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RAMS MOTOR INTO THE THUNDER DOME
BY DK COX (Nov 4)

Detroit Lions' Greg Hill (21) leaps for a gain as Carolina Panthers players Tim Moribito (90) and Sean Gilbert (94) defend in the third quarter of the Lions' 24-9 win at Ericsson Stadium in Charlotte, N.C., Sunday, Oct. 24, 1999. The surprising Detroit Lions, without Barry Sanders and Herman Moore and with a rash of injuries, find themselves atop the NFC Central and quietly confident as they approach perhaps their toughest test, against the 6-1 St. Louis Rams.(AP Photo/Rick Havner)

The Rams will try and rebound from a tough loss in Tennessee, where they helped the Titans, the home crowd,  & the officials keep the '72 Dolphins a part of NFL history. 

In the loss, the Rams learned some valuable lessons that will serve them better in the future than a win would have. Don't misunderstand---a win is better than a loss any day---unless of course the loss is a regular season game that results in a playoff game win. The Rams found themselves backed firmly against the wall, down by 3 EDS in a hostile environment,  going up against some a good Titans defense with a smart game plan. They battled back like true champions...only to fall short like young champions earning their wings along the way.  The Rams left Tennessee knowing they gave away a winnable game and surely will chew on this bitter pill throughout the week, and will be anxious to get to the kickoff in the Silver Dome and wash away the bitter taste of that loss, moving closer to the playoffs.

Homefield advantage is a big issue in the regular season when two winning teams play and will be in even bigger come playoff time.  The Rams will realize this as much as any playoff savvy team. The real benefit of the Titans game should be apparent in this game, which compares to the challenge they just had in Tennessee.  They need to fight the home team, the home crowd,  & themselves.  (Let's hope the officials let the players decide this game themselves.) The Rams will do everything in their power to ensure homefield throughout the NFC playoffs.

The Lions team is very similar to the Rams.  Consider these similarities---

1. They have a tough minded coach who struggled last year with player relationships. Both head coaches adjusted during the off-season and have been able to patch their differences with their teams. Now both are turning the corner,  ready to blend their talent with a positive mental approach.

2. They both have dealt with the loss of key players (Trent Green, Barry Sanders), who were replaced by surprising producers (Kurt Warner, Ron Rivers & Greg Hill).

3. Both have underrated defensive units with stud LDEs (Kevin Carter, Robert Porcher). Both defense feature very similar types of play makers.

4. Both quarterbacks are lacking in NFL experience but play with the fire and maturity of veterans. Both are getting better every game they play.

5. Both offensive lines offer very good individual players (Ray Roberts & Jeff Hartings, Orlando Pace & Adam Timmerman).

6. Both have played almost half the season with real legitimate shots at winning their divisions.

7. Both have solid special teams play and understand the field position war.

The one difference is at the skill positions on offense. With Barry Sanders in retirement & Herman Moore nursing injuries, the Lions only real weapons are Greg Hill, Johnnie Morton, Germane Crowell & Charlie Batch (you must include Batch here).  David Sloan and Brian Stablein are serviceable and solid, but neither will draw more than single coverage. 

The Rams,  on the other hand,  seem to have endless weapons--- Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az Zahir Hakim, Ricky Proehl, Amp Lee.  They also have Robert Holcombe & Roland Williams, solid contributors. 

WHEN THE LIONS HAVE THE BALL. The Lions offense is minus its two biggest weapons in Barry Sanders and Herman Moore, but continue to find a way to get the job done this year.  Are Ron Rivers, Greg Hill, & Sedrick Irvin as good as Barry,  or is Germane Crowell as effective as Herman ?  Of course not, but then you have to wonder how offensive coordinator Sylvester Croom has been able to get the job done this year.  The answer is right in front of everyone-it is the offensive line.  Bobby Ross has always believed in finding hard working versatile lineman who can move around the line in the event of injuries or poor production. This line has handled some very tough defensive fronts this year and done well both on the run and the pass. They have given up 23 sacks this year, but most came early in the season when they were not very cohesive.  The more this line plays together the better they will protect Batch and open up rushing lanes for Hill.

