NFL Week 11 Quick Picks - Arizona Cardinals vs. St. Louis Rams

Can Arizona’s Rush Defense Stop Steven Jackson, Rams?

The Cardinals are chomping at the playoff bit and they only thing standing in their immediate way is the one-win St. Louis Rams. With a 25.4 points per game average, Kurt Warner playing some damn good football (aside from that Carolina game) and his receiving corps going bananas, the Cardinals have thundered to a 5-1 ATS record in six games. Can they keep the good times rolling with a pissed off Steven Jackson looking to get some morale victories this year?

Things have been brutal for St. Louis all season. Like, just downright terrible. They’re averaging a pathetic 11.1 points per game, while giving up 27.7 and are just 7-18 ATS in their last 25 home games. Against Arizona, they’re just 1-4 ATS at home and nothing is going right for them.

Except for Steven Jackson of course.

Despite bad numbers, and a bad team, Jackson is still considered a top-5 back. A 131-yard game with a touchdown against New Orleans proved that he still has what it takes to put this team on his back. But age and a poorly built St. Louis team means that his time is waning to win a championship. Nobody is more motivated to put up huge stats to get a trade than Jackson. Nobody. And that’s dangerous for the Cardinals.

Arizona Cardinals (6-3) vs. St. Louis Rams (1-8) >>Join Now to Bet

Sunday, November 22nd --- Edward Jones Stadium, St. Louis --- 4:05pm EST

NFL Betting Line: Arizona -9 (47)

The Rams were able to cover a big spread against New Orleans, and literally took the game down to the wire while giving every Saints fan a coronary assault. If you think that has to do with the Rams suddenly being punchy, then you haven’t been tracking the slipping Saints for the past month. I still can’t tell if the Rams have suddenly woken the sleeping dragon, if the Saints just had a bad game.

Almost everything is pointing me towards the Cards. They’re 4-1 ATS against St. Louis and undefeated on the road against the spread. I could over think this, and really put a lot of stock in Steven Jackson. Or I could do the safe thing and side with Kurt Warner as a sports handicapping pick. Flip a coin if you want to, but I’m going with Warner in this one. On the road, he hasn’t let me down in a while.