NFL Detroit

Detroit Lions fans will be thrilled to know that Mike Williams, the team's 2005 first-round pick who ballooned up to 270 pounds and never contributed anything to the offense, is suddenly taking his job seriously.

Jim Wyatt of the Tennesseean reports that Williams, now with the Titans, is so devoted to his job that he's down to 242 pounds and deflecting praise by saying he's just doing what was expected of him coming out of USC. When someone told Williams he was looking good, he replied:

"I was the No. 10 pick (in the draft),'' he said. "I'm supposed to look like that. It just so happens that I am finally doing what other teams picked me to do.''

Isn't that great, Lions fans? How come high-priced rookies so rarely look how they're supposed to look when they play in Detroit?

A day after they cut Najeh Davenport because of the team's glut of running backs, the Steelers had a scout at ex-Lions' running back Kevin Jones' workout.

There's something said for being thorough, as the Steelers now have another scouting report on Jones to stick into his file. But beyond that, I can't think of any logical explanation for why the Steelers would bother to show up, when 28 other teams didn't.

Jones would be no better than the team's No. 3 running back (behind Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall) if he signed, and because Mewelde Moore will return punts, Jones would likely not even dress on gamedays. Even if he's struggling to find a job, some team should be able to do better than that.

There are instances where the Steelers have taken unwanted guys and turned them into something--Charlie Batch is a great example. But in Jones' case, it's hard to think of any reason the Steelers would be interested. Hopefully Steelers scouts are even more thorough when it comes to scouting offensive linemen.

I think Steve Mariucci is a very good coach, one who deserves another chance at running an NFL team. He was successful with the 49ers, and although he was unsuccessful with the Lions, let's face it: Vince Lombardi couldn't win with the collection of stiffs Matt Millen has assembled in Detroit.

So I was glad to see that Mariucci hasn't shut the door on returning to coaching, even though the possibility may be remote:

"The right situation may never present itself again," Mariucci said, "because we've decided as a family not to move anymore. We are back in northern California in our home and we settled back in. I've moved my wife 18 times, and I don't want to move again, nor does she. Our home base is going to be in the Bay Area. It's that simple.

"For me to coach again, it either has to be on the West Coast or I would have to commute."

I'm not even sure what "commute" would mean for an NFL coach. Coaches hardly see their families even when they live in the same city. So if Mariucci is serious about not uprooting his family and doesn't want to be apart from them, his options are basically a return to Cal or the 49ers, or the Raiders, or Stanford. I hope one of those options presents itself.

Former Detroit Lions running back Kevin Jones, a free agent recovering from a serious knee injury, invited the entire NFL to a workout Saturday. Only four teams showed up.

Among those four teams -- the Lions, Dolphins, Packers and Steelers -- the best option might be for Jones to sign a deal to return to Detroit, assuming the Lions offer him one. In Miami, Green Bay and Pittsburgh he'd have almost no shot of rising any higher than third on the depth chart, and third-string running backs who don't play special teams don't have much job security.

In Detroit he'd at least have a shot at the starting job, although the Lions don't seem particularly interested in bringing him back -- they've even given away his jersey number.

Jones once looked like one of the league's up-and-coming young running backs, rushing for 1,133 yards and 4.7 yards a carry as a rookie. Since then he's never had even 700 yards or four yards a carry. At age 25, there's a chance that he's done.

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.

I think the obvious answer to that question is no. Realistically speaking, there have been far worse quarterbacks in the NFL than the piano man, I mean, there's got to be a reason guys are sitting below him on depth charts even though we're far removed from any semblance of hope that he'd live up to his draft status. But what if you take into account the whole statistical shebang, including the amount of opportunities with which to suck? That might be a different story.

Or at least that's what Pro Football Reference thinks, as they've compiled their list of worst quarterbacks in the league's history, which -- if your surname isn't Imus -- you should be smart enough to realize is headlined by Joey Harrington. The reasoning is a stew of numbers and equations (here's the method behind the madness). It's definitely worth checking out for the comprehensive perspective it takes, even if it took me three reads and the assistance of a Mensa member to understand.

That being said, I'm a firm believer in the eyeball test, and I stand by my very subjective scientific opinion that Harrington isn't the worst. There are surely a couple of inferior quarterbacks in history. There are even a couple of current quarterbacks who are worse. Hell, there are a couple of quarterbacks currently on the Chicago Bears who are worse than Harrington.

