SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (March 21, 2001) – Starting defensive tackle Emile Palmer joined five other teammates on the injured reserve list Wednesday and San Francisco added two defenders to its injury-ravaged roster for its final three XFL contests.
Palmer suffered a badly sprained left foot in Sunday’s 25-19 loss at Chicago and will be lost for the remainder of the regular season. The Demons may have had the luxury to not inactivate Palmer for the next four weeks, but not in these times for the San Francisco defense.
End Eric England, the Demons’ leader in quarterback sacks, didn’t make the trip to Chicago with a knee injury and Jomo Cousins sustained a left knee sprain against the Enforcers to further complicate San Francisco’s situation in the defensive line.
Claimed by San Francisco to try to bolster the defense was all-CFL cornerback Marvin Coleman and defensive tackle Pene Talamaivao, waived following training camp but now slimmer by 15 pounds.
England could return this Saturday night when the Demons’ host Memphis in their home finale at Pacific Bell Park, but Cousins is not expected to be ready. Talamaivao is the second newcomer to the San Francisco defensive line in a week. The Demons snagged John DeWitt a week ago and he contributed six tackles at Chicago after limited practice time.
Coleman has played in more than 120 games for Calgary in a seven-year career and was twice selected to the Canadian League’s all-star squad. He has 24 career interceptions, including five returned for touchdowns.
Scoring with kick returns and interceptions has been more of Coleman’s trademarks during his career in Canada. He has scored 12 touchdowns as a professional, including two interception returns for scores in the same 1995 playoff game that propelled Calgary into the Grey Cup game.
Talamaivao is a 1998 Utah graduate who played one game for Amsterdam in NFL-Europe last summer before sustaining a season-ending leg injury. He played well at times during the Demons’ January training camp in Las Vegas, but was unable to crack San Francisco’s in-season roster.
The Demons are saddled with a two-game losing streak, but are looking for a sweep of the season series with the Maniax, a Western Division rival at 5:00 p.m. Saturday night at Pacific Bell Park. San Francisco closes the season with games at Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
The season finale at Los Angeles has been moved from Sunday to Saturday night for a 5:00 p.m. PDT. Whether it is televised nationally is dependent on its significance to the divisional title race.
