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Cardinals-Rams Preview

Sep 9, 2010 - 10:43 PM By ALAN FERGUSON STATS Writer

After beating out Matt Leinart for the starting quarterback job, Derek Anderson will try to lead the Arizona Cardinals to an unprecedented third consecutive postseason. The St. Louis Rams will also have a highly anticipated newcomer at that position as they try to climb back toward respectability.

Top overall pick Sam Bradford is expected to start for the Rams when they host the Cardinals in Sunday's season opener.

Leinart, the 10th selection in the 2006 draft, was expected to take over for the retired Kurt Warner this season. The former Heisman Trophy winner, though, was released this past weekend after he couldn't beat out Anderson, who was cut by Cleveland in March.

The Cardinals coaching staff said Anderson's willingness to improve on one of his weaknesses, his footwork, helped win him the job.

Anderson led the Browns to a 10-6 finish in 2007 but lost his starting job to Brady Quinn last year after throwing three touchdowns and 10 interceptions over eight games. A frustrated Anderson ripped the team's fans, some of whom cheered as he lay on the field with a season-ending knee injury in 2008, after his release but later apologized.

"A lot of struggles, a lot of difficult times on and off the field," he said. "I went through a lot in my life, but obviously I'm happy about the way things turned out and excited about the opportunity."

Anderson will get to throw to one of the top receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald but won't have Anquan Boldin, who was traded to Baltimore in March. If the tandem of Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower can improve on a solid campaign, that could help make up for Boldin's loss and give more balance to a unit that ranked 28th on the ground a year ago.

Wells, though, may miss this game after not practicing all week due to a sore right knee.

The Cardinals defense, which gave up 45 points in each of last season's playoff games, will have to make up for the losses of linebacker Karlos Dansby and Pro Bowl defensive back Antrel Rolle to free agency.

Arizona brought in veteran linebacker Joey Porter, who has 92 career sacks, to try to make up for those absences and he'll look to create havoc for Bradford in his debut.

Bradford, who won the Heisman in 2008 at Oklahoma, missed most of his junior season after spraining the AC joint in his right shoulder and opting for surgery. However, that injury didn't keep St. Louis from drafting him No. 1 and signing him to a six-year, $78 million contract with $50 million in guaranteed money - the most ever in the NFL.

"I sat on the bench last year with an injury and it's something that I did not enjoy at all. Just to have the opportunity to play football again, it's really something that I look forward to," Bradford said.

He showcased that enthusiasm by going 21 for 28 for 257 yards and three touchdowns in his two preseason starts. Over three games, he completed 60.0 percent of his passes for 338 yards and with no interceptions.

"He has a burning desire to be really great and that's what you want to see in a young player," safety Oshiomogho Atogwe said. "Not just be good, not just be a starter, but to be great. And he has that."

The Rams tried to help Bradford by acquiring receiver Mark Clayton from Baltimore on Monday, but Donnie Avery - who had team highs of 589 receiving yards and five TDs in 2009 - is out for the season after tearing a right knee ligament during the preseason.

Avery's injury and Bradford's inexperience might place more of an emphasis on Steven Jackson, who rushed for 1,416 yards in 2009 but is trying again to get healthy.

He appeared in all but one game for a 1-15 team that scored an NFL-worst 10.9 points per game before undergoing surgery in April to repair a herniated disc.

Jackson, who said he lifted more often to strengthen his back, rushed nine times during the preseason for 42 yards.

"I wanted to make sure that not only can I wipe away the doubts in my head but actually believe I can play at the same level and the same intensity that I had before," Jackson told the team's official website.

If he plays in the opener, Jackson will try to help St. Louis snap a seven-game slide to its NFC West rivals and beat the Cardinals at home for the first time since 2004.