Got OBJ open for the gm winning TD and Stafford under throws him and gets it intercepted. Last 3 weeks Stafford hasn’t played well.. AT ALL.

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 10, 2022

Stafford played BAD today, but a defense with Donald, Ramsey, Miller and Floyd on it. CAN NOT give up a 17 pt lead. Can’t do it.

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 10, 2022

URL = https://www.si.com/nfl/rams/news/rams-cardinals-deandre-hopkins-jj-watt-wild-card-round-nfl-playoffs

Cardinals’ DeAndre Hopkins Not Available to Make Return vs. Rams, J.J. Watt’s Status Remains in Question
What do DeAndre Hopkins and J.J. Watt’s availability look like for the Wild Card Round against the Rams?

NICHOLAS COTHRELJAN 12, 2022

Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Deandre Hopkins will not be making his return to the field on Monday against the Los Angeles Rams for the Wild Card Round matchup, coach Kliff Kingsbury told reporters on Wednesday.

Hopkins continues his recovery process from a knee injury that required surgery following the Cardinals’ Week 14 loss to the Rams at State Farm Stadium.

During Hopkins’ absence, the Cardinals have relied on A.J. Green, Christian Kirk and Zach Ertz as their core group of pass-catchers to carry the load. Ertz, a trade deadline pickup, has appeared to develop a strong bond in catching passes from quarterback Kyler Murray this season, registering 574 yards and three touchdowns after his arrival to his new club.

As for pass-rusher J.J. Watt, who suffered a shoulder injury during the Cardinals’ Week 7 win over the Houston Texans – his game status sits in question. The Cardinals are hopeful he can go through practice this week but will have a better gauge of where he’s at in making his return as things further progress closer to game-day, Kingsbury said.

Watt told reporters Wednesday he won’t be suiting up if he’s physically not ready enough to do his job properly, so monitoring his status per the injury report will give insight as to how much he’s involved throughout each day’s practice.

The Cardinals suffered a severe dropoff down the final stretch of the season after getting off to a 7-1 start. The subtractions of Watt and Hopkins – two stars on each side of the ball – played into their downhill spiral, having to rely on other players to step up into more prominent roles.

The Rams and Cardinals split the season series during the regular season, each winning as the road team. Kickoff for the Rams and Cardinals Wild Card game is scheduled for Monday at 5:15 p.m. PT at SoFi Stadium.

URL = https://arizonasports.com/story/2964749/cardinals-go-into-wild-card-game-with-1-9-record-vs-rams-sean-mcvay/

Cardinals go into Wild Card game with 1-9 record vs. Rams’ Sean McVay

BY JAKE ANDERSON
Arizona Sports

Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay has owned the Arizona Cardinals.

His record against his NFC West division rival speaks for itself.

Since taking over at the helm of the Rams in 2017, McVay is a whopping 9-1 against the Cardinals.

And since head coach Kliff Kingsbury took over in 2019, Arizona is 1-5 against Los Angeles.

However, the lone Cardinals win came this season with a 37-20 victory in Week 4 at SoFi Stadium, where Arizona will play the Rams in the Wild Card round on Monday.

Of the six games Kingsbury has coached against McVay over three seasons, two have been one-score games and both were the second matchups of the season (2019, 2021).

Last year’s regular-season finale — which basically served as a playoff game in Week 17 — featured both teams’ backup quarterbacks in Chris Streveler and John Wolford. It ended in an 18-7 Rams victory. A Cardinals win would have clinched the first postseason berth for Kingsbury and quarterback Kyler Murray.

A common theme in five of the six games between Kingsbury and McVay isn’t an anomaly: Whoever runs the most plays and wins the turnover battle has won the game, with the only outlier being the aforementioned double-backup QB contest to end last year.

In those five matchups that went with the turnover battle, Murray has thrown for a combined six interceptions compared to only two picks thrown by Rams quarterbacks, which is split evenly between Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff. The Cardinals also fumbled the ball four times compared to the Rams’ two.

A commonality that took place in 2021 is that Arizona ran more plays, outgained and out-possessed L.A. in each meeting.

