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Jon Kitna Named Starting Quarterback

By Sean Yuille

You knew the announcement was imminent.  And you also pretty much knew that the announcement would feature Jon Kitna.  Yesterday, during an interview on 97.1 WKRK-FM Detroit, Rod Marinelli made it official that Jon Kitna would be the starter entering training camp.

You know as we enter camp, we will have Jon Kitna. He'll enter camp as our starting quarterback. He's really had a tremendous offseason. I feel good about him. One of the reasons, too, is veteran leadership. I feel very strong about that. He brings great leadership to the position, and I want to eliminate distractions. He's just doing a great job, as is the other two quarterbacks. As we enter it will be Jon.

I had discussed the pros and cons of both Jon Kitna or Josh McCown starting back in June, and decided that McCown would be the better starter.  After having some time to think about that, I still would say that I would rather have McCown as the starter.  But, nonetheless, Kitna will still be a good fit in the Lions system either way.

Today, Kitna was interviewed on 760 WJR-AM.  

Q: What are your expectations for this season?

A: The goal is to win the division. Most teams are trying to straighten wrinkles, where we are trying to change long-standing attitudes. I think we have a chance to be very good, I think we can win our division and I think we can win 12 games. Thinking you can do it and actually doing it are two very different things, but it is not a physical issue it's a mental one.


To take a look at a full text version of the conversation, visit the Highlight Reel at MLive.com.

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