Scouting report: Know your Rams

The Arizona Cardinals (6-3) head back on the road for another divisional match-up for the second week in a row against the St. Louis Rams. The Cardinals will be going for their fifth road win of the season which is something they haven't accomplished since 1975.

The Cardinals rallied to defeat the Seattle Seahawks 31-20 last week to maintain a two game over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC West division.

For the St. Louis Rams, it has been another dreadful season. They reside in last place in the division with a 1-8 record. The Rams will be trying to reverse their losing trend against the Cardinals. They have lost their last five straight contests against the Cardinals and seven of the last nine. The Cardinals have been extremely successful traveling to St. Louis as they have won the last four games held there.

However, the Rams have started to show some improvement the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, they got their first win of the season with a 17-10 victory against the Detroit Lions and last week almost pulled off a monumental upset against the unbeaten New Orleans Saints, but eventually fell 28-23.

Rams on offense

When talking about the Rams offense, you have to start with workhorse running back Steven Jackson. Jackson clearly represents the biggest and maybe only problem for the Cardinals defense. Jackson is one of the most complete backs in the league.

His running style is multidimensional in that he can plow right through and over would be tacklers, yet also has the speed to burst through defenses.

Jackson has accumulated 915 yards rushing so far this season which was the third best heading into this week's games. He is averaging a meaty 4.8 yards per carry.

Jackson is also a threat in the passing game as he has caught 33 passes, tied for most on the team, for 231 yards.

Jackson is relied upon to carry the St. Louis ground game as backups Samkon Gado and Kenneth Darby only have 11 carries each for the season.

Despite the Rams Pro Bowl rusher, they are only ranked 13th in the league gaining 118.9 yards running the ball. This is due to the fact they get behind quickly and have to start throwing the ball to get back in games.

However, the Rams haven't been very successful as an offense in general. They are only averaging 303.9 total yards gained per game which is 25th in the league. Even more paltry, the Rams are only scoring 11.1 points per game which is the third least points scored per game.

Much of the speculation and debate over the Rams offensive struggles revolves around quarterback Marc Bulger.

Bulger became a star early in his career and his ascension led to the Rams jettisoning Kurt Warner. Bulger went to two Prow Bowls in 2004 and 2006, but the last few years has seen his level of play drop dramatically. This season, Bulger has thrown for only five touchdowns and five interceptions.

Fans can't pinpoint whether the Rams struggles are a result of the Rams shoddy offensive line, the lack of quality receivers for Bulger to throw to or if Bulger is bringing the team down with his play.

Bulger has missed about two and a half games this season due to a bruised shoulder, but his backup Kyle Boller didn't fare any better in his playing time.

The Rams as a team are only passing for 185 yards per game which ranks them 22nd in that department.

Their passing game has been hurt by the losses of leading receiver Keenan Burton and Laurent Robinson. Burton had made 25 catches for 253 yards before suffering a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago.

Now, the Rams leading receiver is second-year pro Donnie Avery. The Rams invested a high second round pick on Avery, but haven't seen much of a return on their investment. Avery is now the team's leading receiver with only 26 catches for 353 yards with four touchdowns.

The team's other starting receiver, Brandon Gibson is a rookie who was drafted in the seventh round last April. He got his first significant playing time last week and made seven grabs for 93 yards.

The Rams have Ruvell Martin and Danny Amendola in reserve.

If the Rams present any threats in the passing game, it comes in the form of their tight ends.

Randy McMichael has been a dependable tight end making 22 catches for 231 yards.

Backup Daniel Fells has 16 catches for 211 yards, but he's a red zone target for Bulger as he has caught three touchdown passes.

Rams on defense

The Rams have struggled just as much on defense. They are allowing 378.6 yards of total yardage against them per game ranking them 28th in that category. In addition, they are giving up a hefty 27.7 points per game which is 4th most in the league.

One of the few bright spots has been the play of rookie second round pick James Laurinaitis who leads the team in tackles with 60 stops and also has two interceptions.

Laurinaitis has taken over the leadership role of the linebackers since the team traded Will Witherspoon to the Eagles in October.

The Rams have some decent pass rushers in veterans Leonard Little and James Hall. Little leads the team with five sacks and Hall has three sacks while being used mainly in passing downs. However, both are banged up and have been limited in practice this week so it's uncertain how effective they will be on Sunday.

The Rams also have defensive lineman Chris Long, but he hasn't done much to justify being drafted with the second overall pick in 2008. Long has also been dealing with injuries and only has 28 tackles to go along with two sacks.

The Rams other star on defense can be found in the secondary where franchise player Oshiomogho Atogwe resides. Atogwe has become one of the better safeties in the league. He has been busy making 58 tackles with two picks.

The Rams have decent starting cornerbacks in Ronald Bartell and James Butler. Bartell has made 41 tackles and Butler leads the team with three interceptions.