The Cardinals put up 465 yards on 75 plays in over 35 minutes of possession while Los Angeles garnered 401 yards on 64 plays in just under 25 minutes in the lone victory over the Rams for Kingsbury and Murray. Los Angeles fumbled once and Stafford threw one interception while Arizona kept the golden goose egg in the turnover column in Week 4.

But in Week 14’s 30-23 loss at State Farm Stadium, the Cardinals’ 447 total yards of offense on 75 plays wasn’t enough as Murray threw two picks. Meanwhile, the Rams didn’t turn the ball over. Los Angeles also only needed to run 54 plays on offense to gain 356 total yards, 267 of which came through the air.

If history has taught us anything about when these two division rivals meet — especially under Kingsbury and McVay — it’s that the team that can take care of the football and not give up points off turnovers will most likely be advancing to the NFC Divisional round.

The Cardinals face the Rams in the Wild Card round at 6:15 p.m. on 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station.

Stafford played BAD today, but a defense with Donald, Ramsey, Miller and Floyd on it. CAN NOT give up a 17 pt lead. Can’t do it.

— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 10, 2022

wv wrote:

Well Stafford should stick to the new formula: A pick6 and minus 2 in the turnover game, and the rams should win.

w
v

Stafford already did that on Nov 15 against SF…. it failed miserably….

Fucking Matthew Stafford….

back-to-back clutch 4th qtrs on the road.

That’s 5 in a row…

I want to rewatch this game again right now….

zn wrote:

nittany ram wrote:

Stafford was bad but McVay is even more frustrating. Either he just can’t read the flow of a game, or he simple disregards it and calls whatever he wants to call regardless of what’s happening right in front of him.

That’s been my take on McVay. He’s a great offensive mind when it comes to overall strategy and play design. But he does not always seem to have in-the-moment game instincts and a tactical feel for game situations.

Other than the squib kick right before halftime, I thought McVay and the Rams managed the game well…

the Rams had the ball over 10 min in the 4th qtr….Kupp and Stafford made some huge 3rd down conversions… Rams converted 4 3rd downs on that drive that set up Gay’s FG

Merry Christmas Everyone!

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CX6Wqf7rhN7/?utm_medium=copy_link

Both Browns and Rams have had COVID outbreaks.

Either the Rams brought this to the LA when they left Cleveland, or perhaps OBJ did…..

LA Rams & Cleveland Browns place players on COVID list Tuesday

A Rams & Cleveland Browns place players on COVID list Tuesday
Hopkinsville, KY, USA / WHOP 1230 AM | News Radio
Todd Hamilton
Dec 15, 2021 | 6:29 AM

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. is one of seven players being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Beckham hauled in six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown in the team’s thrilling victory over the Arizona Cardinals. Multiple Rams players have been placed on the COVID list in recent days, including running back Darrell Henderson Jr. and star cornerback Jalen Ramsey.

The Cleveland Browns will be without some of their players due to COVID-19. Cleveland placed eight players on the COVID list Tuesday, including four offensive starters.
They are wide receiver Jarvis Landry, guard Wyatt Teller, left tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and tight end Austin Hooper. ESPN is reporting that all eight players are vaccinated for COVID-19.

“The two best games I’ve seen any team play this year”… “the Rams were in both of them”

I thought the same thing after the MNF game in AZ

URL = https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/ghislaine-maxwell-trial-high-society-1258165/
By VICKY WARD

