I'll be going to this game. Living in the St. Louis area, the last time I got to see our guys in person was when Romo was out with a broken pinkie. I, donned in my Cowboys gear, got to listen to a stadium full of people chanting "We want Romo!" as the dinosaur Brad Johnson gift-wrapped the Rams one of their only two wins that season. We've gotten payback, but I want it in their house.
For analysis, the Rams are in some disarray offensively and defensively.
Shaun Hill might play this game, and I think that would be better for us than Austin Davis. Before he was knocked out of the Vikings game, Hill was inaccurate and did not stand tall in the pocket. He was not willing to stay in there and take the punishment as he was delivering the throw. Davis has average mobility, but he will stick in there and make the throw under duress. Davis doesn't have the ideal qualities, but he is serviceable.
Their offensive line is a mess. Going into the season, the Rams analysts were very high on the line. The company line is that they are not starting Greg Robinson because the players in front of him are so good (not because he is unrefined technically and slow off the snap). Complete hogwash. Jake Long has not been playing well and the other members of the line are not either. While we are definitely not as good as the Vikings on the defensive line, I think we are at least comparable to the Bucs, after all of their injuries. The Rams did not have a great game offensively against that squad.
Their wideout, Brian Quick, will give us some trouble. During the offseason, he finally came into being the player they thought he could be. They love hitting him on intermediate routes (fades, deep-ins, posts, and deep curls). Carr or Claiborne might be able to cover him. Kenny Britt has been a non-factor and Tavon Austin is explosive, but not consistently so (plus he has an MCL sprain). If Davis can deliver the ball, their tight ends can do some damage (I hope Harkey isn't playing). The Rams getting Stedmon Bailey back is bigger than us getting Scandrick. Bailey is a through and through football player with great hands. His measurables may be uninspiring, but that dude will get first down after first down if we let him.
On defense, the Rams have some things to figure out. Both the pass defense and run defense are questionable. On run defense, they are just slow. The lateral movement of the defense is bad. The line on this is that they are still adjusting to Gregg Williams' defense and that could be true.
In pass D, the d-line has not been getting there. The Vikings and the Bucs have pretty decent o-lines, so that may skewing the results. In coverage, they will have trouble with Cole Beasley and, of course, they cannot match up against Dez Bryant. Dez will probably line up against the rookie, EJ Gaines, who has, surprisingly, played well. The more they commit to covering Dez, the better Murray will do. Janoris Jenkins at least used to be a huge gambler. My projection for him was always that Asante Samuel was his ceiling. We can hurt him with some double moves. We should not try the goal line Romo to Dez connection against him. Alec Ogletree, can probably cover Witten, as well as cause all sorts of problems. Murray better secure that football.
Our special teams vs their special teams is almost a wash, which says something because the Cowboys' special teams have been fantastic so far this season. The Rams just need to do a better job of securing those punt returns (just some drops).
All in all, a winnable game for Dallas. My projection is 27-16 Cowboys with a lone fan shouting, "We want Bradford!" with confused Rams' fans all around.