PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : RAMS : Young Expected to Be Activated

After watching him go through a week of practice without pain, the Rams almost certainly will activate defensive end Robert Young from the injured-reserve list today, Coach Chuck Knox said Friday.

The question was, whom to remove from the roster to make room for Young, who was penciled in as the left-side starter before his shoulder injury.

Counting Young, the Rams have eight active defensive linemen, which is one more than teams usually carry. That might not be good news for either Warren Powers, signed as a free agent when Young went on injured reserve, or Mike Piel, who has played as a backup.

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Knox said he has no firm plans to work all three of the Rams’ tailbacks into the mix Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

“Really, what we’re trying to do is go with the running backs that are getting the job done,” he said.

Before last week’s game, Knox said he wanted to get starter Cleveland Gary, backup Robert Delpino and newly signed Anthony Thompson some carries, but ended up giving Gary all but two of them and Thompson none.

This week, asked if Thompson will play, Knox said, “Well, if the situation calls for it.”

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Before last season’s 27-10 loss in Candlestick Park, the Rams had won three consecutive regular-season games there. And they were in last year’s game through the fourth quarter, before a late spurt put it out of reach.

“The fans are right there on your back and I personally like to go up there and shut the fans up,” Flipper Anderson said. “I don’t know if it’s a personal vendetta against the fans or what, but we seem to have good games up there.”