The 53

Final cuts have been made and we now know the full roster that will go into battle in 9 short days.

They had 300. We have 53. Boom!

I'm not really shocked with any of the announced releases. The most noteworthy are probably Bryan Gilmore and Thomas Clayton. Both got caught in positions that are logjammed with players. Though I'm still skeptical about the overall talent level at WR and RB, neither of these two guys was going to be a long-term solution. Hopefully a couple of these cats can be salvaged for the practice squad. But getting rid of them essentially allows us to keep an extra couple people across OL, DL, and the secondary - positions where we actually need depth. The upside of having a relatively mediocre receiving corps is that if one goes down (whether DJAX or Lelie), we can plug another in there without losing too much. Now at RB if a scenario so absolutely awful I won't even put it in words happens, our season is toast anyway - no reason to think a 6th rounder is going to bail us out.

Ultimately this team has built a solid nucleus at pretty much every position. Instead of needing skill for the trenches or air defense, we merely need to pick up a true #1 wideout and a backup to groom as an eventual replacement for Gore. Though these are not small tasks they are 2 bodies against the 30 or so that had to be cycled into the rotation over the past 2 seasons. But now, we prepare for glory and before this season is out, the world will know that even a (supposed) god-king can bleed.

From left: Leinart practicing for his I'm A Douche showdown with Tom Brady; getting firsthand experience of the beatdown The 53 are going to put on him on 9-10-07