Marc Bulger opened the quarter with 14-yard completion to Torry Holt.   Steven Jackson bulldozed for another first down on the ground. Holt caught still another pass, adding validity to his Pro  Bowl selection.

On third down, Bulger failed to wedge the ball into a tightly covered Dane Looker. Coach Scott Linehan elected to gamble on fourth-and-4 and  failed; the Gridbirds sat on Bulger’s quick out pass to Drew Bennett and the pass  fell  incomplete in the right flat.

And back came the Cardinals, with  Kurt Warner picking on Rams rookie Jonathan Wade for a 25-yard pass to Larry Fitzgerald. Another completion to Fitzgerald led to another first down as Arizona rolled into scoring range.

Then Edgerrin James broke loose and rambled all the way to the Rams 5. James made a nice cutback - and safety Corey Chavous took a bad angle on the play and whiffed.

Fellow Rams safety O.J. Atogwe earned a pass defense in the end zone, swatting down a Warner pass, but James hammered the ball into the end zone with a 2-yard run on third down.

Now the Gridbirds led 10-3.

Then things got a big ugly.  Cardinals  cornerback Antrel Rolle picked off a tardy Bulger pass, then zig-zagged through the feckless  Rams for a 47-yard TD return.

Just like that, the Gridbirds led 17-3.

How did the Rams respond? With an incomplete pass toward Drew Bennett. And a false-start penalty on Milford Brown.  And a sacking of Bulger. And another sacking of Bulger.

This is pathetic.

How much did Warner want to win this game? After that  defensive  stop by Arizona, Kurt tried to  go over the top of the Rams defense to  Fitzgerald.  This time, the Rams  had the big  fella covered.

But Warner went to Fitzgerald, again, for 26 yards on third down. Then he went to Fitzgerald, again, for another 16 yards to move the ball to the  Rams 20.

After Atogwe got busted on a defensive holding call, the Gridbirds got another first down in the red zone.  Warner went over the top of Fakhir Brown for a TD pass to the relentless Fitzgerald     . . . and now the Gridbirds led 24-3.

Rams defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has had more pleasant afternoons. His blitzes aren’t working and his secondary can’t handle the Arizona receiving corps.

It’s just not a good scene.

Bulger moved the ball  in the final minute, finally relocating Isaac Bruce for  meaningful gains.  A terrific throw to Holt on the left sideline moved the Rams  back into scoring position.

Marc lofted a  gorgeous pass to Bennett at the back of the end zone . . . but the bumbling Bennett failed to lock up the ball, so the Rams settled for a field goal and a 24-6 halftime deficit.

This play summed up Bennett’s lost season very, very well.