http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/201...guars.html

 

My impression of Austen Lane is he's noticeably better against the run than he is as a pass rusher.

 

Ironically,   Lane could see his first game action of the season for the Lions in the same game  ( at Chicago ) that another former Jaguar,     Montell Owens , sees his first regular season game action for the Lions.     Owens was activated from the Short Term I.R. list last week,   which was the Lions bye week.

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Lane is a fine role player, you got a good guy that will contribute to the rotation. He's not a starter or a pass rusher but he's better then average against the run.

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Lane is a fine role player, you got a good guy that will contribute to the rotation. He's not a starter or a pass rusher but he's better then average against the run.

 

 

Eric,   thanks for your input.    

 

What you expressed is along the lines of my expectations for Austen Lane.     I'm not sure how long he will be on the Lions roster.     During his time with the team though,     I'm expecting a player that will bring good intangibles.      If Lane contributes to getting the opposition into 3rd Down expected passing situations,   that by itself would provide significant value.

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Who did you guys lose leaving a need at DE?

 

edit: he always had good intangibles here, never got in any trouble, work hard kinda guy. I always liked him

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Who did you guys lose leaving a need at DE?

 

edit: he always had good intangibles here, never got in any trouble, work hard kinda guy. I always liked him

 

Back in Game # 3 on the road against the Redskins,     Jason Jones,   who the Lions signed as an UFA,   ruptured his patellar tendon.      Jones was placed on I.R.  following that game.

 

In Game # 8 right before the bye,    Ziggy Ansah suffered an ankle injury that ended his day early.     Today,   the Lions returned to practice but Ansah was kept out of practice.     At this point in time,   it's hard to gauge the level of the injury to Ansah.   HC Jim Schwartz smartly is very careful not giving out injury information that goes beyond what's required by the NFL.

 

If Ansah is unable to play in Chicago or is noticeably limited,    not counting Austen Lane,   the Lions will be down to 3 players that primarily play the DE position.         Plenty of mixing and matching will be necessary.    

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Gotcha, hows Ansah looked this year? I really liked him coming out. I'm beyond jealous of your Dline

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Gotcha, hows Ansah looked this year? I really liked him coming out. I'm beyond jealous of your Dline

 

Ziggy Ansah has a very good feel for the game,   despite only playing organized football since walking on to the BYU team in 2010.      Ansah has made a number of key subtle plays that don't show up on the stat sheet.      One thing that's really impressed me is his hustle.     In that sense,  he reminds me of a young Kyle Vanden Bosch.    He's a relentless player,  with tremendous physical skills     Ansah's explosiveness has led to a number of forced fumbles,   including two that were negated by him being offside.     

 

In recent games though,   skilled LT's have negated Ansah's pass rush to a large extent.    It's understandable,  considering he's a rookie who clearly has plenty to learn about the RDE position and D-Line play in general.         As a run defender,  Ansah has been an asset much more than a liability.     Considering Ansah's background and that he suffered a concussion in the 3rd pre-season game,   he's exceeded my expectations for the first half of his rookie season.     For rookies,   practice time is essential.     I was pleasantly surprised at how well he started the season considering he missed close to 2 weeks of practice back in late August/  early September.

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Glad he's found work.  He's a mediocre player, but a hell of a character and a fair writer:

 

Sample

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My guess is that Austen Lane would be better at the DE position than Tyson Alualu.  But, that doesn't say much... 

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Thanks for the update. Perhaps he'll add to the series he's been doing regarding his career, on MMQB (Monday Morning QB - Peter King's site within Sports Illustrated.com).

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The sun's not yellow, it's chicken.

I would have rather kept Austen Lane over Andre Branch.

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Follow his twitter...the guy is a hoot!!!

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What in the Wide Wide World of Sports is agoin' on here???