, a selfish Fisher said. We need to keep playing, keep preparing the way we are. In the past two weeks the St. Louis stop unit is allowing just 225 yards per game and it has been doing everything pretty well. For instance the Rams gave up a Cards season-low 28 rushing yards on 22 carries last month and have been giving up under 60 yards a game on the ground over the past six games. The pass rush, fueled by Quinn, has found the QB 13 times over the prior two games. Guys are playing lights-out right now, said Quinn, who now has 10 1/2 sacks on the season. Hopefully, we just keep it going. The biggest test for the Rams D could be Larry Fitzgerald, who generally turns it up a notch in division games. The future Hall of Fame receiver enters this weeks matchup with 358 receptions for 4,697 receiving yards with 38 touchdowns against the NFC West since entering the league in 2004, the most of any player against his own division during that span. Against St. Louis, Fitzgerald has 131 receptions and 16 touchdowns, the most against any opponent in his career. In his past three meetings against the Rams, Fitzgerald has 29 catches for 288 yards and three touchdowns. You have to love the NFL schedule, said Fitzgerald. You want a tough game against a great football team. St. Louis again played a really good game and those guys are rolling right now. Its always tough to play there, but were going to be ready for the occasion. Hill, meanwhile, has at least steadied things on offense for the Rams over the last month since replacing the wet-behind-the-ears Davis. The veteran Hill has completed 62.0 percent of his passes with six TDs and two INTs since Davis was benched for his performance against the Cards. Rookie running back Tre Mason leads all NFC rookies with 628 rushing yards and has 363 scrimmage yards (315 rushing, 48 receiving) and four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving) in his past three games at home. Hill is sure to be wary of Peterson, who has five career interceptions against the Rams and headlines a powerful unit that is allowing under 17 points a game over the last six weeks. OVERALL ANALYSIS Its hard to imagine either offense putting up big numbers against the opposing defenses here. The X-factor could be Mason, who has been tearing it up recently on the fast track at Edward Jones Dome. Thats enough to give the slight edge to the Rams in what shapes up as a 50-50 game. (The Rams) are playing as good a football as anybody now, Arizona defensive lineman Calais Campbell said. Its a division game. They know us, guys youve played against multiple times. Its going to be a good football game. Sports Network predicted outcome: Rams 14, Cardinals 10 Replica Air Max . Re-signed by the club to a one-year, two-way (NHL/AHL) contract on July 5, Bass appeared in three preseason games with Columbus prior to breaking a bone in his hand on Sept. Wholesale Air Max . Granada goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez saved Morenos first two headers from corner kicks taken by Sergio Garcia, but the defender beat him on his third try after Garcia found Moreno unmarked at the near post in the 78th minute. https://www.airmaxchina.us/ .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York.PHILADELPHIA -- A.J. Burnett and Marlon Byrd were the two acquisitions the Philadelphia Phillies were hoping would help them get back to the post-season. Well, they helped them get a win in a season going nowhere. Burnett threw 7 1-3 sharp innings, Byrd hit a three-run homer and the Phillies beat the San Diego Padres 5-2 on Tuesday night. "Create some momentum. We just have to carry it over into tomorrow," manager Ryne Sandberg said. Back from a 1-5 trip that left them tied with the Cubs for the worst record in the NL, the Phillies opened a six-game homestand with only their 13th win at Citizens Bank Park. Burnett (4-5) allowed two runs and three hits to earn his first win since May 20. "It all starts with our pitching," Burnett said. "If we hold them down and give our guys a chance, the better off well be." Jonathan Papelbon left the bases loaded in a scoreless ninth to record his 300th career save, becoming the 26th pitcher to reach that mark. He has 14 consecutive saves after blowing his first try. "It was tough because I didnt feel that emotion in a while," Papelbon said. "It means a lot to me, more than most people would think." Will Venable hit a solo homer for San Diego. Starter Ian Kennedy (5-7) gave up five runs and seven hits in seven innings. Kennedy retired the first nine batters before Ben Revere lined a double to right to start Philadelphias fourth. Chase Utleys RBI single tied it at 1. After Ryan Howard singled, Byrd hit an opposite-field shot into the seats in right-centre field for a 4-1 lead. "It seems theres always one pitch youd like to take back and that was the pitch," Kennedy said. "Not a good location." Utley and Howard hit consecutive singles before Byrd drove in another run with a sacrifice fly in the sixth to make it 5-1. That was enough for Burnett, who shook off his recent struggles and was in control throughout. The righty was 1-4 with a 7.25 ERA in his previous six starts. Burnett waalked two after issuing 10 in his last two starts. Discount Air Max. "It looked like he was throwing more strikes and he had some contact outs early in counts," Sandberg said. "He also mixed in some two-seam fastballs, which worked for him in getting ground-ball outs to left-handed hitters." Burnett only threw 89 pitches before giving way to Jake Diekman, who got the final two outs in the eighth on strikeouts. Diekman reached 100 mph on one of his fastballs. "I dont like to come out of a game, period," Burnett said. "But he throws a little harder than me." The Padres took a 1-0 lead in the third when Venable lined a 3-1 pitch into the seats in right for only his second homer in 179 at-bats. Venable hit a career-high 22 homers last season. The light-hitting Padres entered with the worst batting average in the majors at .218. Carlos Quentin snapped an 0-for-24 slump with a seventh-inning double. But Everth Cabrera (0 for 1 and Jace Peterson (0 for 1 were 0 for 5 to extend their hitless streaks. Quentin scored on Yonder Alonsos sacrifice fly to cut it to 5-2. NOTES: The Phillies had some positive injury news. LHP Cliff Lee could start throwing soon. Hes missed the last four starts because of an elbow strain. 3B Cody Asche (hamstring) should start a rehab assignment this weekend. An MRI showed that RHP Mike Adams doesnt have a torn labrum. Adams will get a cortisone shot and expects to return after a stint on the DL. ... Only Arizona has fewer home wins (12) than Philadelphia. ... Papelbons save was his first since May 24. ... The Padres lost for only the 11th time when having a lead at any point in a game. Thats the third-fewest total in the majors. ... The Phillies and Padres have 11 sacrifice flies this season. Only Pittsburgh had fewer (9). ... The Phillies signed RHP Aaron Nola, the seventh overall pick in last weeks amateur draft. ... RHP Tyson Ross (6-5, 3.22) of the Padres faces LHP Cole Hamels (2-3, 3.49) on Wednesday night. ' ' '  |
M'inscrire 
Me connecter 
Mot de passe oublié 
Retour au forum
