WP: What Can Brawn Do for You? (Jansen Article)

[SkinsMaster88]

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/07/AR2008100702820_pf.html

What Can Brawn Do for You?

By Jason La Canfora

Wednesday, October 8, 2008; E01

Jon Jansen was at the mall, playing with his children on one of those coin-operated trains most toddlers cannot resist, when his cellphone began to vibrate. With preseason having just concluded, the Redskins had the day off, but during a news conference Coach Jim Zorn had let it be known that Stephon Heyer was on the verge of taking Jansen's starting right tackle job.

Several reporters left messages for Jansen, a starter for the team since being drafted in 1999. Jansen was numb, still in shock, when he called center Casey Rabach, a close friend, explaining he was losing a position he hadn't imagined was in jeopardy.

Zorn prized the health and confidence of Jason Campbell above almost everything else, and with Jansen woeful in pass protection in the preseason, Heyer was his guy. Recovering from a broken leg that ended his 2007 season in the opening game, Jansen wore a grim smile to work, labored through awkward practices while taking snaps as a scout-team guard and wondered if a chance to salvage his career, and reputation, would come.

It did two Sundays ago at Dallas. With Heyer nursing a shoulder injury, Jansen flourished and helped restore an element of brawn to the right side of the line. Tailback Clinton Portis prospered elsewhere than running to the left side, anchored by Pro Bowl tackle Chris Samuels. In Sunday's victory over the Eagles, Jansen was strong again on running plays and in pass protection.

That puts Zorn and Jansen, a stalwart under former coach Joe Gibbs and a favorite of longtime offensive line coach Joe Bugel, at a crossroads again, with Jansen, 32, still trying to convince the new coach of his worth. On Monday, Zorn was peppered with questions about Jansen, how his ascent would seem to be enough for him to remain the starter even should Heyer, 24, be back at full health this week.

Zorn stopped well short of a commitment. What some teammates believed to be a given -- that Jansen is the starting right tackle again -- remains anything but.

Zorn said he is still "hoping" Heyer (6 feet 6, 314 pounds) can come back to face the hapless St. Louis Rams on Sunday, that he can "step back in." His concerns with Jansen's ability to keep the quarterback protected apparently have not been resolved by Jansen's last eight quarters of work; the trade-off in a markedly more diverse run game with Jansen (6-6, 306) in the lineup has not yet changed his mind.

"He wasn't being punished," Zorn said of Jansen. "We just felt like Stephon Heyer was the guy who could give us that more solid protection in the passing game, and I still think that."

It's hard to imagine the "we" in Zorn's statement would include Bugel, who hashes out the run game along with newcomers Sherman Smith, the offensive coordinator, and Stump Mitchell, the running backs coach. Bugel's belief in Jansen is long established. The old-school line coach may be Zorn's antithesis on many levels, but they get along well, and Zorn's authority is not in dispute.

"I'm not into worrying about making decisions. We're just getting ready for the next game and let the chips fall where they fall," Bugel said. "I don't think you want to play musical chairs. The only thing I'm worrying about with Stephon Heyer is getting his shoulder healthy and making sure we have good depth."

Jansen's teammates have rallied around him. Left guard Pete Kendall noted the recent tendency to run more often to the right side. During a brief chat, Rabach mentioned four times that "it would be very hard to take Jon out of the lineup now with the way that he's playing," stopping short of openly campaigning for his pal, but simply answering a question candidly.

"Jon was definitely bewildered when it first went down," Rabach said. "I think we were all surprised. It would have been one thing if it was a known competition all the way through camp, but everybody thought it was a done deal, that Jon would be our right tackle. And obviously Stephon did some good stuff for us last year when Jon was hurt, and he's going to be a good football player in this league. But for it to happen the way it happened and as abruptly as it happened, it was kind of a surprise."

Jansen, who received $10 million guaranteed as part of a contract extension after the 2006 season, has been motivated by the demotion. An emotional player, he ached to get this chance. To perform well -- especially against two tough defenses -- and then lose the job again would be doubly painful.

"I was upset about it then, and I'm still upset about it now," said Jansen, who, when healthy, had started every game before this season. "But that's the business, and if you let it affect your performance then you're not being a professional. If I said it didn't bother me, or it still didn't bother me, I'd be lying. But I'm going to go out there every chance I get and prove that the decision was not the right one, and that's all I can do."

