Detroit Lions Weblog

53 Man Roster Battles

Mlive.com’s Tom “Killer” Kowalski has written an enlightening article about some of the roster battles that will occur as result of injuries, performance, etc as the pre-season draws to a close for the Lions. He highlights the offensive line in the article, a group whose performance must improve significantly in ‘08, since it’s the most muddled and unsettled of the entire roster.

The Lions optimally would like to employ 25 men each on offense and defense, with three roster spots reserved for the kickers and long-snapper.  Where the major problem lies, and where the numbers crunch will ensue, is the fact that Dan Campbell and Drew Stanton (appears the Lions are going to cut Henson after the Bills pre-season game,oops) are not healthy, meaning that they likely will have to keep four players at each position, rather than three.  The Lions also could potentially choose to keep K David Rayner (oops, he was cut) for kickoffs, admittedly a longshot.

After just one day, the previous paragraph was essentially nullified.  The Lions cut DE Claude Harriott, C Carroll Madison, K Dave Rayner, and LB Tyrone Pruitt.  The clarifying news is that Rayner is gone, and that the Lions will attempt to put (and likely succeed in) QB Drew Henson onto the team’s practice squad.

The tight end situation still remains cloudy, which means that there will likely be an extra roster spot allotted to that playing group.

That’s where the muddled offensive line situation really louses things up.   The Lions are set with LT Jeff Backus, LG Edwin Mulitalo, and C Dom Raiola.   They obviously will keep T Gosder Cherilus, who has been prepped to play both sides, since he may not emerge as a starter for a while.  If George Foster is the right tackle, then Jonathan Scott will likely be released.  Stephen Peterman should be the team’s right guard, with Frank Davis and Manny Ramirez battling to be his backup.  Rumors indicate that the battle between Ramirez and Peterman is still quite close ,though.

This would leave one utility linemen among Corey Hulsey, Damien Cook, and Andy McCollum to back up at center, with Cook versatile enough to play all three spots.  The Lions need for Cherilus to emerge, soon.  They also need their roster roles to be clearly defined along the line, so that they can develop some cohesiveness entering the season.

The Lions may have to resort to keeping four receivers, with Shaun McDonald thrust into the punt returner’s role, since Brandon Middleton, DeVale Ellis, and Kenneth Moore have not yet seized that role, which would justify one of them remaining as a fifth receiver.

The Lions plan on keeping one FB in Jerome Felton, and likely his backup in TE/FB Sean McHugh.   Dan Campbell’s continued injury problems may force the Lions to keep John Owens.   The tight ends, especially stout blockers Campbell, Owens, and Michael Gaines are important because they may be called upon in max protect situations, and short-yardage situations, too.   If the Lions keep Casey FitzSimmons he will pre-dominantly serve as an additional receiver.

“Killer” also believes that the Lions will retain Tatum Bell over Artose Pinner and Brian Calhoun, in spite of his weak pre-season performance, due to his experience within the offense and past track record.  Somewhere I hear James Mungro ferally shrieking into the dark night…

Kowalski also believes that the Lions will not be tempted to move either McDonald or Furrey in trade to keep a young player like Middleton or Ellis.

Back to the offensive line, the Lions offensive line, along with it’s defensive line, is the area that has needed to improve the greatest in order to turn around the team’s fortunes.  The fact that this unit is still languishing, after a great deal of attention has been paid to it, is not a good sign.

Stay tuned