Bobby believes in a more vertical game than the one that was being utilized when Herman Moore was playing. Sure, Herman caught over 100 balls a year, but he was not much help in stretching the defense, which crowded the gaps too quickly and most plays were only what Barry could make of them.  Defenses could crowd the line for Barry because they knew most pass routes would be short ones allowing Herman to take advantage of his height, jumping & his ability to keep himself between the defender and the ball. The book on the Lions is still stop the run and make Batch beat you in the air.  Now, the only difference is that you must do it with your front seven, because Crowell, Moore, Stablein & Sloan will get down field, drawing coverage by the entire secondary.  This is why the Lions running game has enjoyed success no matter who has been handed the ball so far. 

The Lions have success with similar players as the Rams have on the line.  Left Tackle Ray Roberts is a former # 1 draft pick who has done a very good job protecting Batch's blind side.  The right side  is anchored by ex-Penn State stud Jeff Hartings,  who has been extremely solid at right guard.  Mike Compton has moved over from guard to center this year,  making way for Tony Semple.  Former Eagle  Barrett Brooks (another former # 1 pick) has gotten some playing time from Tony Ramirez at right tackle. Ramirez & Brooks are very similar players who will both struggle against Kevin Carter,  who is more athletic & will get good outside push while using his hands extremely well inside.

The Lions no longer employ a zone blocking scheme and have switched to mainly man to man match ups.  Man blocking gives them the ability to take advantage of defensive penetration and do more trapping and pulling by the guards.  Any crease or delay at the line of scrimmage will give Greg Hill the opportunity to exploit it or to stay with the blocks.  The Rams defensive line will have to read their blocks and stay home,  allowing the linebackers to fill their gaps.  With Hill's ability to get outside, it is important for Todd Collins and Mike Jones to play disciplined defense and protect the area from the sidelines to the 1st hash marks,  or Hill can exploit this once a Hartings, Compton or Semple pulls to push the outside backers in. This forces the secondary to creep in to make the tackles.

Charlie Batch has done a very solid job since taking over the QB duties from Scott Mitchell. He makes  good decisions and does not make many mistakes.  He has the kind of scrambling ability that needs to be accounted for and the arm to make the tough throw. The Rams need to account for him with Keith Lyle as their center field spy. Lyle will have to watch where he is going and get a good break on the ball.

Sure the Lions will catch their balls and they will make some plays, but it is unlikely the Lions will beat the Rams with their passing game. Johnny Morton and Crowell have the speed to keep the secondary form cheating, but that is about it. Batch struggled with interceptions early in the season but has cut down on poor decisions the last three games. Still, they are predictable in their passing downs and the Rams will know when to nickel or not.  The Rams need to focus on the Lions running game and be able to stop them on 1st down runs (which the Buccaneers couldn't do). 

Out of the Lions 17 1st down plays against the Bucs, Hill ran the ball 11 times and averaged over 7 yards per carry.  As usual with Greg Hill games, his average comes form big runs.  He had runs of 27 (2nd down) and 45 (1st down) yards against the Buccaneers which accounted for 72 of his 120 yards.  This means he averaged a more pedestrian 3.4 yards per carry aside from those runs. The key to stopping Greg Hill is stopping him at the line before he gets going by controlling the gaps & the outside,  which is difficult against a man on man blocking scheme because if someone tries to shoot a gap or over pursue, Hill can exploit the missed assignment and get down field quickly. 

The man on man schemes gives us the chance to look at feasible individual match ups and see what could happen.  D'Marco Farr has a very tough matchup against Hartings,  who has great natural strength. Farr's arsenal consists of a quick burst and relentless pursuit. Hartings can handle the pursuit but will have a difficult time getting position on runs between himself and Brooks because Farr fills that gap very quickly.  Hill has proven to his critics that he can run off tackle, but still has not shown the cutting style to be successful between the guards, which should give Farr the chance to play Hartings outside shoulder most of the afternoon.  Kevin Carter can handle Brooks in most situations.  He has the hands and speed to beat Brooks on the outside when rushing and his has the strength to stand him up and fight off the blocks and so make Hill change directions more than he would like.  Ray Agnew has done a great job staying on his opponents side of the line throughout the year and figures to be able to do the same against Compton or Semple,  which will help London Fletcher in shooting the gap off Roberts's right shoulder.  This leads us to the area that the Lions figure to run, which is behind Ray Roberts.  Grant Wistrom has impressed everyone with his ability to hold up against the run against some very good left tackles to date, including Jonathan Ogden, Bob Whitfield, Lomas Brown & Brad Hopkins. Roberts doesn't figure to offer any more physically than these fellas,  but he does not give anything in comparison to them either.  The Lions know that straight up Roberts will win most of the battles and the key to running left on the Rams will be the ability of Cory Schlesinger  to come through the hole behind the pulling guard and get his hat in someone's face long enough for Hill to see a opportunity to turn on his jets.  London has done a good job of playing behind the play and making the tackle even if he doesn't possess the ability to crush a running play on his own.  He plays smart, aggressive and very quick and gets himself in position to make the tackle or disrupt the runner.  The key to stopping the run on the right side of the defense, though,  has been Todd Collins ability to hold up the line of scrimmage, fight off  blocks from tight ends, full backs & pulling guards,  and make the tackle.  No disrespect to Roman Phifer, but Todd Collins has really helped the Rams rush defense tremendously in 1999.