Becoming a reserve was a blow to his ego, and looking like a novice lineman during some practices, trying to learn to be a depth guard or center on the fly, was "humbling."

"This is why I respect the man," Bugel said. "He didn't balk when I asked him to work on right and left guard. He jumped in right away."

For a while Jansen said he "didn't want to hear what anybody had to say," even Bugel, as he worked through his anger, then focused on showing that Zorn had made a mistake.

There is no disputing Heyer, an undrafted free agent out of Maryland last year, is younger, quicker and more athletic than Jansen, with better lateral movement in pass protection. Jansen's struggles in pass protection in the preseason led several scouts and NFL executives to reach the same conclusion as Zorn.

But Jansen was stout against the pass rush of Dallas and Philadelphia -- a blitz-heavy team that overloaded Jansen's side when possible -- and the running game has blossomed since his arrival. He is more aggressive in his drive blocking, opening lanes on the outside. Portis averaged 2.8 yards per carry to the right side in the opening three games, with just two carries of five yards or more, and four rushes for zero or negative yardage.

In two games with Jansen, Portis has averaged 5.1 yards per carry to the right side (15 carries for 76 yards), with nine runs of five yards or more and one for zero yards or less.

"It's up to the coaches to make that decision," Jansen said of who will start. "I've learned that the hard way. I'm not making that call. I'm going to take every opportunity I can to go out and prove that I should be the guy."

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I know this has been discussed in a few other threads. The article has some insight into what Jansen, his fellow linemen, and Bugel are thinking about the situation.

Personally, I feel Jansen has earned his spot back in the starting lineup for the longest-tenured Redskin on the roster. We definitely have a more balanced run attack, and Jansen held up well against the best pass-rushing D of the Eagles and Ware of the Cowboys.

[mjpanzer]

Thanks JLC for starting some controversy when there was none. Everyone has been happy with Heyer, and while I have loved what Jansen has done for us, I do trust in Zorn. I also believe Zorn respects Bugel and will make sure his input is respected.

That being said, JLC needs to fired. After two huge wins against the road, the last thing the skins need is some pointless controversy infecting the locker room.

[cahones01]

Great article! Thanks for posting that.

[Skins4Life6388]

imo jansen should stay in as long as he shows he can still play bc the run game has ben dominant the last two weeks, but big z gets the big bucks for a reason so ill trustany decison he makes

[RawBBQSauce]

It's obvious that Zorn isn't satisfied with Jansen's pass protection. I haven't really been watching Jansen the past 2 weeks (who watches a single offensive lineman the whole game anyways?), but I would say he should retain his job. Facing 2 very fast and relentless defenses (Dallas and Philly), the line allowed 2 vs. Dallas and 1 vs. Philly.

Jansen has been a main-stay on this line for years. While he does struggle with injury, he is STILL a great tackle. I think we should milk his skills until it runs dry, THEN go with Heyer. Heyer showed great improvement last year and gained valuable experience, but I still think Jansen should STAY.

[TheDoyler23]

This was one of the few missteps Zorn has made as HC. If he felt that JJ wasn't getting it done in the preseason, he should have sat him down then and challenged him. I know this is Zorn's firs real rodeo with the media, but for JJ to find out after the preseason on an off day from REPORTERS is just disgusting.

[Arsenic]

I would imagine that it was OL Coach Bugel's decision to bench JJ in the first place.

[Raub]

If the Cowboys and Eagles didn't expose any weaknesses in Jansen's pass protection, then no one else will. I would think that there are few tougher tests than going against those two defenses on the road. :2cents:

[Ellis]

I can't remember what radio show I was listening to... but they said 'competition amongst the players is always healthy for the team'. I agree.

Heyer and jansen, IMO, are smart and talented and man enough to be gentelmen when competing for the job throughout the season. I can see only great performances by both of them coming from that competition. It's going to bring the best out of both of them.

[Guest isjoining]

looks like JLC has an agenda against Zorn now.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Why is this reminding me of Jeff Bostic and the 1987 Super Bowl season? lol ...

[Ray Brown]

looks like JLC has an agenda against Zorn now.

give it a break. this is a good article and brings up valid points. you can't argue that our run game has been better and the pass protection hasn't suffered a drop off. i despise JLC as much as the next fan, but this is not an agenda driven article.

[Raub]

Why is this reminding me of Jeff Bostic and the 1987 Super Bowl season? lol ...

