Lions Release George Foster
by Sean Yuille on Jun 1, 2009 12:31 PM EDT
in Detroit Lions Roster
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PrintOn the heels of agreeing to a deal with Jon Jansen, the Lions have released offensive tackle George Foster. Foster was traded to Detroit in 2007 as part of a deal that sent Dre' Bly to Denver, and things didn't go so well for the big right tackle as a Lion. He lost the starting job more than once during his time as a Lion, and it looked like he was done for good in Detroit after the 2008 season. Foster was a free agent and was not immediately re-signed. He was eventually brought back, however, though most figured it was just for depth purposes and nothing more.
As soon as news broke that Jansen agreed to a deal, speculation began on here about Foster's future. I didn't necessarily expect him to get released this quickly, but the Lions obviously didn't want to waste anyone's time. Once Jansen joins the team, the Lions will be set at the right tackle position. He and Gosder Cherilus will compete for the starting job, and depth surprisingly won't be too much of an issue for the offensive line.
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Schwartz is replacing the bottom 5 just like he said.
YES
If he can replace the bottom 5 every other week, we might just be a team to reckon with.
by Runnin' Rebel on Jun 1, 2009 1:10 PM EDT reply actions
Ah, the irony
After all the arguing over who got the better end of the Foster/Bell/Bly deals, we come to the realization that nobody got the better end—and everyone got the bitter end.
Good riddance to Foster; he could have been the answer for us, but potential has to become reality at some point. I don’t know what was up with his head but he showed absolutely no awareness whatsoever in his time here; glad to see a lunchbucket guy like Jansen get his roster spot.
Peace
Ty
http://thelionsinwinter.blogspot.com
by ty@thelionsinwinter on Jun 1, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions
Me
……if they are versatile enough to play guard, sure. Let them compete with Loper and Peterman. We’ll see who gels with the rest of the line. Loper, Jansen, and Salaam are new here, and I’m not yet convinced that Peterman can be consistent and continue the progress he showed at the end of last year. Training camp and OTA’s are the time to try things out; let’s give it a shot.
Depth vs Quality?
I agree that “depth” may not be as big of an issue as many people thought it would be at this point in the year.
Unfortunately, I also believe that a fair amount of the enhanced depth has come at the expense of actually improving the quality of the expected starters at certain positions on the O-line.
Please clarify what you mean.
I am not sure what your point is. Do you mean that while we have more capable back up offensive linemen, the starters will be no better than last year?
Which linemen in particular are you referring to?
I think I see what he means
“the starters will be no better than last year?”
He probably means that 4 out of the 5 starters at the end of last year will likely begin this year as starters. While Gosder Cherilus probably will improve significantly in his 2nd year, veterans tend to only improve incrementally. But there are possible factors to help the other 3 improve their performance as well. Dropping Loper (or Jansen or Salaam) in at LG could help out both Backus to his left and Raiola to his right. That still leaves Peterman, but Gosder’s likely improvement could help Peterman. A lot of things have to go right, but with drafting a rookie OL things have to go right, too. No guarantees either way. In the absence of a “can’t-miss” stud LT, this seems like the next best thing. BTW, the 2 biggest road-grading guards in the draft, Duke Robinson (Outland Trophy winner, grand-nephew of Smokey Robinson, considered by many the best G in the draft) and Herman Johnson (he’s big…..and,.. well, he’s big), both fell to the 5th round and the Lions showed no interest. It seems like we really are sticking with the zone blocking. Peterman seemed to get it at the end of last season. We’ll see if that continues with better OL coaching and better communication between coaches (see Jonathon Scott’s comments).
What?
Do you honestly feel that our O-line didn’t make leaps and bounds in a matter of a few weeks? Come on bro Jansen a pro-bowl caliber player, Salaam was a starter for many years and played at a descent level, and with the addition of 2 new TE’s 1 who is going to be a stud right off the bat, I have not ever seen so many good moves in 1 offseason. . .And we are not even talking about #9 if he ends up being the shizznit. I know they still have to Gell on the field but you would think if Jansen and Backus were on the same side of the line there would be instant trust between guard and tackle, one that Backus hasn’t had in years. And Backus isn’t no guaranty I know Salaamor Jansen cold win LT and Backus could end up as the reserve But anyway you spin it it has been the BEST offseason period for the entire team on both sides of the ball and they probably not done bringing in more cap cuts buy other teams, I think we may end up picking up a center that gets cut somewhere down the line, just because there is going to be a few out there soon.
Easy, davis....
Jansen WAS a pro bowl tackle… not anymore. I would actually prefer he be the back-up, because Gosder is the bigger investment and the future at RT. I agree the line is most likely better all-around, but abnerman is right… the quality of the starters didn’t improve all that much.
