St. Louis Rams Preseason Preview: What to Watch for Week 3 at Cowboys

This is it: the dress rehearsal game.

Week 3 of the NFL preseason represents the St. Louis Rams’ first chance to see DeMarco Murray since getting embarrassed by the Dallas Cowboys’ sophomore rusher last fall. Murray has shredded other defenses since his breakout performance in Week 7 of 2011, but none to the tune of 253 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Of course, most of the guys who will be on the field Saturday weren’t present during that game because of the roster turnover that St. Louis experienced during the offseason.

With starting jobs and roster spots up for grabs, this is what I’ll be watching for in Week 3 of the preseason.

Run Defense

DeMarco Murray’s not getting 25 carries on Saturday. The Rams should prevent Dallas from gaining 10.1 yards per carry, however. I’ll be watching to see how they attack the Cowboys’ troublesome offensive line.

If they don’t, that means the St. Louis run defense still has a long way to go…or Murray is even better than I think he is.

Wide Receiver Depth Chart

Of any single position group on the Rams’ roster, wide receiver is by far the most intriguing. St. Louis has had more players making plays in camp than can feasibly make the opening day roster. But the search for a true No. 1 is still on, so it’ll be interesting to see who gets the start in the upcoming game—and how much work they get.

Sam Bradford and the Offensive Line

I’m still waiting on the offensive line to provide consistent protection for No. 8.

Bradford has impressed a bit this preseason (13-of-18, 159 yds, 2 TD, 0 INT), but he has to find his rhythm with a shifting unit up front. Center Scott Wells is expected to play for the first time this preseason. Hopefully, he’ll get work with the first team and provide a boost in pass protection.

Pass Defense

The Cowboys will be without Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten in the upcoming contest. Because of that, I expect the Rams’ cornerback duo of Cortland Finnegan and Janoris Jenkins to handle their business in the first half. Dallas should have a hard time getting on the board through the air.

One reason I’ll be interested in watching after the Rams' starters take off for the night is to see how recent free-agent acquisition Vernon Gholston looks. The former No. 6 overall pick from Ohio State has only the better part of two games to make his case for remaining on the roster.

If he makes the cut, he’ll give St. Louis a rotation of three pass-rushers (along with Chris Long and Robert Quinn) who were all drafted in the first half of the first round.