FanHouse Damienwoody

FLORHAM PARK, N.J -- The big guy in the black sweatshirt didn't get down the field quite as quickly as all of the other guys in the orange skullcaps. But the fact that he had the cap on at all and was running down the field with the scout team on kickoff coverage drills was one of the highlights of the Jets' Friday morning practice.

"Yeah, you notice when the head coach is running kick coverage," guard Damien Woody said. "That's not something you see all the time."

You only get to have one of these early minicamps if you have a new head coach, and for the Jets the past couple of days have been about getting to know Rex Ryan, who has impressed everyone from the kick coverage team to the media with the differences between himself and his predecessor, the buttoned-up Eric Mangini.

*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: Chad Pennington enters 2008 trying to prove yet again that he -- wait, what? Who? Really? Didn't he retire? Oh. I see. It doesn't seem like Brett Favre wants to play in New York this year, he's basically said so much in the most diplomatic way possible, which means this is the year where Favre stops having fun. This is the year he stops looking like a kid again, to support the cliche. And it can be argued that that magic has perpetuated itself, and has been the reason Favre is still considered -- rightfully or not -- one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Without it, I can imagine 2008 being a disaster for Favre -- bad play and missed games. And then the New York media jumps in and the misery just compounds. That's how I see 2008 rolling. Oh, plus, they don't have a decent backup quarterback. Heat Index: 6

While the offensive line might not represent a direct draft day decision for your roster, few areas of knowledge can offer a competitive advantage in fantasy football like having a good grasp of the various units of trench soldiers around the league. Over the course of a couple weeks, I'll break down every NFL team's offensive lines into five tiers: the crème de la crème, the highly competent, the serviceable, the grim, and the bunk.

The "serviceable" group is akin to a pack of trusty white Hanes beefy tees. They don't necessarily add a whole lot, but they work well for most situations and won't let you down very often. Just be careful not too rely too heavily upon them, because they'll stain your armpits and turn into something that resembles yellow bulletproof glass. Maybe we better just get started.

The Jacksonville Jaguars: Any team that can rack up 2,391 rushing yards and average 4.6 yards per carry with Fred "It's Pronounced Frahgeelay" Taylor leading the way must have a decent offensive line. Despite being a group of pretty obscure names with zero Pro Bowlers, this is a reliable unit. Brad Meester is a solid center and Tony Pashos, a free agent signing after the Jags waived Chris Naole due to injury (nice right?), should do well at right tackle.

2007 Sacks Allowed: 31

2007 Yards Per Carry: 4.6

Continue reading for the rest of the "Serviceable" offensive lines.

Forgive the pop-cultureness, but it's relevant (besides, I'm a Jersey guy -- it all comes back to The Sopranos). Tony killing Christopher near series end liberated the big guy; he'd finally rid himself of his biggest mistake, one that would haunt him no longer. And so it goes with the Detroit Lions.

The Lions helped themselves the most this offseason simply by purging Shaun Rogers and Damien Woody, two of the biggest mistakes in Matt Millen's era. Adding Leigh Bodden and a draft pick certainly help, but even without compensation those two departures would make a world of difference.

The Lions didn't misjudge Rogers' talents when they drafted him in the second round of the 2001 draft, but they misjudged his character, as he's been a rollercoaster in both motivation and weight. As for Woody, they regret signing him to a $31 million dollar deal with $9 million guaranteed in 2004 (a lot of money back in those days). He turned out to be either a system player, fraud, or the type to take the money and run; either way, anyone who's watched him play in Detroit found the deal he signed with the Jets laughable.

But because of every factor in play besides performance, the Lions were obligated to play them both, setting a bad precedent that the most productive players don't always play. Though the Lions don't have anyone good enough to replace those guys yet, simply being able to turn the page will do wonders exorcising the team's negative energy. And if the metaphor rings true, maybe they'll head to Las Vegas to trip on peyote.

It seems that the misery of a 4-12 season has lit a fire under the seat of Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum. He's been the most active man in the NFL since the offseason officially began, a trend that continued this afternoon when Gang Green signed Calvin Pace and Damien Woody as free agents. And, as in the Kris Jenkins and Alan Faneca acquisitions, the Jets spent money like a drunken sailor to make the deal happen.

Pace, a bust until recording six and a half sacks this season, got $22 million in guaranteed money to sign with the Jets for six years and $42 million overall. The move to a 3-4 served Pace well in Arizona last season but, as the Jets saw with Bryan Thomas, boosts from scheme changes can be temporary boons to otherwise mediocre players. Even his 2007 "breakout" was a modest one, making this move a gamble of major proportions.

Woody didn't match Faneca's NFL-best deal but will get $11 million in guarantees from the Jets to play right tackle. He started five games there for the Lions at the tail end of a four-year stint which featured more negatives than positives. He had been a productive guard and center with the Patriots before moving to Detroit, something that likely affected Eric Mangini's impression of his abilities.

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

1. Offensive Tackle. A disaster zone. Forget the 54 sacks Jon Kitna took last year. As terrible and incriminating as it is, it doesn't even come close to scratching the surface of all the crimes against football the Lions' tackles have committed. Running backs dream of rushing for 2,000 yards; I don't think any offensive line wants 2,000 yards of penalties in a season, but the Lions looked like they were trying hard, particularly the tackles. Jeff Backus was terrible and, when George Foster wasn't riding pine, he was worse. Damien Woody did pretty well stepping in at right tackle towards the end of the year, but he looks likely to sign somewhere else this summer. So that leaves zero NFL-caliber tackles on this squad. As for answers, well, teams don't let starting quality tackles hit free agency, so they're kinda screwed if they want experience. While their 15th pick puts them out of the running for Jake Long, they could decide to go with Ryan Clady or Jeff Otah, the next tier in this class.

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

1. Offensive Tackle. The Rams have been lucky to have an incredible franchise left tackle for the last 11 seasons, and his play did as much for The Greatest Show on Turf as anyone else. But Orlando Pace has been ludicrously brittle the last two years and, at 32, can't really be depended on anymore. The drop-off in production without Pace has been glaring. On the other side, Alex Barron has been disappointing as a first-round pick; there's so much yellow cloth at Barron's feet on gameday that you'd think he stuffed his jersey with Terrible Towels. In the last four years, Barron ranks behind just Robert Gallery in penalties. On top of the starters, after all of the injuries the Rams endured on the line last year, depth should be considered critical. The easy and obvious answer is Jake Long, who should be available when the Rams pick second. Long can play both sides, which certainly helps, and he can immediately take over for Pace should something happen. If the team needs further depth, Kwame Harris or Damien Woody could be affordable options, and Woody triples as a possible guard and center.

Prior to the 2004 season, the Detroit Lions signed guard/center Damien Woody to a big free-agent contract. Woody had been a starter on the New England Patriots, and Lions president Matt Millen figured, "Hey, if he's good enough to play for the Patriots, he's good enough to play for us."

It didn't quite work out, because Woody seemed to have spent his entire signing bonus on food. He showed up to his first training camp overweight and out of shape, and he's never been anywhere close to the player the Lions thought he would be.

Until three weeks ago, that is, when injuries made the Lions so desperate at right tackle that they started Woody there, even though he hadn't played tackle before. Surprisingly, he's played quite well.

So well, in fact, that now Lions offensive coordinator Mike Martz says that when Woody's contract expires, he hopes the team re-signs him: "We need to have Wood back," Martz says.

My advice to the Lions: Make sure the next contract you give him is loaded with incentive clauses. Woody plays hard when he thinks he has to earn it, and he loafs when he thinks he can get away with it. It's no coincidence that Woody is playing hard again, just in time to get one more contract.