FanHouse GosderCherilus

Jared Allen plays the game of football in a pretty intense fashion. Therefore, I tend to think it's fairly unsurprising to find out that he's pretty outspoken. Of course, that doesn't mean I thought he would get on Sporting News Radio and unleash on Carl Peterson. But he did! (Translation props to SbB.)

Tim Montemayor: "What are your thoughts about Carl Peterson leaving the Chiefs organization?"

Jared Allen: "(laughing) Later!"

TM: "Come on, is there no love loss there?"

JA: "Absolutely not, you know what I'm saying? I believe in karma. Good things happen to good people. I'll leave it at that."

I can't tell you just how freaking awesome that "karma" chatter is (although Matt Schaub can probably say better than I ...) considering that Allen nearly lost his leg against the Lions shortly after taking what some would call cheap shots at Schaub, when Gosder Cherilus went after him on one of the biggest low blows I've seen in a while. But if Allen had his way, no one would have held him back after the play and there would have a rumble.

"I guess everybody's telling me I should thank Ray Edwards for holding me back. I wish nobody would have held me back and we could have settled this thing right then and there."

Now, I'm not judge of fighting ability, but if there's one guy in the NFL (other than Ray Lewis) I don't want to tussle with, it's Allen. Still, you'd have to imagine that Cherlius won't let this go -- we are talking about football players here. It's not like they're bloggers who can just let stuff like this go.

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.

Some six months ago, former Boston College standout Gosder Cherilus was considered one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL draft. The Lions would eventually take him with the 17th overall pick, the fifth offensive lineman to go off the board after Jake Long (1st), Ryan Clady (12th), Chris Williams (14th) and Branden Albert (15th).

Detroit didn't waste anytime getting Cherilus on the field; he's played in all five games, starting three of them. I suppose there isn't much time to learn by watching when the quarterback gets sacked (not to be confused with sacked) every other time he drops back to pass. (Note to Jon Kitna: there are ways to avoid taking career-shortening hits: throw the ball way, handoffs, run out the back of the end zone unprovoked, etc.)

Given that the Lions are their usual awful selves, nobody is entitled to anything. This has usually been nothing more than lip service until William Clay Ford woke up long enough to can Matt Millen, the guy responsible for setting the organization back 40 years.

Now, Kitna has been IR-ed, and Cherilus, presumably a cornerstone of the offense going forward, has been benched. And, no, head coach Rod Marinelli really doesn't want to talk about it (before he inevitably does just that):

*Jon Kitna just can't quit him.

I think it's official. Besides Kitna, who apparently views Mike Martz as the Dr. Cox to his J.D., I think we've heard from every other 2007 Lion, and the consensus is that Martz is Lucifer.

The latest in the parade is right tackle George Foster, who was acquired in the trade that sent Dre Bly to Denver. Foster was a disaster last year, getting flagged for nine false starts in a stretch of nine games that eventually led to his being benched for Damien Woody, who had never played right tackle before in his career.

But Foster, like all those other Lions, thinks he's about to go from Oh No to All-Pro now that Martz is gone, because Jim Colletto has crafted the greatest offensive scheme known to man. Or, you know, because he's implemented one that suits his players' talents.

For Foster, its the zone-blocking scheme and the use of more running that will make the difference. Foster was a first-round pick in Denver and, while never a great player, was better than last year because he was playing in the scheme the Lions are now using. He's also worked on those jittery feet, going without a false start penalty all preseason.

Still, if/when Foster starts on Sunday, it'll be less because he's earned the spot than because Gosder Cherilus, the team's 2008 first-rounder, has failed to adequately step up and claim the job. When he does, you can be sure no matter how good Foster is playing he'll be hitting the bench. And he won't have Martz to blame.

Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

Quarterback: Jon Kitna -- man of God, man of many passing yards, man of many lapses in judgement. With Kitna, Mike Martz found a quarterback who could air it out appropriately in his offense. Appropriately, in this instance, means bombing away with little regard to risk, and the interception and sack totals with Kitna under center reflect that. Martz is gone and the Lions are shifting to a more conservative offense. Kitna isn't the right man to helm it, and, turning 36 early this season, should be on his last tour in Detroit. The problem is that the Lions aren't sure if they have anyone behind him to take over, with Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton possessing exactly zero starts and only 17 passing attempts between them, all Orlovsky's. Heat Index: 5

Running back: That conservative offense will put more work at the feet of the team's tailbacks. The Lions' running game in 2007 was 31st in the league and lost their best runner in Kevin Jones. Still, they're going about improving in the right way. They kept Tatum Bell and Brian Calhoun from last year and tailored their attack to a one-cut zone blocking system that suits their skills. Bell had almost 2,000 yards and 10 touchdowns running in that system in 2005 and 2006. Assuming he stays healthy, he should bring a big-play punch. But the biggest impact will be made by the biggest unknown -- rookie Kevin Smith. He also excels in a zone system, and the wildly productive college back is one of the players I think is going to absolutely turn heads this year. Heat Index: 7

... yeah, Roger Goodell might have wanted to hammer out his plan for a better-behaved NFL a little more thoroughly. Or he maybe he should have realized that it's impossible to apply a black-and-white rule canopy to a multitude of grays, and, given that fact, that it might be wrong to dole out punishments unfairly and inconsistently. "A" for effort, to be sure, but the execution has been lacking.

