FanHouse FredEvans

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

In an NFC that is heading into the offseason without a clear favorite, the Minnesota Vikings have almost all the pieces to be the presumptive favorite. They have an outstanding defensive line, an improved secondary and the best running back in the business. They also have a very good offensive line and thanks to Bernard Berrian, the receiver corps no longer is a joke.

Cue up the Vikings fans' tears about how the league office hates them and is constantly conspiring against them, because Gosder Cherilus has not been fined for his cheap shot last Sunday on NFL Fine King, Jared "$90K" Allen.

As Lions quarterback Daunte Culpepper fled the pocket, Allen pursued. Even though he was about 12-15 yards away from the would-be passer, Cherilus hopped up just enough from his spot on the turf to take out Allen's knees. It was a blatant cheap shot in my book, and I'm an unbiased fan -- hell, if anything, I'm against the Vikings since my Bears trail them in the NFC North.

With no fine to Cherilus for this bush league act, we're left, once again, wondering how the NFL's fine process works. For example, Fred Evans -- Vikings defensive tackle -- was fined $5,000 for a facemask in the same game. It didn't appear he egregiously ripped at the head of the ball-carrier at the time, nor did it appear obviously intentional.

You've also got the two players who got in a fight -- the play after Allen received his gift from the Lions -- getting fined $5,000.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Vikings defensive tackle Fred Evans has pleaded no contest to two felony charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest stemming from an incident this summer, when he played for the Dolphins.

Evans will not get any jail time. He received two years' probation on each count and agreed to pay court costs of $1,310. Am I the only one who finds it surprising that you can be convicted of something as seemingly serious as felony battery on a police officer and get off without any jail time?

Of course, getting off without jail time doesn't mean getting off without an NFL suspension. Commissioner Roger Goodell will likely come down on Evans with his typical harsh discipline.

Evans was released by the Dolphins after his arrest and signed with the Vikings over the weekend. He already was on probation in Texas on a marijuana charge and has to go to court next month in connection with that case.