Lions sign Jon Jansen
The Lions just signed Jon Jansen, I guess they listened to my, "Pick 'em up," comment.
http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2009/05/report_lions_agree_to_oney…
Wasn't he release this morning or something?
He can teach that line a little about what it takes to be a solid pro, and he might light a fire under Backus and Cherilus.
Jansen is a left tackle, correct? This is awesome.
He's played RT the last few years. Honestly, I think he will have to duke it out with George Foster to make the roster out of training camp. It's not a slam dunk that he makes the team.
No. He is a RIGHT tackle. Still, 1 year for the veteran's minimum is well worth it. Maybe this means Salaam/Gosder can battle it out for LT, Backus can slide in to guard, and Jansen/Foster can play at RT. The coaches know better than me on that one...but when you add Pettigrew to the mix at TE, suddenly the line appears upgraded from horrible to adequate...for cheap.
I seriously doubt that Backus is anywhere close to being strong enough to play guard. Daniel Loper will probably be the starting left guard. I wish they would've just drafted Michael Oher instead of Brandon Pettigrew with the 20th pick. They could've just cut Backus,then.
Saw this coming the moment he was released
Jon Jonson, I come from Wisconsin, I work in the lumber mill there. Great pick up!
Now maybe Steve Hutchinson would demand a trade to Detroit and take a huge pay cut so he can hang out with his bros.... who needs Adrian Peterson when you've got half your old college line together!
Sounds good to me.
Was it a money issue? Did they have an O-lineman they felt as good that they didn't have to pay as much? Hopefully it was something like that versus some unknown negative or perhaps a simple decline in skills. On the surface though it sure sounds like a good thing for the Lions.
I think it was age and injury issues. To be perfectly honest, I'm not convinced that he even makes the team out of camp.
The lions would have got the biggest offensive line increase from taking Smith or Oher and putting them at LT, and sliding Backus inside. Backus shouldnt be left on an island but the lions couldnt seem to find a better solution for 10ish years. That would allow them to move Cherilus to RT and you have a decent Oline.
I'm a redskins fan. I'd like to clear some things up about Jon Jansen. He was a fantastic right tackle for us for about 10 years, but now he's old and pretty bad. His knees are so worn he can barely walk. I really don't see why any team would add him unless they were adding him to the coaching staff.
That may be a ridiculous assertion.
+ 40 billion
kinda like a MGoPoint bailout
Jansen is a class act and probably still has some snaps left in him.
Maybe the Lions should go after Jon Runyan too...
If nothing else, the Lions need leadership from people who have won games. They're rebuilding from nothing, now.
Even if he were something like Chelios is for the wings... play a few minutes, or in this case, a few snaps in each half, and help the guys on the sidelines keep the right mindset.