The Rams will need to disguise blitz packages against Batch, since he has shown the ability to make adjustments at the line of scrimmage and exploit  seams when they are given to him.  The Rams can get Hill behind the line of scrimmage if they do a better job of timing the snap count & over crowding a rush lane, something they struggled with in Tennessee.  If the Lions are able to pick up the blitzes and have success in man blocking the Rams will be forced to play straight up, which will put them on their heals and allow the Lions to put together some prolonged drives.

The Lions will set up the run by keeping the secondary honest with some long balls and try to keep the Rams offense on the sideline. The Lions game plan will be to get Hill his 15 to 20 carries and hope he breaks a couple long ones. They will let Batch make some yards & first downs when the Rams rush only 4 in the nickel package,  or when he sprints outside to find one of the receivers coming back to the play. The key to the Lions is to keep the ball on long time consuming drives, get points every time they get inside the Rams 30,  and try avoid a situation where they have to light up the scoreboard to win, something  which will be very difficult against the Rams defense.  Bad news for the Lions would be if the Rams get into their groove early and stop them on the 1st couple of series.  If the Rams can get out to an  early lead, the Lions will be in for a  long day with the Rams playing a consistent pressure game.  

KEY MATCHUP. Ray Roberts against Grant Wistrom.  The key match ups in this game are in the trenches.  Both lines have solid players and they will offer each other a real challenge.  Whichever unit wins this battle will do a lot toward helping its team win the war.  I believe the Lions will try to run right at Wistrom and get Hartings to pull and get his helmet on Todd Collins often.  It will be up to Ray Agnew to control the cutbacks and London Fletcher to fill the gaps and Billy Jenkins to pursue upon commitment to the play.  I believe the Rams will win this battle and hold Hill under his gaudy average per carry numbers and make him work very hard to do better than 3 to 4 yards per carry as opposed to his usual 6 yards a pop. 

WHEN THE RAMS HAVE THE BALL You will read this week that there is a book on defending against the Rams offense written by Jeff Fisher.  It involves stacking up the left side of the offensive on Orlando Pace, forcing the Rams to pull the TE over to help, leaving Fred Miller on an island on the right side, disguising blitz packages, putting 8 DB's in the secondary during passing situations,  and rushing one side of the line to pressure Warner before the receivers get out of their breaks.  It also requires double teaming both Isaac Bruce and Marshall Faulk.  Well, at least it worked for awhile,  creating some turnovers and poor 3rd down conversion rates.  Eventually,  though,  Mike Martz adjusted,  and Warner started finding Hakim, Holt & Proehl open in the secondary.  The TE was also wide open but unexploited by Warner. Marshall was making plays out of sheer will & talent and the Rams battled back,  letting a winnable game slip away.

So what does this mean in the Lions game ?  It means that the Lions realize that the Rams can be sidetracked for at least part of a game, which centers around getting quick pressure on Warner, giving special attention to Faulk & Bruce,  and making Warner beat you by going through his reads quicker while fighting through the pressure.  One way the Rams may respond to this kind of attack is by realigning the progression reads from side to side or removing the identified double teams out of the reads on some occasions, and so  completely focusing on mismatches.  Warner has enough physical ability to get out of the pocket immediately instead of hanging tough as the pocket is collapsed.  Also keep in mind that the Lions personnel and strengths are different from the Titans. They will offer a different defensive game plan. Larry Peccatiello and Bobby Ross who subscribe to the "bend don't break" mentality.  They will rush Warner with their down lineman and try to disguise some blitzes.  Looking at the Rams past opponents as a comparison, the Lions offers a defensive line that is similar to the Falcons, though it will throw in blitzes from the safety position like the 49ers (up the middle). The good news is that the Rams offensive line will have better success with Hanifan's zone blocking schemes against the Lions than they did against the Titans.  The Lions figure to attack the Rams with individual match ups, stunts,  & well placed blitzes instead of stacking the line. Stacking makes areas of the field vulnerable and goes against Detroit's flexible defensive philosophies. 

