https://theramswire.usatoday.com/2018/08/30/nfl-rams-saints-preseason-things-to-watch/
Rams vs. Saints: 4 things to keep an eye on Thursday night
By: Cameron DaSilva
Thursday night will be the last time for players to impress the coaching staff in Los Angeles as the Rams wrap up their preseason schedule against the New Orleans Saints at 8 p.m. ET.
The starters won’t play and neither will the key backups, but there will still be plenty to come out of this game. Here are four things to watch for tonight.
Quarterback play
Sean Mannion appears to be entrenched as Jared Goff’s backup and will sit out the preseason finale, but that doesn’t mean it’s over for Brandon Allen and Luis Perez. They’re each expected to play a half on Thursday night against the Saints, the first action for Perez this preseason.
It’s unlikely he makes the final roster as the Rams will look to sneak him onto the practice squad, but this game is still very important for the rookie. If he plays well and impresses the coaching staff, he might very well impress other coaching staffs across the league, too.
Ideally, he’ll show potential but not light the world on fire, allowing the Rams to sign him to the practice squad without him being claimed by another team. As for Allen, he does have a chance to make the 53-man roster. The Rams could very well carry three quarterbacks as they did all of last season, though it would be unnecessary. Allen has to prove he’s capable of being a quality backup in the NFL.
Offensive line rotation
No starters will play on Thursday night – although Jamon Brown may – which means it’ll be the backup show once again. It remains to be seen if Sean McVay will deploy his rookie trio of Joseph Noteboom, Jamil Demby and Brian Allen, but if not, all eyes will be on the veterans.
Darrell Williams and Cornelius Lucas have endured terrible preseason performances and have likely found themselves on the outside looking in, partly because of the emergence of Noteboom and Demby.
If Williams and Lucas get the starters in the preseason finale, it won’t be a good sign for them. It’ll mean the coaching staff wants to see more in order to get them on the final roster, though it’s likely too little too late.
Aaron Neary and Jake Eldrenkamp are also fighting for roster spots, but they’re even less likely to make the team.
Which players get the most work
Receiving playing time in the third preseason game is a good sign. Seeing a heavy workload in the preseason finale is not. The majority of players who get the most snaps in Week 4 of the preseason are the ones on the roster bubble, needing strong performances to make the team.
It’ll be interesting to see who McVay and the coaches lean on most tonight, mostly because those will be the players toward the bottom of the depth chart. Of course, KhaDarel Hodge is on the bubble and will likely play a lot, so one size doesn’t fit all.
But if Tegray Scales, Travin Howard, Trevon Young and other rookies see the field a lot, it might not be a great indication of the status with the team.
Pass rush deployment
Similarly to the way the Rams’ playing time will be telling, Wade Phillips’ deployment of his pass rushers will be interesting to see. Dominique Easley and Matt Longacre are unlikely to play, which means plenty of young guys will be on the field. Trevon Young, Justin Lawler, Ejuan Price and expected to be guys the Rams lean on tonight, attempting to see exactly what they have in each.
Price flashed a lot against the Texans on Saturday, but he has to get pressure consistently. Young had a solid debut in Week 1 of the preseason and shows physical traits that can make him a successful pass rusher, however, he played only 17 snaps last week.
Sebastian Joseph-Day is an interior defender on the roster bubble and has played a lot this preseason, but will that be enough to push him ahead of Tanzel Smart? That’ll be tough to do.
There are question marks at both edge rusher spots beyond Samson Ebukam, so expect the Rams to use a bunch of different guys on Thursday night to attempt to sort it out.