Some fans insisted that Hanson wasn't forced out. Wrong.....
“Hey look, minimum in the NFL is a ridiculous amount of money. So I didn’t tell them that, but I would have played for that. I mean, that’s a lot of money. But at the same time it was like, OK, if they’re saying, ‘Hey, we like you, but we can go get someone else and what do you want to do?’ I was like, ‘OK, well, that’s fine.’ If there’s no passion on their end, then I’m going to feel the same way. So no, it wasn’t just that, but all of it together.”That is as close as you will ever get a person with Hanson's class to tell it like it really was back then. He PC'd it down but it is right there. Those assholes forced out a Lions legend.
And yes, I am still bitter over how they treated him. Fuck you Mayillen.
truth hurst..
ReplyDeleteOh dear. I've run all out of tears for the kicker who's leg strength had declined so much at that point he was no longer a sure 3 points & he was a liability on kickoffs. This criticism is hypocritical. Many tout what winning organizations do, one of those things being able to let declining players go before they leave a hole you can't fill. Jason Hanson was not helping this team. Ultimately, we made the right call. Akers was a decent stop gap, Freese sucked ass but we've come out on the other side with one of the more reliable legs in the league. Matt Prater is the Lions kicker & our special teams are better for it than they were in Hanson's final seasons.
ReplyDeleteJason hit 89% of his FG attempts in 2013 including 16 of 19 from 40-49, 2 of 3 from 50+ and was perfect from 39 yards or shorter. It was his third highest percentage on makes in his entire career. That year was also his second highest usage with 36 attempts. He was never "no longer a sure 3 points". The guy had ice in his veins that bleed Honolulu blue.
DeleteYes, his kickoffs weren't pretending to be field goals while booming out of the endzone anymore but he was still a viable place kicker.
Instead of letting the man retire on his own terms, after 21 years of incredible professional performance and dedication to the team despite it's own follies, he was low balled by asshat one and asshat two in some sort of high school power play.
He deserved better. Much much better.
Fuck Mayillen.