Lions great Lomas Brown: Enough is enough ... it's time to produce

Lions great Lomas Brown: Enough is enough ... it's time to produce Posted by Philip Zaroo | MLive.com May 28, 2008 00:03AM Categories: Audio, Draft, Former Players, Statewide He's made holes for Barry and protected Erik Kramer's rear. He saw ugly years with the Detroit Lions, but won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay in 2002. Many questioned him over the years because he was an offensive tackle who was under 300 pounds – and a tall tackle at that. But Lomas Brown had the last laugh. Last year, Brown, who played for the Lions from 1985-1995, was nominated for induction to the NFL Hall of Fame. While he didn't make it in his first attempt, he says it's a "tremendous honor" to be mentioned with the immortals. As for the Lions, Brown likes what he's seeing from the team over the last couple of years. He's a fan of head coach Rod Marinelli, and is impressed with the recent draft, including first-round pick, offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus of Boston College. While he thinks Cherilus will have some growing pains, he thinks the big guy will go a long ways toward shoring up the rushing attack. Rod Marinelli, he says, just needs one thing to get the Lions straightened out: time. Once Marinelli gets his players in the system, which Brown admits has been part of the struggle over the head coach's first two years, things will fall into place. "I love Rod Marinelli," Brown tells MLive in a recent interview. "We spent a lot time together (in Tampa), and not just talking not just about Xs and Os, but talking about a lot of different things. So I have a lot of respect for Rod. "He just needs some time, and those guys need to be patient. And produce for the man. That's what it comes down to. Rod isn't on the field. He's not blocking, tackling, throwing any passes, catching any passes. It's (the players) who are doing it. So it's up to these guys to start coming through and really start producing. "It's been seven, going on eight years now. Enough is enough." Brown is promoting several upcoming camps and a golf outing he's holding. The proceeds from the camps will go toward reserach for brachial plexus palsy (also known as Erb's Palsy) at the University of Michigan Health System. The NFL Hall of Fame candidate is the father of nine-year-old Trey, who sustained the injury during birth. "It's more so a birth injury than a disease," he says. "Basically, they damaged the nerves, and his neck was damaged during birth. The lucky thing for us is my son's was a mild case. Whereas a kid with severe Erb's palsy, they can't have use of their limbs. "And a lot of people don't know this is a common birth injury. (Yet) a lot of insurances don't pay to have a lot of procedures or diagnoses, or even for braces." The performance enhancement camps will be June 27-28 in Lansing, July 11-12 in Adrian, July 18-19 in Rochester Hills and July 25-26 in Grand Rapids. The golf outing will be on Sunday, July 26. For more information, go to Lomas Brown's website. Listen to full interview to hear Brown talk about the Lions' changes along the offensive line, and how he feels about Marinelli as a coach: