Three to Focus on: Rams @ Cowboys, Week 7

To this point if you wanted to watch a competitive game, the Dallas Cowboys would be the team to go to. All five games have found them and their opponent finishing within four points of each other. All five were also against teams that either made the playoffs last year or would make the playoffs this year if they began now.

Dallas might catch a break this week as they play the St. Louis Rams who are one of three winless teams. Making things worse is Sam Bradford has a high ankle sprain, which could result in A.J. Feeley being the starting quarterback. Regardless, here are two places to where this game could be competitive, and a reason why it could be a blow out.
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1) Nowhere to Run

With Felix Jones (+1.8) possibly missing this game, the Cowboys have to turn to Tashard Choice (-3.7) and DeMarco Murray (+0.4). This is a bit of a downgrade, as Jones has averaged 4 yards per carry while Choice is at 2.6 and Murray 2.9. Dallas fans should hope they see more of Murray, whose PFF Elusive Rating of 53.8 sits far above the 4.8 Choice has produced. None of this may matter anyway because the backs just aren’t getting any help from their blockers; the team has a combined -34.5 run block rating.

The Cowboys' weakness lines-up with the Rams' defensive strength in this case as James Hall (+7.0 run defense) and Justin Bannan (+5.2 run defense) lead the way with 22 stops between them on the defensive line. If the Rams can stop the run early and make the Cowboys one dimensional, it'll give them a boost as they'll need to be able to focus on the Dallas passing attack where the Cowboy advantage lies.

2) The Lloyd Factor

With Bradford possibly missing the game, there isn’t much to like about the Rams' offense. Running back Stephen Jackson (0.0) has a nice overall average of 5.4 yards per carry, but that's with only 2.2 yards after contact and he's forced just two missed tackles. This factors into an Elusive Rating of 9.0; 46th of 48 qualifying backs. The only players below him are teammate Cadillac Williams, and the Ravens' Ricky Williams. Outside of Bradford, only wide receiver Danario Alexander (+1.7) and left guard Jacob Bell (+1.3) have overall ratings above +1.0, so there simply hasn't been a lot to get excited about when the Rams have the ball.

All that said, as everyone should have heard, the Rams traded for Brandon Lloyd (+4.7) this week, instantly making him the highest-rated non-quarterback on the St. Louis offense. He hasn’t quite produced this year as he did last, where he led the league in Yards per Pass Route Run, but he does have a respectable 283 yards on 19 catches. There is a better chance that Lloyd makes an immediate positive impact than an incumbent suddenly steps up. Certainly an “X” factor in this game and one to watch.

3) Rodger Saffold vs. DeMarcus Ware

While there are some areas where the Rams can keep it close, this is one mismatch that the Cowboys will take advantage of. In his sophomore season, Rodger Saffold (-7.4) has improved his run blocking where he had a -6.1 rating last year and a +2.5 so far in 2011. The problem for him is in pass protection where he has already allowed seven sacks, two hits and 11 pressures; more than double the sacks he allowed last year. He struggled most against Brian Orakpo and the Redskins, allowing 10 pressures, and this week he is going up against an even tougher opponent and is dealing with leg injury.

So far this season, DeMarcus Ware (+13.7) has been as good as ever at getting after the quarterback. He has 29 total pressures in five games, which has been equivalent to bringing pressure on 1-in-6 pass plays. It is hard to find anyone who has consistently dominated offensive linemen like Ware has.

If Bradford starts, he has been sacked 21 times and has been hit while throwing the ball 10 more times; both lead the league. Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of A.J. Feeley in the past four years to know how well he'd do under pressure, but on the incredibly small sample size of three plays under pressure, he's thrown two incompletions and taken a sack.
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Follow Nathan on Twitter: @PFF_NateJahnke and check out our main Twitter feed too: @ProFootbalFocus
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