By Jay Betsill & Scott Holub

Cowboys Beat Rams 20-19 In “Dress Rehearsal”
The third game of the NFL preseason is considered the most important as it is basically known as a “dress rehearsal” for teams as they approach the beginning of the regular season. The Cowboys went into their game against the Rams missing their top three receiving targets as Miles Austin (hamstring), Dez Bryant (knee) and Jason Witten (spleen) were all out due to injury, leaving Tony Romo with Kevin Ogletree and Dwayne Harris as his starters. Ogletree has been impressive as he strives to lock down the third receiver spot and Harris stepped up with three catches for 118 yards including touchdowns of 61 and 38 yards. It had been speculated that Romo would play the entire first half, but with completing 9 of 13 passes for 198 yards, his evening ended shortly after the second quarter began. Running back Felix Jones had his best game of the preseason with 34 yards on six carries and two catches.

The offensive line is still having issues, with Doug Free at times appearing to be on ice skates and free agent guards Nate Livings and Mackenzy Bernadeau being pushed around by the Rams defensive line. The scariest thing about the line may be that they are actually looking forward to Phil Costa’s return at center.

The top defensive unit looked solid. DeMarcus Ware was out due to injury, but there was the return of Jay Ratliff, Anthony Spencer and Jason Hatcher. Cornerbacks Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne continue to impress in coverage. It does need to be factored in that when the Cowboys open the season against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, they will be covering Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz rather than Donnie Avery. As for the inside linebackers, it appears that Bruce Carter is ahead of Dan Connor to start alongside Sean Lee. The bad news of the evening came postgame with word of Jay Ratliff’s high ankle sprain that puts the Giants game in doubt. Should Ratliff be unable to go, look for either Josh Brent or Sean Lissemore to be in the mix.

Dallas concludes its preseason by hosting the Miami Dolphins Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

The Dez Bryant Rules
It has been a drama-filled summer for Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant following the incident where he was charged with a Class A misdemeanor by the DeSoto Police Department for allegedly assaulting his mother, Angela Bryant. The organization has decided that it will be responsible for the 23-year-old wide receiver and do its part to keep him out of trouble.

ESPN Dallas’ Calvin Watkins reported the Cowboys have established new off-field guidelines for Bryant:

- A midnight curfew. If he’s going to miss curfew, team officials must know in advance.
- No drinking alcohol.
- He can’t attend any strip clubs and can only attend nightclubs if they are approved by                 the team and he has a security team with him.
- He must attend counseling sessions twice a week.
- A rotating three-man security team will leave one man with Bryant at all times.
- Members of the security team will drive Bryant to practices, games and team functions.

Terrell Owens Cut By Seahawks
“I’m no longer a Seahawk. I THANK the organization 4 the opportunity, I’m truly blessed beyond belief. My FAITH is intact & will NOT waiver,” former Dallas Cowboys superstar receiver Terrell Owens wrote to his nearly 1.3 million Twitter followers on Sunday afternoon.

He finished the preseason with just two receptions including a 40-yard catch from newly-named starter Russell Wilson in Seattle’s 44-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Owens was trying to make a comeback after not playing since Week 15 of the 2010 season with the Bengals. He has 1,078 receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns, the second most in league history.