The Winding Path Of Danny Lansanah
July 16th, 2015
Bucs LB Danny Lansanah’s path to starting in the NFL is compelling.
Joe’s readers should take a few moments today to read a very cool long-form piece on Bucs starting linebacker Danny Lansanah. You’ll learn to appreciate him more.
Yes, Lansanah is a former UFL player. But Lansanah’s is a bit more of a curvy road.
He grew up in a really bad neighborhood where crime was everywhere. Combined with hard work in both athletics and academics, Lansanah began to pull himself out of those conditions.
The story is penned by Joe’s good friend Jason McIntyre, lord of TheBigLead.com. As one could expect, McIntyre did a nice job.
After stints with the Packers and Dolphins and logging games in the UFL, Lansanah thought his football days were done. So he took a real job.
Instead, he landed a 9-5 desk job at Alternative Rehabilitation Communities in Harrisburg, helping troubled youths. At this point in Lansanah’s story, it’s important to note that his family is extremely religious – his father, Keith Avery, is a pastor – and all of them believe everything that helped get Danny to the top with the Packers was lost when success went to his head and he fell off his metaphorical path. In order for him to reach the summit again, he needed to be completely broken down.
“You saw God break him down, completely strip him of everything,” his wife, Sheena said. “I started to see ‘high school’ Danny again. The only thing you have left is your family.”
Said Keith Avery: “The necessity of adversity is there not to tear us apart, but to build us up, and catapult us to our next destination. That hardship is needed.”
Again, it is a really nice piece and worth the time investment. Click the link above.
Lansanah is a guy easy to pull for. Joe just wonders if Lansanah, signed by former Bucs rock star general manager Mark Dominik, needed the extra kick in the behind served by the Bucs drafting Kwon Alexander.
Joe can say, for what it is worth, Lansanah was flying all over the place in underwear football this spring.
July 16th, 2015 at 8:47 am
Kwon is the future,but for right now Danny driven man. When you come from obscurity and finally get that big break you’ve patiently waited for all your life you do not play with it. You defend that chit wit ya life. I expect big play From Danny this season.
July 16th, 2015 at 9:14 am
Went right to the comment section without reading the article.
July 16th, 2015 at 9:15 am
Read the article last night. Great read. Danny is in the right mindset now. I feel he can be a game changer for us.
GO BUCS!
July 16th, 2015 at 9:21 am
You had a good story on Lansanah yesterday. The link above brought me the screen that has a blue background and when I start to go down the page it goes to the bottom of the page, then only inches up slowly. I get this on articles that appear on The Big Lead. I’m sure it is this phone, but I do miss all those links.
July 16th, 2015 at 9:24 am
This is the best human interest story on the Bucs this year. How can you not root for a guy who has been through what Lansanah has faced.
I married into a pure bred Finnish family. The Finns have an excellent word for what Lansanah has demonstrated. SISU. It’s kind of an amalgam of courage, perseverence, fortitude. People with SISU are not easily defeated.
Perhaps a Finn poster here can explain SISU better than me.
July 16th, 2015 at 10:00 am
Sometimes I think folks get too hung up on who’s the ‘starter’ at any position. Whether Lansanah beats out Alexander or vice-versa, the Bucs as a team benefit.
Having excellent depth at all positions looks to be essential to make the playoffs in today’s NFL. The Bucs have lacked depth for too many years now, and it’s proven costly. It’ll take a couple more years to achieve that quality depth that teams like Seattle and New England have, but it looks like the Bucs are finally on the right path in that regard.
Whether he starts or not, having someone like Danny Lansanah on the team is awesome for several reasons, but key among them is his flexibility in being able to play all three LB positions if needed. Given the Bucs record with injuries these last few years especially, Danny will prove to be a key player many times over.
July 16th, 2015 at 10:28 am
Almost there guys almost there. Training camp is just around the corner
July 16th, 2015 at 10:36 am
Lansanah had a “breakout” year in 2014 and earned his starter’s spot with his play on the field. Let’s hope he continues to improve and sticks around for awhile. Whether its Lansanah or Alexander starting at SAM this year – its nice to have some quality depth at some positions for a change. I thought Orie Lemon showed some promise as well so as long as Carter can be at least solid at MLB and stay healthy – we are actually in decent shape at LB these days.