Everybody’s Absolutely Horrified’: High Society Is Bracing Itself for Ghislaine Maxwell’s Trial
What will be revealed? Who might she name? Jeffrey Epstein’s right-hand woman is going on trial for their alleged crimes — and those who used to know her can’t stop talking about it
When she walked into court on Monday morning for the penultimate pre-trial conference before she faces what will amount to the fight of her life, Ghislaine Maxwell looked just like she did 10 years ago. In fact, she looked better.
Thick black glossy hair. A black turtleneck sweater. Grey slacks. A bottle of Poland Spring in her hand. No cuffs anywhere. A smile, even, as she talked and shared a laugh with her lawyers, who were clearly fond of her. One brushed back her hair, another rubbed her back and shoulder, a gesture of sympathy.
It was a moment that caught me off guard and took me back in time. It reminded me of precisely why Maxwell had once had so many friends. Her vast number of acquaintances may not have all been people she was close with, because her lifestyle was so peripatetic — she was always traveling somewhere or other. Nonetheless, she drew people to her because she was funny, she was witty, she was extraordinarily charming… and, as I was reminded in that courtroom, also supremely confident.
Ghislaine Maxwell, as just about everyone knows, currently stands charged of helping the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein traffic and sexually abuse four women, three of whom were underage, as well as lying in a civil suit. (One of the more chilling sentences in the indictment reads: “Maxwell’s presence during minor victims’ interactions with Epstein, including interactions where the minor victim was undressed or that involved sex acts with Epstein, helped put the victims at ease because an adult woman was present.”) Opening arguments are scheduled for Nov. 29. She has denied all charges.
Given the horrific nature of the allegations, it’s not surprising that on Monday — unlike 10 years ago, when she was hosting dinners at her New York townhouse, proselytizing about her efforts to preserve the oceans through her philanthropy — I didn’t see a single “friend” of hers in court. (The only supporter I saw in attendance was her sister, Isabel.
I knew Maxwell slightly because I am part of the ex-pat British community in New York, so I ran into her from time to time over the years. And I know a good number of her friends. Or former friends, I should say. So, what are they saying amongst each other as she heads to trial?

In the past year, I noticed something as I was reporting Chasing Ghislaine, an ID special (which premieres Nov. 22 on discovery+) and an Audible podcast of the same name: Hardly any of the people who went to drinks at her house or to dinners for Prince Andrew — many of them members of the British upper classes or American plutocracy — wanted to talk about Maxwell on the record. Many of them professed that they were horrified, disgusted at the allegations she is charged with.

One person who went to dinners that included Maxwell, Epstein, and Prince Andrew told me: “I can’t remember the last time I heard anybody say, ‘Poor Ghislaine, she should be allowed to say her story.’ I think everybody’s absolutely horrified, everybody’s embarrassed that somebody in our broader circle of us could have been behaving in such a terrible way.”

But, as I reached out again in the past week to her former friends, there were those — probably more than you think — who still wonder if she is really the monster she’s been pictured as in the media. Some wonder if she may yet prevail before a jury.

Reading this, you may be shocked. I know I was.

But, as I dug further, I began to see the complexity at play: There is questioning, voiced privately among a few people who used to have dinner with her, whether the government can prove its case. Partly that’s because the allegations are from so long ago, the early 1990s to the mid-2000s, but it’s also because these people still cannot see the Hyde in the Jekyll-and-Hyde that Maxwell allegedly is — or was. Jekyll, it turns out, was very dazzling.
People who heard rumors back in the early 1990s about Maxwell “finding girls for Epstein” say that they just do not believe that the Maxwell they knew, who liked designer clothes and expensive restaurants, would have been skulking around school-gates, as has been described in the civil litigation. They just can’t imagine the visual. (That charge is not actually in the government indictment, but one imagines it could come up in court.) “I don’t believe, and nobody that’s ever met her believes that she sat in a car recruiting school-age girls. No. Nobody believes that,” one person said to me.

“The idea that Ghislaine was the sort of person who’d be bothered to visit working class areas to pick up vulnerable girls doesn’t gel with the person I knew and worked for,” says a person who worked in Epstein’s Palm Beach home. “Ghislaine had far too high regard for herself. She’d have had time for shopping on Worth Avenue, yes, not wandering around West Palm [where many of Epstein’s Florida victims lived]. That would have been beneath her.”

A question that always comes up in speculation about the trial is who will she name as also being involved. More than one person has asked me, “Who should be afraid?”