The best scenario is that Cherilus improves a lot from years one to two and Loper ends up being a good find. Also, there is a scheme element to this group getting better. A lot rides on that.
So I agree while I agree that the depth is MUCH better, the overall play of the starters may not see a dramatic leap in Schwartz’s first year.
Ding dong
the witch is dead. I HATED having foster. he was a false start machine, and a turnstile when he didn’t false start. My expectations about Jansen are realistic (he was cut by the skins cause he looked bad at the OTAs), but it HAS to be better than foster.
Theres no other option
but to put Jansen at Guard is there? I don’t care whether he out plays Gosder or not, you can’t sit your future tackle, he has to be in there getting experience no matter what
Call me crazy....
but I think it is easier to get an “elite” RT in the draft, for a cheaper price and lower draft pick, than an “elite” LT. I think the Wizard of Gos could play LT. He did it pretty well in his senior season at BC.
Wizard of Goz
I think it is easier to get an elite RT in the draft…and I think we did already. Like I said before, if Schwartz thinks he can make the switch, I say start now, give him the whole offseason and this reg season to get used to the position because I believe that we will need a good-great starting LT by 2010 to protect Staff.
*Note – I’m crook at the moment so if my comments are a little incoherent, then I shall ask for your apologies.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Jun 1, 2009 7:38 PM EDT up reply actions
sweet
I like you thoughts Rev about the wiz moving to the opposite side off the field, I never really understood why it’s so hard to switch sides in football, I mean see guy Block guy it is just that simple. Oh look this guy is trying to get at my QB hmmmmm maybe I should block him…. hmmmm. I just wanted in the conversation.
Unfortunately no
Crook = Australian slang for sick.
2009 = The start of the Lions Golden Age (We hope).
by Hyperion Ecta on Jun 2, 2009 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions
Oh
Sorry man. I had no idea. I was thinking you meant crooked…..which I could only correlate with either drunk or evil….lol.
foster
good riddens!! for coming out of the system in denver, he looked down right inept. you can only blame so much of the struggle on poor coaching. when he wasn’t causing false starts, he was consistently beaten and overpowered at the point of attack. ty had it right, everyone got screwed in the bly for bell & foster deal.
im glad that jansen was signed and believe that he will provide depth at RT. the fact that he doesn’t have to start is a plus. as for the rest of the line, Salaam was brought in for a reason. i think backus could be benched, but a more likely scenario sees him being moved to RG, with loper and peterman rotating at the other guard position. just my two cents.
Most people see Salaam
as only a minor upgrade over Backus if anything. I’m glad Foster is gone too. Jansen is here to play and I doubt he will really like playing second best to a 2nd year player. My thought is that he may play LG if Cherilus is the better man at RT. If Jansen is healthy, I think he is the better lineman. I don’t know what the Lions will do, but I can’t see Cherilus not playing either. If Jansen beats him out at RT, I expect Cherilus to compete hard for the LT spot. Backus, Salaam, Loper, Fonoti, Ramirez, and Peterson can all compete for the RG/LG positions. Put the best 5 on the field, no matter what you have to do.
I'm not sure that I would consider Salaam...
an upgrade over Backus. Not that I’m sticking up for Backus in any way, shape or form, but he is a run-of-the-mill tackle, while Salaam is a simply a back-up at this stage in his career.
I’m also not too sure that I agree with your logic on Jansen beating out Cherilus at RT, KDawg. He loses his spot to a guy whose best years are behind him, so you move him to LT? If Cherilus can’t win out at the position he was drafted to play… I don’t want him protecting Stafford or Culpepper’s blind side!
Honestly, it would be a real shame to see Jansen win out the RT. Cherilus is the future and Jansen is simply an insurance policy. I know you hate the “injury prone” usage… so I’ll spare you that and simply say, he’s been “banged up a little” in his career. I doubt the Lions are looking to get 16 starts out of the guy. They got him as insurance in the case that Gosder doesn’t live up to his potential or gets hurt.
I don't see Salaam as an upgrade either
I also see him as a backup. I was saying that some people see him as a minor upgrade if anything, over Backus. I love how everyone is already writing Jansen off as a backup. He was released so that he didn’t get his bonus money….cap reasons and because they have a young guy behind Jansen who they think can take over. Who was the starter in week 17 at RT for the Redskins last year? Jansen.
I personally feel he would be an upgrade over Backus
And Jansen can play RT well. We would 2 solid tackles playing instead of one. That is being really optimistic too considering that Cherilus is a second year player. Larry Foote was released for practically the same reason as Jansen….is he a backup too?