The Lions best lineman,  Robert Porcher,  will get a crack at Fred Miller this weekend.  Miller struggled against Kearse because of the rookie's burst off the line, which had Fred leaning throughout the afternoon.  Porcher will also challenge Miller with his outstanding combination of size, strength and speed. But he will not be as effective as Kearse was. Miller will be able to get back in position and create a solid base against Porcher, something he could not do with Kearse. Miller's huge size (6'7", 320 lbs) matches up much better against power than it does against speed,  and he needs to get into position to take advantage of his size.  Porcher is effective against the double move taking him inside, and that will give Miller some problems in pass protection,  but he should have some help from Timmerman, a TE,  or FB.  Luther Ellis also offers a good combination of size and surprising moves for his size,  and is their best interior lineman,  but he will be completely neutralized by Timmerman.  Free agent pick James Jones offers good size against Nutten. He will get in the way on inside runs and hold up the line on short yardage situations.  Speed rusher Tracy Scroggins will be the man most likely to disappear Sunday, since he goes against Orlando Pace.

The Rams offensive line had graded out real well all year until they faced the Titans, with their blitz packages and overloaded secondaries.  Bobby Ross will not jump on that band wagon but will continue to play his style of defense, one the Rams have already shown they have the ability to beat.  Hanifan's zone blocking schemes should hold up to this defense as long as the line can clean up the penalties and remain focused, patient & fundamentally sound.  I would not expect Vermeil to stay with Miller as long this game if he suffers additional false starts and holding penalties.

The Rams should be able to find running lanes against this front four. The key will be keeping their linebackers out of the gaps.  Stephen Boyd is always around the ball both against the run & pass and is one of the best at putting himself in a position to make the play.  Rookie OLB Chris Claiborne has struggled learning his assignments, but when he is let loose he won't miss many tackles.  Allen Aldridge is a solid LLB that will fight off the blocks and hold up his side of the line on wide plays but can not stay with Marshall on screens out wide.  Ron Rice figures to sneak in once the play develops and will either make the big hit or get burned.  The Rams need to make sure they get a hat on these guys if they want to get Marshall into the secondary.  So far this year, the Rams guards have done a good job of pulling and clearing way,  and they will need to keep doing it in this game to get the running game going early. Marshall did an unheralded job of finding tiny holes against the Titans and made the most of what was offered to him,  and figures to do the same in this game, but he will find it tougher against the Lions linebackers,  who are very good against the run.

The Lions secondary will not let the Rams receivers get over top and will make Warner be patient and find the underneath single coverages. Warner has proven he can do this effectively if given time.  He did have trouble finding his 2nd and 3rd receivers against the Titans, but settled down in the 2nd half and distributed the ball around the field.  Isaac figures to get double coverage again this game, which means Torry Holt needs to win his single coverage match ups.  Bryant Westbrook is expected back this game after sitting due to hamstring injuries. He figures to get the Bruce assignment while getting help from free safety Mark Carrier,  who is very good at reading a play and getting in the way or picking a ball that hangs too long.  Terry Fair has the talent to cover most receivers man to man and will be expected to do so against rookie Torry Holt.  Although Torry hasn't put any eye popping statistics on the board, he has been solid enough to keep Hakim as the # 3 receiver.  Torry has a very good double (inside-out) move on the sideline and can break into the middle of the field.   One of these games, Torry is expected to get the matchup they will exploit & will light up for 8 receptions for over 100 yards and a couple EDS. The Lions defensive game plan could create this opportunity for him, since it has become clear that opposing defenses will give special attention to Marshall & Isaac. Hakim & Proehl will continually get good looks when the Lions are in their dime packages,  which offer more zone coverages. These two guys can find the soft spot.  One would expect Mike Martz to continue what has worked so far,  which is keeping the Rams in motion, spreading the field both ways,  and disguising the primary reads. 

Ross's wild cards are his team's physical and tough style of play on defense,  & the very loud and raucous crowd in the Silverdome.