The answer to that largely depends on whether Maxwell decides to take the stand in her own defense, ordinarily a tactic of last resort but a possibility in this case, according to a couple of legal experts. The answer is that if she takes the stand, she can say anything and name anyone as long as Judge Alison Nathan deems it relevant to her defense.

That gets to the main criticism I’ve heard about the trial, which is: Why is Maxwell alone facing charges for a scheme that was a socio-economic pyramid involving many others? Even David Boies, the attorney who represents several Epstein victims (though only one, Annie Farmer, is involved in Maxwell’s trial), told me earlier this year he knows that Epstein’s schemes involved far more people – both men and women – than just Maxwell. “I think it would be a miscarriage of justice if the other co-conspirators were not called to account,” he told me, saying he expected more indictments. Yet, so far, that has not happened.

One of the Epstein survivors who is not a government witness and who asked not be named told me she believes that Maxwell should be held accountable, but she also thinks that it’s unfair that others — including Lesley Groff, Epstein’s long-time assistant and who was one of four Epstein employees named in a non-prosecution agreement signed by Epstein in 2008 — are not on trial. This survivor never met Maxwell during the period she visited with Epstein, but, she says, she met Groff several times and Groff sometimes scheduled meetings between her and Epstein. Groff’s lawyer, Michael Bachner, told me that Groff was simply a business associate who had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal activities. “Prosecutors have indicated in multiple conversations with me that, based on the evidence they have so far uncovered during the course of their lengthy investigation, they do not intend to bring criminal charges against Lesley Groff,” he says.

Bachner also says that, as far as he is aware, Groff will not be a government witness at Maxwell’s trial.

But it seems clear from court papers that other former Epstein employees will be government witnesses, and it’s precisely this sort of perceived cherry-picking that leaves a handful of people privately wondering if the legal process has now gotten weighted to an unfair extreme against one person who was not the mastermind criminal at the heart of what was a vast global enterprise.

That person, no one disputes, was Jeffrey Epstein.

A lawyer who has been in negotiations with Epstein’s estate on behalf of some survivors told me that one rumor going around is that Epstein changed his will the day before he died in jail in August 2019, reportedly a suicide, because he learned Maxwell was cooperating against him as he faced the charges of sex trafficking and abuse of minors. He took her out of the will is the scuttlebutt, according to my source. (Epstein’s lawyer Reid Weingarten says he does not know if this is true, but he doubts it).

But if Epstein did in fact deliberately kill himself, knowing Maxwell would wind up being his substitute in court, that narrative plays into what Ian Maxwell, Ghislaine’s brother, has been saying on TV: that his sister has been put on trial not for her crimes, but for Epstein’s. (This is a line Maxwell’s defense will take, judging by pre-trial filings).

Most people I spoke to think that no one is really listening to Ian. But a handful, including one person who knew Epstein and got financial advice from him for over 20 years, disagree: “Essentially we are about to watch the trial of Jeffrey Epstein — only Ghislaine is taking his place. This is about him. He’s dead so she’s got pay the price he should have, for justice to be perceived to have been done.”

This person adds: “And, by the way, I didn’t even like her.”

Arizona has lost twice… both times at home.

GB beat them

Cam Newton and the Panthers beat them up pretty good.. (vs McCoy was QB, not K. Murray)

Cards Beat the Vikings by 1. Minnesota missed a potential game winning 58-yard FG late in the 4th.

Cards have played great on the road, beatable at home.

Let’s hope that Michel can avg 5 yards per carry like he did yesterday.. Rams can’t give up on the running game like McVay did last time.

Cards had over 450 yards in offense on Oct 3 in LA … 2 turnovers by LA didn’t help either.

URL = https://www.espn.com/nfl/recap/_/gameId/401326389

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — — In every quarter of a dominant victory on the Rams’ home turf, Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals confirmed they’re no longer the annual afterthought in the NFC West.

The unbeaten Cards have shoved their way to the front of this ultracompetitive division with an offense that could run up the score on anybody, combined with a defense that finally managed to outsmart Sean McVay.

Murray passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 39 more yards, and the Cardinals extended their longest perfect start since 2012 with a 37-20 win over Los Angeles on Sunday.

