Jean Francois Captivated by the Culture in Green Bay

There may have been several reasons why former 49ers, Colts and Redskins defensive tackle Ricky Jean Francois would be excited to get the "rare" call from the Green Bay Packers.

Among them, who they have taking snaps under center may have been the biggest of all.

"I had to [pick Green Bay]," Jean Francois said after Thursday's open practice. "It was either Seattle or here, and I had to pick here; I got a quarterback like Aaron Rodgers.

"Just seeing a quarterback like him year in and year out be so successful and get to the point that most quarterbacks can't consistently do. He's a consistent quarterback and this team has been consistent in getting to the playoffs."

Jean Francois is no stranger to the playoffs either. He's seen the post-season in five of his eight seasons in the NFL, including five straight trips from 2011-2015 during his stints with the 49ers, Colts and most recently the Redskins.

"I don't know a year since I've been playing football that they haven't been in the playoffs."

Jean Francois was on the cusp of being 2009's "Mr. Irrelevant," but instead, was the 244th overall selection in the draft. He wouldn't start a single game, however, until 2011. Alternatively, he played a role in 48 straight games from 2010 through 2012, as well as repeating that 48-game stretch from 2014 through 2016.

He won't need to do much to earn snaps in Green Bay, who already sports a thin defensive line. Outside of Mike Daniels, Kenny Clark and the troubled Letroy Guion, there isn't much to fawn over in the Packers' 3-4 package. 

Guion, unfortunately, is suspended for the first four games of the upcoming 2017 season due to a PEDs violation. He'll be facing his second consequence from the NFL in three seasons, likely a major factor in the Packers pursuing Jean Francois in free agency.

Guion has been a rare bad apple in an organization whose bread and butter is pride, diligence and a respect for the game of football and all that is associated with it. Guion has been far from a problem on the field as he has been off of it.

Still in awe, Jean Francois remains captivated by the work ethic and atmosphere in Green Bay.

"It's rare that you see the Packers go outside and pick guys up, and if they do, it's for a reason," he told reporters. "Even on the first day of the meetings when they told all of the new guys to stand up, I'm thinking 'okay, I'm used to seeing like five or six guys,' and it was only three guys that stood up! I was like, 'I'm blessed.'

"Just seeing how guys here work. Guys that have been in the building after long days, I'm used to seeing guys leaving the building early... You see guys coming back late at night to work."

As starstruck as he may be, Jean Francois has had confrontations with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers before.

In the aforementioned playoff trips, two of the five were against the Packers. The first being the 45-31 stomping at the hands of the 49ers to conclude the 2012 season and the other a 35-18 loss to the Packers in January of last year.

Now, Jean Francois aims to use the commander of his new ship to get into the minds of opposing quarterbacks this season.

"I got a few pointers from Aaron Rodgers," he said. "I ask him day in and day out what he sees and what's different so I can get a jumpstart on other quarterbacks around the league.

"This year on our schedule, we play some All-Pro quarterbacks, so if I can get in his head and learn some things then I can get in their heads and learn a few things too."

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Zachary Jacobson is a staff writer/reporter for Cheesehead TV. He's the voice of The Leap on iTunes and can be heard on The Scoop KLGR 1490 AM every Saturday morning. He's also a contributor on the Pack-A-Day Podcast. He can be found on Twitter via @ZachAJacobson or contacted through email at [email protected].

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Comments (2)

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Lphill's picture

June 02, 2017 at 05:48 am

Good pickup, veteran presence should be motivated playing on a contender .

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Tundraboy's picture

June 04, 2017 at 09:30 am

All sounds good, we'll see.

Btw couldn't have just one comment to this piece.

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