John Niyo: NFL insider

Vikings' Jared Allen meets his mentors

There are friends, and then there are enemies. Jared Allen, the NFL's sack leader for the Minnesota Vikings, will see some of both when he lines up against the Lions at the Metrodome on Sunday.

There's that year-old grudge match with Gosder Cherilus, for instance. It stems from a game last December and what Allen viewed as a cheap-shot hit by the then-rookie right tackle that left him with a sprained left knee "that still clicks."

"It's always in my mind," Allen said Wednesday on a conference call with the Detroit media. "We're not gonna be friends. But as long as we can keep racking up 'W's I'll be the victor there."

But there are also two of his coaching mentors from Kansas City, where Allen got his start before the Chiefs traded the Pro Bowl defensive end to the Vikings for draft picks.

Defensive line coach Bob Karmelowicz helped mold Allen into an All-Pro.

Allen, 27, leads the NFL again this year with 10.5 sacks, and with 68 sacks since 2004 -- 10 more than any other player. Last year, he paid Karmelowicz as a private consultant -- "He's my Yoda," Allen says -- and he credits him with a transition to a three-point stance that sparked a midseason resurgence.

Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham, meanwhile, was the volatile coach of a volatile player that "knew he could get under my skin" in Kansas City.

"He and I have had some shouting matches that will go down in infamy in Kansas City," Cunningham said Wednesday, laughing as he added: "But if there's a better defensive lineman playing in the league right now, I'd like to see him."

"The funniest story I can tell you about him is the day he came to work with a Speedo and sunglasses -- that's all he had on," he said. "Now you can imagine, Jared got out of his car that has those Texas longhorns on the front -- an old Cadillac, I think -- walks through the office, came down the elevator and walked into the team meeting. It was (head coach) Dick Vermeil's 70th birthday, and Jared goes up on the stage, grabs him and puts a kiss right on his lips. The players just went crazy. But that's him."

Weather man

After the Vikings' 27-10 victory at Ford Field in September, Allen made a few cracks about Detroit being his least favorite road stop.

"This was the first year I've been to Detroit when it was sunny," he explained Wednesday. "Detroit was always one of the (road trips) where -- I've never been outside the hotel in Detroit, let's put it that way."

Extra points

According to published reports, former Eagles lineman and ex-Michigan standout Jon Runyan is contemplating running for Congress in New Jersey.

He'd be a Republican candidate for the seat held by U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next fall.

By the numbers

0 Sacks in 23 games for Jets LB Vernon Gholston, sixth overall pick in 2008

17 TD passes for Houston's Matt Schaub in '09, already a franchise record

140 TD receptions for Randy Moss and Terrell Owens, second only to Jerry Rice (197)

In your face

Players with the most sacks since 2004 and in 2009:

2009

2004-09

John's top five

• 1. New Orleans (1): Manning's offense averaging 37.9 points.

• 2. Indianapolis (2): Manning vs. Brady always must-see TV

• 3. Minnesota (3): Have won 11 in a row vs. Lions at Metrodome

• 4. Cincinnati (8): Bengals going for season sweep of Steelers

• 5. Pittsburgh (5): Rookie WR Wallace has added big-play threat.

John's bottom five

• 28. Kansas City (28): Johnson's finally gone, but now what?

• 29. St. Louis (29): Saints will feel right at home on Rams turf.

• 30. Detroit (30): Another noisy road venue for Stafford & Co.

• 31. Tampa Bay (32): Freeman's starting debut better than expected.

• 32. Cleveland (31): Mangini's turning back to Quinn as starting QB.

Last week's ranking in parentheses

Bet on it

Current odds to win Super Bowl XLIV:

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