Rams DE Robert Quinn Has Coming Out Party Against Cardinals
Sep 19, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams defensive end Robert Quinn (94) reacts after sacking Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (not pictured) during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Rovak-US PRESSWIRE
Robert Quinn and Chris Long may just be the NFL’s next great defensive end combination. Jeff Fisher always put together some tough pass defenses in his time with the Tennessee Titans, and he appears to have taken that momentum with him to the city of St. Louis.
Second year defensive end Robert Quinn and former number two overall pick Chris Long were considered to be a solid duo prior to the season, and now they’re putting it together on the field. Against a seemingly helpless Arizona offensive line (how were they 4-0 with these scrubs?), Quinn and Long combined for four of the Rams’ nine sacks on the night. Quinn himself had three sacks, and had his coming out party in the NFL in front of a national audience on Thursday night football.
Quinn was working against D’Anthony Batiste, who is not a starting caliber lineman, but I am not just taking this with a grain of salt. I think Quinn is the real deal, and with Chris Long and Michael Brockers paving the rest of the way on the defensive line, he’s going to get some great one-on-one opportunities the rest of the way.
Kevin Kolb proved that the hard way.
The Rams’ defensive core appears to be solid and maybe not just solid, but packed with potential stars. Long and Quinn are a dominant pass rushing duo, Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins are a very good duo of cornerbacks, and James Laurinaitis is quietly one of the top inside linebackers in the country.
Cardinals’ RB Woes
The Cards’ RB woes continued against St. Louis, as Ryan Williams was knocked out after his longest run on an otherwise horrendous night. Alfonso Smith came in to replace Williams, but this is a dire situation for the Cardinals.
Oh Bradford, Where Art Thou?
Sam Bradford was hit a considerable amount and had to cope without Danny Amendola for a good majority of the game, but he completed just seven of his 21 passes. That’s unacceptable for a professional quarterback. Luckily, Bradford completed two of those seven passes for touchdowns.
Greg “The Leg”
Greg Zuerlein, the Rams’ kicker, remained perfect on the season, nailing a 53 yard field goal to give the Rams a 10-3 lead in the first half. He is an incredible rookie kicker, and has to be under consideration for rookie of the year. This guy is insanely good.
The Punter
Johnny Hekker, the Rams’ punter, was arguably the MVP of the night. He was changing field position like his life depended on it, punting for nearly 400 total yards and a 56.9 yard average. The only problem? He kept kicking it in bounds for Patrick Peterson to return.
Amendola goes down
Danny Amendola had a big 44 yard reception before going out with a broken collarbone. He threw his helmet in the locker room in disgust at the injury, and you have to hope he is back as soon as possible. Amendola is a very valuable weapon on the Rams’ offense, even though they are not a powerful passing team. He has 32 catches on the season, and is clearly Sam Bradford’s top target.
Wild Wild West
With St. Louis’ win, they move to 3-2 and with Arizona at 4-1 and San Francisco at 3-1, the Seattle Seahawks are a win in Carolina away from giving the NFC West four teams with winning records. That’s pretty incredible, considering how terrible the division has been in recent years.