A.J. Green caught a 41-yard TD pass, Chase Edmonds ran for 120 yards and James Conner rushed for two short scores for Arizona (4-0), which ended the Rams’ streak of eight consecutive victories in the rivalry during McVay’s career.

The Cards haven’t won the division or had a winning record since 2015, but they’re off to a roaring start to 2021 highlighted by this blowout of the previously unbeaten Rams.

“I feel like as a team, we’re building towards something,” said cornerback Byron Murphy Jr., who made an interception in the first half. “We hadn’t beaten the Rams in in how many years? I don’t know the exact number. Five years? But this is something definitely growing.”

Kliff Kingsbury’s Cards won with style, lighting up the Rams’ defense for 465 total yards and scoring touchdowns after two early takeaways to affirm their status as a contender despite playing three of their first four games on the road.

“Not really too worried about what other people think,” Murray said. “I think the guys in the locker room understand what we’re doing, what we’re capable of and where we can take it.”

Maxx Williams caught a TD pass from Murray, who went 24 for 32 and repeatedly frustrated the Rams’ defense while the Cards scored on seven of eight possessions after a game-opening punt. Arizona’s defense made several big plays, and it sealed the team’s first victory over the Rams since Jan. 1, 2017, by stopping Matthew Stafford and the LA offense on downs at the 1 with 12:05 to play.

The NFL’s only remaining unbeaten teams are Arizona and Las Vegas, which faces the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Monday night. The Cardinals celebrated their win on the same field, but were mostly buttoned up in their postgame comments.

“Not a statement,” Kingsbury said. “We wanted to get a week better. Division games are important. We’ve got to continue to play physical football and clean some stuff up.”

Stafford went 26 of 41 for 280 yards and two touchdowns in his first ineffective game for the Rams (3-1), who failed to start 4-0 for the first time since 2018. One week after a statement victory over defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay on the same field, Los Angeles produced an ugly performance on both sides of the ball

.

“This is a prove-it (sport), and you’ve got to go out there and do it every time,” Stafford said. “I wasn’t good enough at doing that today. I think as a team, we probably weren’t good enough as far as going out in every single play and executing it.”

Van Jefferson caught an early TD pass and Robert Woods made a TD grab with 1:14 to play, but Stafford was frequently off in his connections with his receivers. McVay regularly abandoned his running game despite Darrell Henderson’s 89 yards — the second-best performance of his career — on just 14 carries against a defense that hasn’t stopped the run well this season.

The Rams had the NFL’s No. 1 defense in yards allowed and points allowed last season, but they’ve given up 911 yards and 61 points in the last two weeks. Los Angeles’ defense had few answers for Murray, who consistently found open receivers or picked up his own yardage.

“That’s the athleticism and just the great playmaker that he is,” McVay said. “There were a couple instances where we feel like we could have been better, but you’ve got to give him credit. He’s a playmaker.”

BALL SECURITY

Arizona scored touchdowns after both of Los Angeles’ turnovers in the first half, and the Cardinals now have a plus-5 turnover differential this season.

Green’s long TD catch came after Murphy picked off Stafford’s underthrown pass to DeSean Jackson. Williams’ TD catch resulted from a drive that began with Sony Michel’s fumble and included an exceptional first-down scramble by Murray on 3rd and 16.

“The best thing we’re doing is protecting the football,” Kingsbury said.

EMPTY KUPP

Stafford had trouble getting the ball to NFL receiving leader Cooper Kupp, who finished with only five catches for 64 yards on a whopping 13 targets. Stafford has relied heavily on Kupp early in their first season together, and the Cards were aware.

“We know what type of player he is,” Murphy said of Kupp. “This week, it was emphasized because we know on third downs, he’s a favorite target.”

INJURY REPORT

Murphy injured his ribs in the first half, but returned to the game. He has three interceptions in the Cardinals’ first four games.

UP NEXT

Cardinals: Host the San Francisco 49ers next Sunday.

Rams: A short week before they visit the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.

——

RAMS 35

Jags 10