Cuts tough for Lions

ALLEN PARK -- Normally, a full month of training camp is more than enough to not only determine which players have locked up starting jobs but to also get a good idea about who will be on a team's 53-man roster. That's not the case with the Detroit Lions this season. And, when you look at their situation on the defensive line, they actually have more question marks than when they started camp. One significant injury -- Jared DeVries' season-ending Achilles' tendon tear of three weeks ago -- still has the Lions scrambling. The 2-1 Lions close out their preseason schedule at 6:30 tonight in Buffalo against the 1-3 Bills and Detroit coach Jim Schwartz plans on getting a lot more evaluations before the final cut-down day on Saturday. The Lions must trim their 75-man roster to the mandatory 53-man limit, but Schwartz said that Lions players aren't just fighting for jobs among themselves. "We're still in a mode where we're competing," he said. "There's still competition for some spots and it's not just competition on this team -- these guys are competing with the rest of the league because the waiver wire exists." And that holds true for the defensive line where there are jobs up for grabs everywhere -- not just the backup positions, but the starting spots as well. "We're still trying to figure out who the four guys are going to be. What we're really looking for is eight and we'll (rotate) the line. But we're still looking for four starters," Lions defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said. "With Jared DeVries going down a couple of weeks ago, that really put a deep cut in our plans. It really caused problems because he was really playing well and he had the best leadership of that group. We've really gone downhill the last couple of weeks and I've talked a lot about that with (the defensive staff)." DeVries already was slated for the starting left defensive end position with Cliff Avril and Dewayne White fighting for the starting job on the right side. Now, the Lions will probably be moving Avril to the left side -- that's where he will get a lot of action in tonight's game -- to compete with Jason Hunter. Andre Fluellen, last year's third-round draft choice, also has been moved since the injury to DeVries. Fluellen was at tackle, but now also is playing at left end. "He's played well at end but since we've moved him there, he's also playing well at tackle," Cunnnigham said. While the Lions are mixing and matching on the outside, the competition remains tight for the tackle positions. Veteran Grady Jackson is expected to be a starter, but the Lions are only expecting 12 to 15 plays per game out of him for the first few weeks of the season. The Lions need to find another starter and another player to rotate with Jackson. Who will step up? The candidates are Shaun Smith, Chuck Darby, Sammie Hill, Landon Cohen, Ikika Alama-Francis and Orien Harris. "We're looking for guys who will believe in the philosophy we have and the attitude we're trying to build. It's a work in progress," Cunningham said. "We're going to weed them out and hopefully make the right decisions." Smith released Cornerback Keith Smith, a third-round draft pick in 2004, was released Wednesday to make room for quarterback Kevin O'Connell, who was claimed on waivers Tuesday. Smith's departure means there is only one draft pick remaining from the 2002-06 drafts (linebacker Ernie Sims, first round in '06). The Lions drafted a total of 39 players during that five-year span.