The Lions made their first round of cuts Tuesday, releasing Dave Rayner, Claude Harriott, Carroll Madison, Stephen Howell and Tyrone Pruitt. The real dilemma, however, comes Saturday when they'll need to chop 22 more players off the roster to get down to 53. There are several scenarios in the wind, and much could depend on Thursday's exhibition finale at Buffalo. Do the Lions keep four running backs with the new commitment to the ground game? Five receivers as usual? A second fullback or fourth tight end at the expense of a ninth lineman? And on defense, who gets the 25th spot, safety Greg Blue, cornerback Dovonte Edwards, linebacker Leon Joe or someone else?

For the first time in Rod Marinelli's three seasons, the Lions have some decisions to make. Some of the players they release should get picked up by other teams and keeping 10 defensive linemen looks like a lock. But the one thing that stood out in last week's exhibition win over Cleveland is that none of the bubble guys has jumped out as a must-keep at this point.

An example: Edwards and Blue (along with cornerback Ramzee Robinson) are battling for a possible ninth spot in the defensive backfield. It may have been a case of trying to hard, but both played a hit-and-miss second half Saturday. Edwards played well early, then in the span of three plays in the fourth quarter whiffed on a tackle and was slow to tag Kevin Kasper after he went to the turf to make a catch. No doubt that situational recognition was noticed by the coaches. Blue, likewise, missed an open-field tackle in the third quarter (on a play that was nullified by penalty), then came back the next play to stop Jason Wright on a 9-yard gain.

Going into Game 4, I'd say Blue has a slight edge over Edwards if the Lions do keep nine in the secondary, but that's more because of uncertainty with Daniel Bullocks' knee than anything either player did or did not do. Both guys can be contributors in this league (and should find a roster spot somewhere), but that's how slim the margin is between players.