FanHouse JordanDizon

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

Despite a belief that Takeo Spikes didn't have the ability to be a starter in the NFL anymore, both San Francisco, where he signed, and Detroit, where he didn't, had visions of him running with their first teams. And now that Spikes has chosen the 49ers over the Lions, there's a hole at strongside linebacker in Detroit. Technically the Lions do have a depth chart at that position in that they've got names written on paper, but in an ideal world there will be a better option than Darnell Bing, Alex Lewis, or Leon Joe taking backs head on this season. And so a decision has to be made.

Spikes was the best option available, unless the team wants to try to finagle Bobby Carpenter, who has been a disappointment playing out of position in a 3-4, from Dallas via trade. So a bit of creative accounting is in order, and the Lions are pretty flush at middle linebacker.

Rookie Jordan Dizon, incumbent starter Paris Lenon, and Buster Davis, a talented 2007 third-round pick let go by Arizona, all reside in the middle, and the starter will either be Dizon or Lenon. The thinking is that the loser of that battle will automatically win the strongside spot. But for now it's all moot anyway as defensive coordinator Joe Barry keeps any potential leverage with outside help in tact by insisting nobody is changing positions. Don't expect that to last.

It seems smart to just move forward with the guys you've got and pick a guy to slide over so that he can get reps at that position, but that's not happening. And thus, the Lions will probably begin their season with an underprepared linebacker on the outside.

Saints GM Mickey Loomis might have been right in blaming the agents for the pronounced slowdown on negotiations for first- and second-round draft picks this year, but these players are grown men, and their agents are under their employ. At some point it falls on the players to realize what's best for them and make sure their representatives get in line.

Jordan Dizon, Lions' second-round pick, is not doing this. In fact, he hasn't made one right step since his college days ended.

To be fair, he's not the only second-rounder still unsigned. But he is the only second-rounder who was arrested six days before the draft for DUI, and certainly the only one to withhold that information from his eventual employer, leaving it to a newspaper to clue the Lions in two months later. That's a big strike one, and you'd think he would have responded by building good will with the team.

Especially since this camp is very important for him -- the Lions are all but handing the middle linebacker job to him, but Dizon's stubborn holdout is causing more damage than the few hundred thousand dollars he's fighting for are worth. And the Lions are seemingly (and rightfully) growing tired of it.

Which might explain the interest in Takeo Spikes. At this point, Spikes doesn't have as much to offer as Dizon, but he's proven he can handle the responsibilities of being an adult in the NFL. Dizon is proving the opposite.

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.

The news that eventual Lions second-round pick, linebacker Jordan Dizon, was arrested six days before the draft on a DUI charge will no doubt cement team president Matt Millen's legacy as a shrewd, calculating, win-at-all costs football mind.

Or, just maybe, it'll remind people why Detroit has won only 31 games since Millen was hired in 2001. Actually, in the Detroit Free Press' account, Millen is only mentioned once, and it was to say that the team needed to "bulk Dizon up." Apparently, head coach Rod Marinelli was the driving force behind acquiring Dizon, even after the po-po-related run-in.

The Lions drafted him because he had the football character coach Rod Marinelli says he wants, meaning a love of the game and a relentless work ethic. But he values chemistry in the locker room.

"The guy's all over the field," Marinelli said of Dizon after the draft. "He's got a great feel for the game, bright. We had him up here on a visit. He's a special guy. He really is. He's a special person."

FanHouse wasn't ecstatic about the Lions taking Dizon in the hours after the draft, and the latest revelation certainly doesn't change anything. That said, Marinelli considers him a "locker room guy", which is what the Lions need (along with some "perform-on-the-field guys"). Just make sure his locker is on the other side of the room from the booze.

Detroit Lions 2008 Draft Picks:

Round 1 (17): Gosder Cherilus, OT, Boston College
Round 2 (45): Jordan Dizon, OLB, Colorado
Round 3 (64): Kevin Smith, RB, Central Florida
Round 3 (87): Andre Fluellen, DT, Florida St.
Round 3 (92): Cliff Avril, OLB, Purdue
Round 5 (136): Kenneth Moore, WR, Wake Forest
Round 5 (146): Jerome Felton, FB, Furman
Round 7 (216): Landon Cohen, DE, Ohio
Round 7 (218): Caleb Campbell, S, Army

The Good: I don't care what anyone thinks, I like the Cherilus pick. Most wanted a running back in that spot, but the Lions needed one of those first-round tackles and the only other viable option, Jeff Otah, is overrated to me. And the Lions got a very good running back anyway in Smith, who never got the recognition he deserved while being incredibly productive in college. He's the perfect big back for the Lions' new zone scheme and will surprise people with his NFL-ready talent.

The divisive story of Campbell is feel-good to some and has been good fodder for talk radio today, but forget about that. He's simply a very good player. He's smart, talented, and has the personality Rod Marinelli likes. Campbell will begin his career as a special teams demon but with steady development can get time in the secondary either this year or next.