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| Height: 6-2 Weight: 225 Born: Sep 21, 1972, Tacoma, WA |
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| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Player Notes |
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August 18, 2008 Jon Kitna finished with a perfect 158.3 efficiency rating for the second straight week in preseason play, according to MLive.com. He completed 3-of-3 passes for 76 yards and a touchdown (Sunday against the Bengals), which was hauled in for 27 yards by Calvin Johnson. Kitna connected with Johnson on a 40-yard bomb in the game as well. Our View:Kitna should have a firm grip on the starting job at quarterback, and should serve as a solid fantasy backup. |
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August 7, 2008 Lions quarterback Jon Kitna played well in his first preseason action of the year, completing six passes in seven attempts and throwing one touchdown in the Lions 13-10 win over the Giants. Our View:Kitna is firmly entrenched as the Lions starter, and remains a viable backup in fantasy leagues. |
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July 20, 2008 Jon Kitna could be on a short leash this season, according to MLive.com. Our View:Mike Martz, who was a top supporter of Kitna, is no longer with the team. The Lions would like to see what Drew Stanton and Dan Orlovsky can do, and Kitna is nearing the end of his career as he will turn 36 in September. Kitna is a lock to start in Week 1, but is not a safe fantasy option, as he could be pulled at some point during the season in favor of one of the aforementioned young guns. |
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May 7, 2008 The Detroit Lions are letting local reporters know QB Jon Kitna will see an increased role in the Lions' offensive formations this season, according to the Detroit Free-Press. Our View:The departure of offensive coordinator Mike Martz and the resulting addition of new offensive coordinator Jim Colletto has the Detroit offense looking for more balance. "There's going to be more responsibility for me, but I welcome that," said Kitna. "I'm kind of a control freak by nature and so it's a good thing. The other thing is, I think it will encourage more dialogue between myself and the receivers and the linemen and what they're seeing, and I can take input form them." Kitna went on to tell reporters the team has started by concentrating on a group of 35 plays in early minicamps, noting approximately half were designed as run plays. Of course, the team will have to adjust with the personnel on hand. The offensive line has been a work in progress and running backs, such as Kevin Jones, have suffered more abuse than one might expect as a result. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, but the move to get Martz out of that role certainly should have indicated these changes were likely to come. |
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May 7, 2008 It was only the second day of the Detroit Lions organized team activities, but it was pretty clear that it's going to be awhile before Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton pushes incumbent starting quarterback Jon Kitna in any kind of competition, according to MLive.com. Per Tom Kowalski, the offense wasn’t “clicking” with either Orlovsky or Stanton running the show. Our View:There have been some offseason rumors that Stanton might overtake Kitna sometime during the 2008 season, but thus far it looks like Kitna still gives the organization the best chance to win. |
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May 6, 2008 Jon Kitna is feeling bold, again. The Lions quarterback told the AP on Tuesday that he expects the club to win 10 games in 2008. "Our expectation is we will be disappointed if we don't win 10 games," Kitna says. "Because that will mean we're not in the playoffs and that sucks. I can't make it any simpler than that. Anybody who says that's not their expectation level is not much of a competitor." The passer made a similar prediction in 2007, and the Lions went 7-9. Our View:Kitna clearly hasn't checked out the Lions defense lately. The offense has some promise if they can develop a running game, but we don't like the looks of the defensive line. Anyway, Kitna should start with trying to throw more touchdowns than picks. |
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May 6, 2008 Detroit offensive coordinator Jim Colletto has indicated that there will be competition for the starting quarterback job, which Jon Kitna has held the last two years. Colletto will spread the practice time in training camp between Kitna and backups Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton, according to the Detroit News. No matter how the practice time is divided, Kitna, who has started 32 games in the past two seasons, believes he will continue as the starter. "When Dominic Raiola is in the game, I'll be in the game," Kitna said, referring to the starting center. "That's how I know when I'm up. When I see '51' go in, that's when I go." Our View:Kitna is obviously the frontrunner to win the job, given the fact that Orlovsky and Stanton have attempted 17 NFL passes between them. |
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April 4, 2008 Rod Marinelli was given a major endorsement from both vice chairman Bill Ford Jr. and GM Matt Millen during this week’s owner meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, according to Pro Football Weekly. Both men enunciated their support for the head coach, despite his record of 10-22 since taking over, and spoke of how much more of an influence Marinelli has had recently over the shaping of the roster. Case in point, Millen had to agree with Marinelli’s assessment that defensive tackle Shaun Rogers never was going to meet his expectations with Detroit, so he was jettisoned out of town. Now only 13 players remain on the roster that Marinelli inherited when he became coach in 2006. Expect his influence to carry a big effect on what the Lions do in the draft in a few weeks. |
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March 27, 2008 New offensive coordinator Jim Colleto plans to do things much differently than Mike Martz did the past two seasons, including a more balanced offense, with additional running plays and some control for the quarterback at the line of scrimmage, according to the Detroit Free Press. Martz's offense was complex and unbalanced, which caused the team to finish last in rushing in 2006 and 31st last year. Martz did not allow the quarterback to audible, as all the adjustments were built into the plays. The players were supposed to read the defense and react accordingly. However, Colletto is giving the quarterback some control at the line of scrimmage. "For me, it's exciting on the one hand because I know that I'm going to have a little more control, and that's fun because I've been in this league long enough I think that suits me pretty well," quarterback Jon Kitna said. "But on the other hand, that puts more pressure on me, too, because that means I'm going to have to study even more than I did before... and have an input with the game plan." Colleto will also eliminate the seven-step drop favored by Martz, in an effort to reduce the number of quarterback sacks. |
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February 24, 2008 Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton will get more action in the preseason, but they'll have to outplay Jon Kitna by a wide margin to become the Lions' starting quarterback. "Jon's going to start for us," coach Rod Marinelli said in The Detroit News. "I'm going to say that each and every day. He's got leadership and intelligence, and he's a good quarterback. We've got to make sure we're bringing these guys along, too. We've got to get young quarterbacks behind him." Kitna got off to a great start in '07 but finished very poorly. He'll be looking to rebound, but it won't be in Mike Martz's offense. |
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January 4, 2008 Jon Kitna expressed his disappointment in the team’s decision to fire offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who was replaced on Thursday by Joe Colletto. “I’m not sure what to expect because I’ve been immersed in coach Martz’s system, so I’m not sure what Colletto’s philosophies are,” Kitna told the Detroit Free Press. Colletto served as the offensive line coach prior to his promotion. Our View:The Lions plan to keep most of the offense intact, but the belief is that they will run a more balanced attack. Martz has been criticized throughout his career for being too pass happy. |