Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Arizona 28 at St. Louis 30 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals: Marcel Shipp finished the game with three touchdowns, including a screen pass which he took 80-yards for a score. The announcers constantly discussed the lack of Shipp's speed, but it sure didn't seem to be an issue at all in this game. He appears to be the real deal. Jake Plummer played an average first half and a great second half. He does not give the impression that he is going to win many games without a lot of help from the supporting cast, though he is very elusive under pressure, which is a very nice attribute. His future in Arizona is very questionable after this season. To give you an idea on the WR situation in Arizona, Kevin Kasper started the game opposite of Jason McAddley. He is playing for his third team in a month after being released by both Denver and Seattle. McAddley made a number of nice grabs in this game. For the third straight week, the Cardinals gave up a touchdown on a punt return. It was the difference in the game. St. Louis Rams: Marc Bulger was back in the starting lineup and auditioning for next year. He continued to demonstrate a very nice release and spiral, but did make a couple of damaging throws when he hung onto the ball too long before throwing. Overall, Bulger looked good on the day and brought the Rams back in the fourth quarter with under two minutes left, demonstrating some intangibles as well. Marshall Faulk did not start and was held to limited duty. He had a touchdown called back for an illegal formation penalty on a nice run and didn't show any problems with his injury. He split time with Lamar Gordon thereby limited the stats of both backs. Though Gordon didn't manage many yards on the day, the back is simply fast and has lots of potential in the right situation. Special teams played a big part in this game. Dre Bly broke the game open with a 78-yard punt return in the second quarter. He benefited from great blocking and a weak Cardinal coverage team. Bly returned punts in place of Terrence Wilkins, who was inactive as the coaching staff has not been pleased with his performance. Trung Canidate returned kick offs and did a nice job doing it. K Jeff Wilkins was 3-3 including the 26-yard game winner. However, the announcers pointed out repeatedly that Martz is unhappy with Wilkins. The WR combination of Torry Holt, Isaac Bruce, and Ricky Proehl is impressive, but tough to predict from a numbers perspective. Holt led the trio this week with 141 yards and a touchdown. TE Ernie Conwell is a favorite target of QB Marc Bulger, and his fantasy value is increased with Bulger behind center. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Arizona Cardinals QB: Jake Plummer's first two drives stalled and he did nothing really to note. On his next drive, Plummer made a bad throw and was lucky to avoid an interception. He rallied the Cardinals in the second quarter for a touchdown, but was only able to record 88 yards passing in the first half. The second half saw Plummer rally the Cardinals to take the lead in the fourth quarter on a touchdown pass to TE Steve Bush. He played a terrific second half. Though he does not give the impression that he is going to win many games without a lot of help from the supporting cast, he is very elusive under pressure, which is a terrific attribute. The announcers pointed out that his future in Arizona is very uncertain. WR: Jason McAddley made a great catch in the first quarter, but his second foot was out of bounds. He was wide open for a 17-yard gain in the second quarter. He made a few nice grabs in the game and finished with 57 yards on 3 catches. Kevin Kasper is playing for his third team in a month after being released by both Denver and Seattle. He started at WR for the Cardinals in this game and also returned kicks. Kasper had a 41-yard return in the first quarter but the Cardinals couldn't do anything with the good field position. Nate Poole played and dropped a ball in the first quarter. He made a very nice catch in the second quarter and was pushed out at the five-yard line. Poole finished with just two catches. Arnold Jackson returned punts for the Cardinals. RB: Marcel Shipp got a carry on the first play of the game but went nowhere. It was a sign of things to come early in the game. In the second quarter, Shipp found some room and made a nice move outside for a 5-yard touchdown. Shipp took a screen pass 80-yards for a touchdown in the third quarter, and had another touchdown run in the third quarter. The announcers constantly discussed the lack of Shipp's speed, but it sure didn't seem to be an issue at all in this game. Shipp had 96 yards rushing on the day. He appears to be the real deal. TE: Freddie Jones was not targeted frequently in this game and didn't have a catch. The Cardinals used a two TE set and therefore Steve Bush