Even though the Lions play a less risky defense than the Titans, the films from the Tennessee game should have taught them how to load up on Pace and make Miller handle Porcher straight up, which will force the Rams to use some 2 TE sets or to keep the FB in to guard against an inside move from Porcher. It would be wise for Martz to get Warner in some quick sprint-outs out of the pocket to give him some time & vision down the field (like they do in Buffalo for Flutie).  But then, I'm sure they won't do this,  because this offense relies so much on the receivers's timing patterns.  Warner has been very conservative in his throws and can quickly figure out if he likes a matchup or not. If he sees nothing he likes, it would be wise to get outside decisively and allow his receivers to come back,  or to find a soft spot and make a play,  as he did with Bruce for a TD across the left back side of end zone with no one close to him.  Often broken plays create a more open receiver than their mismatches and timing patterns.  In fact I think they should actually game plan plays disguised as broken plays! (don't laugh, it's feasible). 

The Rams game plan will be very familiar. They should be able to get their 3rd down conversion completion percentage back up to where they had it so far this year.  They will mix it up & keep the Lions on their heals, something Detroit is accustomed to, given their style of defense. Still, red zone scoring will be harder in this game than any other they have played so far, but not too hard for these Rams-they should be able to get back over 30 points.

KEY MATCHUP. Fred Miller vs. Robert Porcher. Some will feel that the key matchup is the Rams receivers against the single coverage and bend don't break philosophy of their defense.  I believe that the Miller vs. Porcher matchup is critical because team confidence and execution rest with the offensive line.  If Miller can control Porcher Sunday, the entire team and coaching staff can feed off this victory and play their game plan instead of worrying about helping Miller or keeping the FB in or hitting more screens than they were planning to.  If Porcher gets consistent pressure on Warner, the Rams offense will need to adjust, and this will play into the hands of Bobby Ross---he will gladly give up the yardage totals for the points totals.

SPECIAL TEAMS. The Lions posses one of the game's very best kickers in Jason Hanson,  which is an even a bigger advantage considering the injury to Jeff Wilkens. The Rams may be lining up rookie-Jeff Hall or journeymen Scott Blanton in the Silver dome. 

Rick Tuten challenged the Titans returners, but does not figure to do the same with the Lions. We can expect some more directional punting in this game.  The Rams returners did a good job in helping with field position.  Hakim & Carpenter will get their chances in this game.

Both teams have developed good overall depth,  which has resulted in a higher quality of athlete on the coverage teams,  making schemes and mental breakdowns more important than the play of the returners.  I don't see that either return team have any real advantages.

GAME PREDICTION: I think Bobby Ross's Lions & the Silver Dome crowd will be fired up and ready to play some smash mouth football at the beginning of this game. That is the key.  The Lions can win this game if they get off to a early lead and force the Rams offense into some turnovers on their side of the field. Greg Hill needs to keep the chains moving and Batch needs to keep Billy Jenkins from sneaking in helping against the run.

The Rams will win easily if they can get some early scores in this game and get the crowd out of the game and the Lions out of their ball control offensive mentality and force them to throw.

The Lions realize they will need to keep the Rams in the low 20s to win this game and may be forced to count on Batch more than they can afford to,  which will create mistakes late in the game when Batch is trying to force the ball. They will run the risk of a lopsided loss if they need to go to the air to get back into the game.

I think the Rams will come out and make a statement early in this game with a long time consuming drive by going underneath the coverage and getting their running backs outside the tackles.  The Rams defense will feed off this and frustrate Batch & Hill early.  The Rams offense will control this game. I believe Mike Martz when he says they won't let what happened in Tennessee happen again.

RAMS 31, Lions 17

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EXTRA POINTS: RAMS PERSONNEL MOVES. The return of these three guys on the roster will result in some roster  manipulations.  For sake of argument let's assume all 3 will come back and  play a role in the remainder of the season (Nov.11th is deadline for Conwell decision, Little comes off suspension after the Lions game,  & Horne will come of suspension after the Panthers game).  Unlike Amp Lee, these guys will  require someone to be dropped from the 53 man roster. 

This is not easy to figure out.  A big part of a  team's decisions transcend who is the better players and includes factors such as interest around the league for a waived player,  politics in the front office about who found whom, bonus criteria & objectives, depth chart effects, versatility of the player, etc. Of course NFL teams  often do some funny roster things like putting guys on IR who have questionable injury status, or they try to sneak someone on to the practice squad (Jason Chorak),  or they simply keep them in town in case there are more injuries (Ron Carpenter & Chad Levitt). 

