[Buckskin86]

POSITION WATCH
Defensive line. Many of them weren't even on the field for the afternoon session. But their collective efforts have been so impressive the past few days that these big boys deserve some individual recognition. Here's how they've been lining up, from left end to right:

First unit ? Patrick Kerney, Rocky Bernard, Chuck Darby, Bryce Fisher.

Second unit ? Darryl Tapp, Craig Terrill, Russell Davis, Brandon Green (but Tapp and Green have been alternating sides).

Third unit ? Baraka Atkins, Marcus Green, Brandon Mebane, Nu'u Tafisi.

The pairings should change at tackle, however, when Marcus Tubbs begins practicing (perhaps the week of the third preseason game) and if Mebane continues to throw his weight around.

On one play in the morning practice, Mebane rocked center Pat Ross with an explosively quick thrust of his powerful right hand. That's all it took to reposition Ross from the line of scrimmage to a yard and a half behind the line of scrimmage.

The club carried 10 linemen on the final roster cut last season ? four ends (Fisher, Tapp, since-released Grant Wistrom and Joe Tafoya, who signed with the Arizona Cardinals in free agency this offseason) and six tackles (Darby, Bernard, Tubbs, Russell, Terrill and Chris Cooper, who was released in September and signed with the Cardinals).

The definite keepers this year are the starters, which now includes free-agent addition Kerney; Tubbs, Tapp, Mebane and Atkins. That could leave only two spots, with three players to claim them ? Terrill, Davis and Brandon Green.

Camp Kirkland: Day Six (p.m. version)