A familiar place for Kitna lately
First there was Milt Plum and Karl Sweetan. Things got so bad back then that even DT Alex Karras slung his helmet at Plum's head after a brutally heartbreaking loss in Green Bay.
Then we had Greg Landry and Bill Munson, and Landry was your choice if you wanted a third running back in the backfield. Munson kept stealing the starter's job, and back and forth they went, until one Sunday in Houston when they both went down to injury in the same game.
Not long after, we were treated to Gary Danielson and Eric Hipple. One was a World Football League castoff (Danielson) and the other was from Utah -- and how many great QB's have come from there? Hipple went ballistic on a Monday night against the Bears, and wasn't heard much from since then. Danielson threw five picks against the 49'ers in the playoffs in 1983, and STILL would have led the Lions to victory if Eddie Murray's leg didn't go crooked.
Then there was Rodney Peete and Erik Kramer, and again you had a runner and a pocket guy. Kramer is still the only quarterback to lead the Lions to a playoff win since 1958, and may have two if he hadn't thrown an interception in the end zone that was returned for a TD against the Packers in the Silverdome after the '93 season. Peete haunted the Lions after he left town -- demolishing them in the playoffs in 1995, and toying with them as a Carolina Panther a few years ago.
Charlie Batch was the man who wrestled the starter's job away from Scott Mitchell, and isn't it just perfectly appropriate that he should have a Super Bowl ring and the Lions do not? Batch hung around until president Matt Millen uttered the famous "We're married to Charlie Batch" line -- and we all know how most football marriages turn out.
Fast forward to 2006. All of the above are about to be joined by Joey Harrington-Jon Kitna, for you do not give a "backup" a four-year deal, as the Lions did to Kitna, and not expect some competition for the starter's job.
How the Lions can declare Kitna strictly a backup while festooning upon him a four-year contract, all while keeping a straight face, is beyond me. But that's their story and they seem to be sticking to it.
Last I looked, Jon Kitna cannot pass block. He cannot run block. He cannot rush the opposing passer. And he cannot cover wide receivers. Yet when the Lions made their first foray into what is supposed to be a buyer's market for free agents, they signed 33 year-old Kitna away from the Bengals. One week after signing Shawn King to be the backup - or so I thought.
The Lions reached into their free agent pie and picked a "backup" QB out with their thumb. Jack Horner has nothing to be worried about.
The Lions, we were told, were going to be major players in this year's free agent bounty. Eager were the fans for the team to start addressing needs. Names like Simeon Rice and Will Shields were mentioned, as men who could come in and immediately plug gaping holes in the Lions' lineup.
Instead, the Lions have hung back, perhaps star struck. They appear to have their cleats firmly entrenched in cement, while other teams are making transactions at the cashier's window and crossing items off their shopping lists.
There is still money left in the Lions' wallets, but the dearth of marquee players is dwindling. Nobody says you can completely build a winner thru free agency, but I thought the Lions might use the draft to snag the players needed to address the needs that Kitna and WR Corey Bradford satisfy, and use free agency for their more gaping holes.
There's still time left, and perhaps this isn't all we'll see from the free agent bounty.
Meanwhile, buckle yourself in for Joey-Jon. They even share the same uniform number (3). Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has even suggested that Harrington, as part of his clean slate, change numbers. So now we have something ELSE for them to battle over.
Yippee.
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