Detroit Lions Weblog

Kitna’s Costume Faux Pas,The Kevin Jones Factor

The Detroit Free Press’ Drew Sharp was not impressed with Jon Kitna’s recent costume choice for a Mike Furrey Foundation charity event.  Kitna, dressed as Defensive Line Coach Joe Cullen, and his wife, Jennifer, dressed as a Wendy’s fast food employee, were lampooning Coach Cullen’s drunken, late night, naked drive-thru incident of last season. 

Kitna’s ribbing, albeit a little insensitive, seemed good natured and Sharp’s critical comments didn’t include any response from the Lions front office or Coach Cullen.  Cullen’s struggles aside, I think that Kitna’s costume helps lighten things up for the Lions as they approach the most difficult stretch of their schedule, where their games are exponentially more meaningful due to their surprising 5-2 start.

The response from Allen Park will be more telling, than any of our assessments of Kitna’s choice of costume.   Sharp did also recount an incident where Scott Mitchell dressed as then Lions Head Coach “Cocaine” Wayne Fontes, which frankly, would make a wonderful T-shirt, if any photos have survived.

As the Denver game approaches, Kevin Jones ability to run with the ball against the league’s worst rushing defense looms large.  The rushing totals are a little misleading for Denver’s defense, since most teams are unwilling to tempt fate and challenge the Broncos CB’s Dre Bly and Champ Bailey(except for the Packers on Monday).

That being said, Kevin Jones will be the single biggest factor for the Lions on Sunday.   If Jones runs with success, the Lions will control the ball effectively and keep the Broncos offense off of the field. 

They will also be able to open up their passing game, giving them a lot more play action pass opportunities than they are normally provided with, if Jones runs well.  Stay tuned….