For example, despite prior claims to the otherwise, Lions rookie tackle Gosder Cherilus will not suffer the wrath of The Rog.

Cherilus was recently handed one year of probation and court orders to pay $52,000 in medical expenses incurred when he "intervened" in a bar fight by breaking a man's neck in July 2007. Even though the case was settled after Cherilus became a member of the NFL, he will not be punished, according to league spokesman Greg Aiello, because "incident occurred prior to his NFL career."

(Insert "playing in Detroit is punishment enough" joke here.)

The Lions were derided for bypassing Rashard Mendenhall in the first round of this year's draft for right tackle Gosder Cherilus, but I think it was one of the best decisions in the first round, especially after the team managed to select running back Kevin Smith in the third.

But as training camp grew nearer, the Lions still had to figure out a way to get Cherilus and second round pick Jordan Dizon under contract. Dizon remains unsigned, but the team has announced that it has come to terms with Cherilus. Terms are not disclosed, but the two sides worked until late-night Wednesday to hammer out a deal, ensuring Cherilus was on the field for the team's first practice this morning.

It was only recently discovered that a year ago Cherilus was involved in a bar room brawl. Supposedly acting as a peacemaker to break up a fight, Cherilus broke a man's neck. Some peacemaking. Though it's newish news to us, the Lions claim to have been aware of the incident when they drafted Cherilus, who recently received a one year probation, and feel he's a good fit in Rod Marinelli's character-first locker room.

Let's recap: this week we found out that the Lions' second-round pick, linebacker Jordan Dizon, was arrested for DUI six days before the draft. Their first-round pick, tackle Gosder Cherilus, just received a year's probation after being charged with assault and battery in a bar fight while still in college. On the upside, head coach Rod Marinelli warned Kevin Smith, the team's third-round pick, to stay out of trouble, so there's that.

So maybe this isn't Detroit's finest moment (but nowhere near their worst), but give the organization credit for trying to keep its players out of trouble now that they've already drafted.

The Detroit Lions have arranged a high-profile mentor for rookie offensive lineman Gosder Cherilus. Former NFL lineman Lomas Brown, who spent 11 of his 18 seasons with the Lions, will work with Cherilus during training camp...

"With any first-year guy," Brown said, "there's going to be things you've got to work on. He's got so much going through his head right now. He's a little slow on the snap counts, but things like that, you can teach. You can correct things like that."

It sounds like Brown will be more of an on-field guide than an after-work chaperone, but that's fine; the Lions' offensive line has enough issues to keep Cherilus busy. As always, though, no conversation about personnel issues would be complete without mentioning president Matt Millen, who would probably benefit most from a little mentoring.

This is rich. Lions head coach Rod Marinelli has some advice for rookie third-round pick Kevin Smith. According to Pro Football Weekly:

... Marinelli had stressed to him numerous times following the draft and during rookie minicamps that he must stay out of trouble. Some teams red-flagged Smith as having a character question during the draft-evaluation process after Smith reportedly missed or chose to skip one team's scheduled private workout with him. Expect Marinelli's message for his rookies - to stay out of trouble - to be echoed throughout training camp.

Marinelli might want to also think about dropping this knowledge in February and March to coaches, scouts and front-office types as the Lions make draft preparations. Just a thought since the team's first-round pick, Gosder Cherilus, just received a year's probation after being charged with assault and battery in a bar fight while still in college, and second-rounder Jordan Dizon getting arrested for a DUI the week before the draft.

Maybe I'm reaching, but the 2008 Lions are starting to look a lot like the 2006 Bengals. Marvin Lewis, trying to chance the culture of ineptitude in Cincinnati, took a chance of players with "character issues," and the move would eventually blow up in his face. The Lions are very familiar with ineptitude, and maybe the 2008 draft is an example of how Marinelli plans to change that.

Sometimes these things work out (look at Dig Dug Jones!), sometimes you end up with Chris Henry and Odell Thurman. Detroit could go to a "we're only drafting guys with records from here on out" roster-building philosophy, but they'd still have Matt Millen, which is the biggest obstacle between the Lions and the "something other than laughingstock" label.

Detroit Lions rookie Gosder Cherilus and San Diego Chargers rookie DeJuan Tribble were both ordered to serve one year of pretrial probation yesterday in connection with an incident that happened last year when they were Boston College teammates.

Cherilus and Tribble were both charged with assault and battery and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in connection with a fight at a bar. Cherilus, who was the Lions' first-round draft pick, was ordered to pay $52,000 in medical bills for a man who was injured in the fight; it's not clear whether he was ordered to pay the bills because he was more culpable than Tribble or because he will make significantly more money than Tribble, who was a sixth-round pick.

For the Lions, this news is particularly embarrassing coming on the heels of the revelation that second-round pick Jordan Dizon was arrested for drunk driving just before the draft. When your players are losers on the field and trouble-makers off it, that's not a good combination.