Okay, first...
you are comparing Foote to Jansen? Foote is 28 and Jansen is 33, so right there shows this isn’t apples to apples. Jansen was cut because Zorn had no faith in him playing anywhere as a starter on his line. Foote was cut because the Steelers had a solid replacement and Foote himself wanted to find a better situation. These two are not comparable.
You know that I don’t think Foote is a back-up. The circumstances and players are very different. I think you know that.
Don't worry about sources...
I don’t really get too hung up on that… just surprises me that the head coach wouldn’t have more say in personnel decisions. It is Dan Snyder, though.
I just don’t think they’d cut Jansen if he could still play at a high level. He was a pretty popular guy in Washington.
I guess I shouldn't
have said “nothing” to do with it, but he did not “make the decision”. Zorn and his assistants evaluated Jansen and Dan Synder “made the decision”.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/redskins/2009-05-29-jansen-released_N.htm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090529/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_redskins_jansen_released
And actually
Snyder offered Jansen the opportunity to retire as a Redskin, but Jansen still wants to play, so they (Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato) granted him his release.
I don't disagree with the sentiment that Gosder...
might be a great left tackle. My point there is that he shouldn’t be moved if he can’t beat out Jansen. Your best tackle should play the blind side. If he isn’t better than Jansen… he shouldn’t be the left tackle… Jansen should be.
Maybe it won't be a question of who beat who
But rather of what we need most…..2 tackles on the field who can block well, or Backus and Cherilus……I would rather see Backus move inside personally.
Yeah, but who was the starter in front of him....
Heyer. Did you see him play? He was pathetic. They had no choice but to go back to Jansen. This year, Zorn tried him at EVERY line position before cutting him. Let’s face it, his best years are far behind him. He can contribute if needed, but there is no future here for Jansen.
What does that tell you about Jansen?
Look, I hope the guy succeeds and finds a place here in Detroit in ‘09. I just don’t want to sacrifice the time given to Cherilus at the expense of playing a veteran with no long-term impact. I think many are forgetting this was a 0-16 team last year. It’s not like we are a veteran tackle from a championship. They have to build up their young core and give guys like Cherilus all the reps needed.
And…. I’m also not opposed to Backus moving to guard, putting Cherlius at left and Jansen at right…. as long as those three players are the best on the roster. Actually, I really like that scenario a lot.
I read somewhere
And don’t quote me or bust my balls, but Jansen said that he was not given much of a chance at all in the OTA’s. He felt that the Redskins had already made their decision since he did not get a lot of reps. He is determined to prove that he still has what it takes to be a starter, and I think he does. He is only 33. He could play 3-4 more years. That gives us time to develop a new RT if Cherilus is moved to the left side and Backus to the inside. I agree 100% that no matter what, the best 5 guys need to be the ones starting on the O-line. I believe that Jansen is one of them, whether that be at LG or RT. If the Lions want to improve their running game, Jansen is a good run blocker and he needs to be playing. If that means moving Cherilus to LT and Backus to LG (or whoever the best player is at that position), then I am all for it. I think Jansen is a whole lot better than a lot of people are giving him credit for.
Yeah, I think I read pretty much the same thing...
but in the article I read, they talked about Zorn trying him at both guard and center during OTAs and Zorn didn’t like him at any of those positions, so they cut him.
At any rate… if Jansen is still that good, he needs to be on the field. I’m just a little uneasy about taking snaps from Cherilus. If he can play LG or if the roster can be shuffled to include both Cherilus and Jansen… I’m fine with that. I hope he surprises me.
Where does Backus end up...
If you move Backus to Guard and replace him with Cherilus, are we really going to continue to pay Backus LT money to play Guard after this season?
by CR on Jun 2, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions
No, I don't think so...
Once Backus’ contract situation is easier to deal with AND we have a suitable long-term option… you let him go. I personally don’t think he’s built to play guard. I could be wrong, but he just doesn’t look like the prototypical road-grader that can move a big 320 lb DT off the line. In many cases, he can’t move a 250 lb edge rusher off to the side… so go figure.
Pointless discussion!
C’mon…we all know Foster will be back on the team before training camp starts, then cut again, then re-signed, then released, then signed to the practice squad, then forced into a starting role, then he’ll help Cason steal someones luggage, then he’ll be traded for Dre Bly.
coaching will make a difference
new and consistant coaching on the level that we have now , instead of last year cluster f-ed offense , will make all the difference in the world to make a good offensive line that can all be on the same page and jel as a unit …..I believe the problem was the coaches , not the players….they will be just fine ……….
marc hoople
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