FanHouse DavidKircus

We're wrapping up the second week of training camp for most NFL teams, which means the monotony is growing, the injuries are mounting, and the tempers are flaring. Take, for example, the Miami Dolphins.

During yesterday's practice, cornerback Will Allen and wideout David Kircus got into a tussle during what appeared to be an otherwise ordinary pass play. Turns out, things didn't get interesting until the ball fell incomplete. Then it was on like Donkey Kong. Via the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero:

Allen began punching on Kircus who fell to the turf and basically went into a fetal position as Allen stood over him.

The distribution of punches from Allen lasted for about five seconds then he apparently realized Kircus wasn't fighting back. So Allen stopped and as he was walking back to the line of scrimmage an unidentified offensive player (some reporters believe it was Reagan Mauia, or Anthony Fasano, or Sean Ryan or Boomer Grigsby) tackled Allen and started whooping on him.

Catfight! Catfight!

Actually, Salguero writes that that's when things started getting crazy. Defensive players came to Allen's, um, defense, and those offensive players not yet involved in the fracas joined the fun. It took about 45 seconds for the coaches to restore order, and head coach Tony Sparano was, in Salguero's words, "seen remonstrating with Allen afterward." I'm pretty sure that's bad.

Good news for the Dolphins, however: training camp is officially over so the next time Allen tries to kick Kircus' ass it'll be at the team facility.The medical facilities are much less spartan there.

Hat tip: PFT

We can all rattle off the list of Matt Millen's biggest draft blunders over the years -- Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Shaun Rogers -- but what does it take to ruin an entire draft? Look at the crop Millen plucked in 2003. The numbers:

11 - players selected by Detroit; 7 - players currently out of the league; 3 - players who did at least something positive in the NFL, though not necessarily for the Lions; 1 - player who's still a Lion.

Those are awful results. Cory Redding (#66 overall) is the only player remaining, and the best of the crop overall, and it's not like he's been an impact player himself.

Charles Rogers (#2) is obviously the pick that hurts the most. The other six no longer active are tackle Ben Johnson (#216), receiver David Kircus (#175), linebacker James Davis (#144), receiver Travis Anglin (#260), fullback Brandon Drumm (#236), and cornerback Blue Adams (#220).

Boss Bailey (#34) has been bust-ish himself, but at least he and Terrence Holt (#137) have made plays. Kircus and running back Artose Pinner (#99) haven't done anything worth noting, but at least they convinced more than one team to employ them, which is ... um ... notable, I guess.

So, yeah -- you're 2003 Detroit Lions draft class. A testament to incompetence.

The Broncos have released wide receiver David Kircus, and since Kircus is a mediocre (at best) wide receiver who didn't catch a single preseason pass, that might not even seem like it's worth mentioning.

But Kircus is worth mentioning because in an off-season when the big story of the NFL was players' off-field misconduct, Kircus's case stood out as particularly disturbing. Kircus went to someone's home and punched him in the face, causing multiple facial fractures, all because the guy put his hand on Kircus's arm -- and that's if you believe Kircus's side of the story.

Kircus is charged with felony assault and faces five to 16 years in prison. It seems very, very safe to say that his NFL career is over. He was a marginal player anyway, and marginal players who go around assaulting people aren't going to last in Roger Goodell's NFL.

Broncos wide receiver David Kircus was bound over to district court this week on a felony assault charge, and his accuser, Jeffrey Krieger, described the early morning hours of May 20, when he escorted Kircus from his home and was punched in the face, suffering multiple fractures below his right eye.

The most extraordinary part of all this is how the Rocky Mountain News describes the defense Kircus apparently plans to mount:

Kircus' attorney, Harvey Steinberg, painted a picture of a drunken Krieger and suggested that he was the aggressor, saying at one point Krieger had placed his hand on Kircus' arm as he led him out of the house.

OK, let's say the guy really did place his hand on Kircus's arm. So what? That means Kircus is free to punch him in the face, breaking multiple facial bones? They were at Krieger's home, and Krieger wanted Kircus to leave. Kircus should have left. If the best defense he's got for rearranging a guy's face is that the guy put his hand on his arm, Kircus deserves the five to 16 years in prison he can get if convicted.

The story of Broncos receiver David Kircus, charged with felony assault stemming from an incident Sunday morning, is incredibly disturbing. The latest detail: According to an Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy's report, after Kircus punched 26-year-old Jeffrey Krieger, he told Krieger, "You don't know what I'm capable of."

Kircus's lawyer is challenging a judge's order to abstain from alcohol, as prosecutors said alcohol was involved in the incident Sunday. Kircus has a history of problems with alcohol; he was convicted of DUI when he played for the Lions. In addition, Kircus's brother, Anthony Kircus, is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence for the murder of his wife, and Anthony Kircus said his relationship with his wife revolved around their drinking.

I think I've now read or heard the phrase "Krieger had minor surgery to repair facial fractures" at least a dozen times in reference to the victim in this case. I don't know the details of Krieger's injury, but I think if it were my face that had fractures, I wouldn't consider the surgery to repair those fractures "minor."

Previously at FanHouse:
Where Is All the Media Outrage on the David Kircus Story?
Broncos Receiver David Kircus Investigated in Assault
David Kircus Charged With Felony; If He's Guilty, He's Gone

The FanHouse's Michael David Smith has been all over this -- both here and at his other gig -- but you have to wonder where all the media outrage is on the David Kircus story. Kircus, currently a wide receiver for the Broncos, has been charged with second-degree assault, which is a Class 4 felony. And today, there's this:

A judge issued a restraining order against Broncos receiver David Kircus on Tuesday, a day after he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault after a weekend party... The restraining order bars Kircus from drinking or possessing alcohol.

A stroll around the internets suggests that, for some reason, this isn't news: ESPN's NFL homepage leads with Devin Hester transitioning to offense next season; FOXSports.com has Portis' mug splashed across their page with the headline: "Muzzle Him"; SI.com talks about the 2011 Super Bowl; and CBSSportsLine.com discusses the merits of shortening the first round of the NFL draft.

On every one of these sites, the Portis or Chris Henry news trumps the Kircus story: Under "Headlines," ESPN and FOXSports list it second, SI.com has it eighth, and CBSSportsLine puts it fifth.

Anybody else find that kind of peculiar? Why isn't this more of a story? Or at least more of a story than the Dolphins re-signing Yeremiah Bell, or Roger Staubach trying to get the Cowboys the 2011 Super Bowl -- two news items deemed more important on SI.com? Kircus could be convicted of a felony, get kicked out of the league, and so far, none of the major sites have much to report. And if no one wants to report on that, how about the fact that he took a year off from professional football to work at a fast-food restaurant? Isn't that ... I don't know ... weird? Hmmm. Maybe if Kircus went missing in the Bahamas this would get more coverage.