One fans perspective:

I believe that Ernie (if healthy ?), Leonard & Tony can all contribute to the  Rams this year, so they all need to be brought back up to speed and get on the field.  Ernie is the strongest & fastest TE on the team and will be  helpful in both the running & passing games (as long as his arms re-lengthen).  Leonard is the most gifted athlete we have at the linebacker position in my opinion and will help tremendously on the special teams coverages also.  Tony was really getting into a groove & was always around  the return man as the gunner on coverage units.

1. Ernie Conwell: Considering the often inactive status of Chad Lewis & the play of the guys in front of him on the depth chart,  it would appear at first glance that he will be the odd man out, so that the most obvious prediction. But Lewis would be on the waiver wire for a short  time because TEs with his outstanding hands & ability to run are valuable to any team.  The Rams inability to get the ball into the TEs hands in this TE friendly offense is curious though. It's for this reason I believe that we should will 4 TEs and Jeff Robinson stays because of his flexibility. Jeff is our long snapper, plays special teams, can play DE if needed,  & was worked last week as the emergency full back.  So I say keep Lewis. Assuming that Holcombe comes back healthy before Nov. 11th, I would consider waiving Chad Levitt as the 3rd FB. Levitt is often and I am not uncomfortable with the idea of Jeff Robinson as the emergency 3rd FB. Keep Lewis on the roster for his pass catching abilities.  Odd Man Out: Chad Levitt.

2. Leonard Little: Leonard will finally get back on the field and I am  wondering if the NFL will allow the Rams to extend a roster exemption for 2 weeks once he is able to return to practice.  For argument's sake, let's  assume that they need to activate him for game # 9.  The obvious player to cut would be one who plays his position  I have heard several  guys who attend camp mention him as a back up to Todd Collins and his eventual replacement, but considering his speed I can see him playing Mike Jones's  position also.  At the very least he could fill a role in the nickel, a position Charlie  Clemons currently holds.  Of course none of those guys will be released, but their backups are considerations. These include Mike Morton and Lorenzo Styles,  as well as defensive line back ups Zenret Pelshak, Lionel Barnes, Gaylon Hyder & Nate Hobgood-Chittick.  Following a simple process of elimination---First, Lorenzo Styles may have lost out in the MLB  competition this summer, but I believe he is still a valuable backup.  Mike Morton is a solid veteran and they surrendered a 7th round pick for him. Morton could also fill in admirably in the event of injuries.  Troy Pelshak has been Wistrom's replacement and has held up,  although his only claim to fame is getting Bob Whitfield tossed. Lionel Barnes is a recent 6th round pick and he has the physical ability  to be an impact-type situational pass rusher. It looks like Hobgood-Chittick  has surpassed Hyder on the active roster. Regardless, they both have done well when given the opportunity and are both a testament of the depth this team has.  I think this would be a good spot for  a injured reserve spot (if allowable).  Injured Reserve: Lionel Barnes.

3. Tony Horne: Appears simple at first glance.  Thanks for pinning the Titans  inside the 5 on a pretty return coverage play Chris Thomas but the Exit sign  in the same place as the Enter sign.  Several teams were vying for Thomas's services when the Rams signed him (New Orleans & Cleveland) but he chose the Rams because he was familiar with Coach Martz and liked the direction of the team.  He did mention,  though, that he was not aware that Tony Horne was suspended by the league. If he had known, I wonder if he would have opted for a more secure spot with one of the other teams.  Is Thomas a player who can  help this team as the 6th receiver and a special teams player?  I guess the answer would be yes if they have a player at another position that is expendable.  Those borderline players throughout the lineup are guys like Justin Watson, Willie Jones, one of the  Dts,  or Ron Carpenter. Well, we know that Justin Watson has secured himself a position on this team and should be the backup running back to Faulk instead of Holcombe.  Willie Jones is always inactive but they are thin at tackle and could not afford this move until next year, and that is if Frohbieter lives up to expectations.  No reason to subtract from the defensive side of the ball for a 6th receiver.  With no significant injuries  (excluding the potential at the Silver Dome this weekend), it appears to clear cut.  Odd man out: Chris Thomas, soon to be the newest member of the Cleveland Browns.