Or maybe I've just got a soft spot for someone who can tickle the ivories.

Although most football fans younger than 40 don't know who he is, Lem Barney is one of the all-time great Detroit Lions. He played his entire career in Detroit, from 1967 to 1977, he made seven Pro Bowls, and he had a Deion Sanders-like flare, scoring seven touchdowns on defense and four on special teams.

Barney is also extremely diplomatic in his assessment of the current state of his old franchise. Here's what he said in a Q&A with the Detroit Free Press:

What is your opinion of Matt Millen? Hey, that's not a fair question. You are going to get me in trouble. It's hard for me to say. I will be a Lion the rest of my life.

But? I think he has the capability to be a good general manager. He's just had some ups and downs. ... You can't just blame Matt. Players have to want to win, too. You have to be hungry enough.

Well, actually, Millen hasn't really had his ups and downs, unless you consider a 7-9 season an "up." And as for having players with a hunger to win, isn't it Millen's job to acquire such players?

It's understandable that Barney doesn't want to bash Millen, because he views himself as an ambassador for the franchise. But maybe if a few people would offer a few honest assessments of just how badly Millen has damaged the team, Lions owner William Clay Ford would finally make a change.

Ah, Barry Sanders, you left us too soon. Your retirement altered the future of the running back record book, robbed us of precious highlights, tormented a city, gave Ricky Williams a justifiable precedent for ditching Miami, and might have been the reason your coach, Bobby Ross, lost his job. Luckily, Ross isn't bitter. Right.

"I don't know if Barry really loved the game, but he worked hard at it," Ross said. "He did what he was supposed to do. I always wanted him to be a leader, but he didn't really want that role.

PFT explains quite thoroughly why Sanders was, in fact, a tremendous leader, and illustrates the absurdity in the designation. I can't quite pen it as well as Florio, so check out what he has to say (after you finish here, that is).

But even if Sanders wasn't a leader, as Ross said, so what? Barry Sanders wasn't paid to be a leader. He was paid grab a ball and bring it to a particular destination. And he did that quite well, no matter where on the field he was.

The idea that the most talented players should also be team leaders always seemed bizarre to me. You can't force guys into that role -- either they are or they aren't -- and putting pressure on Sanders to be more than he could be might have been the primary reason one of the greatest players in the game's history gave it up and never looked back, leaving a city clinging to hopes of a comeback years after the fact.

I noted this morning that Charles Rogers' high school coach claimed that the Minnesota Vikings were interested in Rogers' services. And I expressed skepticism that the Vikings would actually want the former Lions draft bust.

Now Judd Zulgad of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that Rogers' high school coach was wrong: The Vikings have no intention of bringing in Rogers for a workout.

At this point, it would be a huge shock if Rogers ever set foot on an NFL field again. Although he's only 27 years old, he's had a two-year layoff, he was widely described as lazy and lacking motivation, and he was never any good in all the chances the Lions gave him. He had undeniable talent at Michigan State, but that was six years ago. Unless he wants to go to Canada, he's done as a professional football player.

I always think people overlook Charles Rogers when they list the all-time biggest busts in the history of the NFL draft. Sure, he always makes the list, but he's never at the top, and really, how was he any better than Tony Mandarich or Ryan Leaf? At least Mandarich and Leaf caught on with other teams after they washed out with the Packers and Chargers. Rogers didn't do that.

At least, he hasn't yet. But some people still think it's possible. He said this about his future:

''When I know, you guys will be the first to know,'' Rogers told The Saginaw News. ''That's all I'm saying right now.''

And his high school coach said this:

''He's had a couple workouts with some teams and has a workout with the Minnesota Vikings. He's getting caught up (with playing in the NFL again). I tell him to play where he can play and enjoy it. People get caught up on where the best spot for him is."

I suppose it's possible that the Vikings will really give Rogers a tryout, but color me skeptical that he'll actually be invited to training camp, and extremely skeptical that he'll ever play another regular-season down in the NFL. Rogers wasn't good enough to help the Lions win when they cut him in 2006. What makes anyone think he's good enough to help a team win after a two-year layoff?

Via PFT.