5’11”, 227-pound Omon ran 29 carries for 79 yards and one TD this preseason. The surprising cut was probably more about Rhodes’ mediocre performance this summer (19 rushes for 64 yards, two fumbles and a touchdown) rather than a reflection of Omon’s preseason.
The former D-II Northwest Missouri State University back who reportedly lost 11 pounds this offseason must have made a great impression on the staff while outplaying Rhodes in practices.
Head coach Dick Jauron was impressed with his play in the Hall of Fame Game last month.
"I thought Xavier played well,” said Jauron. "Xavier, to me, ran tonight like he has been running all year, in our OTA's and in our preseason. He ran well, he found the holes, he stayed low, he showed power, he moved some people, he had made some people miss. I was really pleased with Xavier Omon tonight."
The cut provides more evidence on the Bills plans to give their second-string running back Fred Jackson a heavy portion of the workload. One day after the firing of offensive coordinator Turk Schonert after a lousy preseason in which the Bills ones only recorded one field goal and no TDs in five games, Buffalo has shown that they want production now.
With the move of the offensive signal-caller, QBs coach Alex Van Pelt who worked under QB Jim Kelly during the K-Gun era was promoted to OC. He knows the offense and will look to play a bit more gutsy taking more chances than the timid Schonert.
Expect the Bills to look down field a lot more with Terrell Owens back for the regular season and less check downs to the RBs.
With Rhodes on the market, and the absence of quality RB talent out there, it is likely that the former Colts Super Bowl back will get picked up by a team in need of an RB in the coming days.
If you currently have Rhodes on your fantasy team, now may be a time to release him, or hold onto him to see what team in need of a RB picks him up.
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