also played. He scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter. K: Bill Gramatica didn't have a field goal attempt. Cardinals Special Teams: For the third straight weak, the Cardinals gave up a touchdown on a punt return. It was the difference in the game. Cardinals Pass Defense: The Cardinals pass defense was bending but not breaking in the first half. They did not pressure Bulger much in the half, but did manage to keep the powerful Rams offense in check. In the third quarter, the Cardinals got to Bulger for a sack on a corner blitz and forced the Rams out of field goal range. The Cardinals blitzed very frequently in the second half and put serious pressure on Bulger, allowing them to nab two ill-advised throws by Bulger. They couldn't stop the Rams from a nice day through the air though. Cardinals Rush Defense: Despite holding the Rams to only three points in the first quarter, the Cardinals did not look good on defense. They allowed 46 yards rushing in the first half, though it could have been much more if Bulger didn't get hot. The second half saw the Rams abandon the run for the most part. CB Duane Starks led the defense with eight tackles and an interception. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** St. Louis Rams QB: Marc Bulger was back in the starting lineup this week, and led the Rams to a field goal drive out of the gate. He continued to demonstrate a very nice release and spiral. In the second quarter, Bulger threw an interception into coverage on an ill-advised pass. He looked very good on two drives at the end of the first half, and capped off both drives with a touchdown pass. Bulger tossed his second interception on another late throw. He made a terrific throw in the face of a lot of pressure in the early fourth quarter and led the Rams on a game winning drive with under two minutes left. Overall, he played a very nice game. WR: Torry Holt had a big gain in the first quarter called back because he pushed off. He was somehow wide open in the back of the end zone for a touchdown at the end of the first half. The Cardinals forgot to cover Holt in the fourth quarter and he made a big gain on the play. His long catch at the end of the game put the Rams in position to win the game. He finished with 141 yards and a touchdown. Isaac Bruce caught a 24-yarder on the first Rams pass of the game. He was targeted in the corner of the end zone in the second quarter but couldn't connect. He dropped what would have been a nice gain in the third quarter and another in the fourth quarter. Bruce caught just two balls in the game. Ricky Proehl came in and played throughout the game. He couldn't hang on to a Bulger throw behind him at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Proehl made a stabbing catch for a big gain on a post route. He finished with 53 yards. Troy Edwards came into the game as a fourth wide receiver and got a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. RB: Marshall Faulk did not start and was held to limited duty. He came in the game towards the end of the first quarter and he looked fine. Faulk had a touchdown called back for an illegal formation penalty. He made the run look easy and showed some patience waiting for the hole to open. Faulk looked good on the day and in good health, though his numbers were not impressive. Lamar Gordon started the game in place of Marshall Faulk and the best way to describe him is simply fast. He didn't manage many yards on the day, though, and split time with Marshall Faulk. TE: Ernie Conwell was targeted in the end zone in the first quarter, but the ball was thrown out of bounds. He made a nice 19-yard catch and run later in the quarter. He was a favorite target of Bulger early in the game. K: Jeff Wilkins connected on a short 26-yard field goal on the first drive of the game and connected on a 37-yarder in the fourth quarter. He made the game winning 26-yarder with 20 seconds left. However, the announcers pointed out repeatedly that Martz is unhappy with Wilkins. Rams Special Teams: Dre Bly broke the game open with a 78-yard punt return in the second quarter. He benefited from great blocking and a weak Cardinal coverage team. Bly returned punts in place of Terrence Wilkins, who was inactive for the game as the coaching staff has not been pleased with his performance. Trung Canidate returned kicks and looked good. Rams Pass Defense: The Rams put pressure on Jake Plummer throughout the game, but Plummer is elusive and difficult to sack. DE Leonard Little finally got to Plummer and knocked the ball out of his hands for a turnover. The Rams recorded one sack and one interception. Rams Rush Defense: The Rams shut down Marcel Shipp early in the game and absolutely dominated the line of scrimmage. They allowed 39 yards in the first half. In the second half, Shipp found some room and the Rams allowed 96 total rushing yards from Shipp and another 33 from Plummer.