Shh...don't disturb the football gods....

[Hubbs]

I love everything Zorn's done and am totally on his bandwagon, but I never agree with the philosophy that a successful coach should never be questioned on any decision. If Heyer reclaims the starting spot after the past two weeks, I'll consider it a mistake (unless, of course, he's somehow blossomed as a run blocker with a few more weeks of practice and our production to the right side doesn't drop off). Jansen gives us much-needed flexibility in the running game. It's no coincidence that Portis' two 100-yard games this year have been with Jansen playing. I would understand making the swap if Jansen had been godawful in pass protection, but he hasn't - not even close. I've paid specific attention to the right side enough times (and re-watched enough plays) to believe that there's been little difference between Heyer and Jansen this season as far as pass blocking goes. With the boost he gives to the running game, Jansen has to stay in.

[Saqs]

Great article. JJ has won his job back IMO but it shouldnt have come to this in the first place. He played like ass in the pre-season and deserved to get demoted.

[SkinsHokieFan]

One thing is Jansen can't get out to block on the Wr screens like Heyer can

Another part of me wants us to get our right tackle of the future fully entrenched as a starter so we can badly start to get some youth on the o-line

The other part of me is thinking "damn, JJ is playing great, the running game is churning, he needs to stay"

And one more part of me wants to keep Jansen on his toes, wondering each week if its his last week. He seems to play better that way

[isle-hawg]

Heyer outplayed JJ during the pre-season and deserved to start. JJ has since outplayed Heyer since his injury and deserves to remain as the starter.

[TheLongshot]

I don't think anyone here was arguing against Jansen's benching when it happened. I'm a little surprised that players were shocked by it, since it was obvious that Jansen was having issues out there.

We'll see where Jansen is now. To be honest, I haven't paid much attention to his pass protection, but it isn't a shocker that he's the better run blocker of the two.

Jason

[Timmy Smith]

Typical LaCanfora hit piece of an article. Instead of reporting on how much depth the Skins have at the position, he's running around trying to whip people into a frenzy with his latest home-grown controversy. Whatever.

[KingGibbs]

For those continually crying about JLC please just delete your account because many of us are tired of it. How about offering some insight on the Jansen/Heyer debate? It was indeed a great article and there was no ulterior motive on JLC's part.

[Fred Jones]

On the one hand Jansen has probably started since high school. All of a sudden getting told he is no longer good enough to play would be a shock to any true competitor.

I am glad that when the dust settled he decided to be a professional and practice and wait his turn like everyone else not starting.

He needs to understand that at 32 he needs to be more deversified. Play some guard, play some center. It also is not like the skins aren't paying him some good money or anything.

I don't disagree that he has not earned his job back, but I won't question Zorn putting Heyer back in. He is the future and needs to get some experience, especially against weaker teams.

[nightbird]

I love that Jansen has played well in a pinch, but if Heyer won the starting job, then he should start if he's healthy.

The first time Jansen gets abused by a speed rusher, and Campbell pays a serious price, outrage will ensue on this board.

[Guest Roger_Haggins]

im gonna be the first to say it, Heyer is overrated and is not better than Jansen in NO form of blocking. Remember week 1? how many times did he get beat, wasn't he beat on the first play of the game? Jansen should have never loss his starting role in the first place and he is getting paid way too much to be sitting on the bench. if he is demoted (again) in favor of heyer anytime this season, it better be because he can't physically go out on the field and block or else Zorn is just asking for trouble. the Redskins revolve around CP and the running game we are 18-3 in game games where Portis gets 100 yards or more. just something to think about.

[Dan T.]

Because the offense seems to be on a real roll right now, why mess with it? Let Heyer heal. Wait until he is real real REAL healthy or until, God forbid, someone else goes down before putting him back in. Heyer has a lot of football ahead of him. Keep him in the bullpen until Jansen stumbles.

Oh, and all you JLC attack dogs: Heel boys, heel.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I love Jansen (and the entire OL for that matter) but the comments kind of irk me. It's almost like they want to be able to feel comfortable with their jobs. When Rabach said that they all assumed "it was a done deal" that Jansen was the starter, that gives the impression that they don't believe they have to outperform the backups to start.

I don't mind that Zorn made the change and I'd hope that he's looking to do that at every position on this football team within reason.

I don't really care who starts from here on out...we know we have a keeper in Heyer.