Patriots Sign James Harrison
- Thread starter Ed Hillel
- Start date
Yes. There is zero doubt in my mind that Bill Belichick could walk into the Steelers locker any week and draw up a game plan virtually identical to the Pittsburgh defensive game plan with every scheme/formation/blitz package they use included. It would be like DaVinci painting a Kinkade: he could do it while making lunch or something, but it would make him feel dumb and dirty.
They are playing the Browns. I am pretty sure they don't need them to win.
Care to make it interesting? $25 to charity. Yours if they win w/o Ben and Bell, mine if they lose?
Harrison is one rara avis, that's for sure.
(sorry...just didn't want to miss out on the fun)
It really just works on so many levels. Not just the prospect that any 260 pound man might snore softly, but the idea that snoring is some sort of conscious act or decision where he purposefully turned the volume up.
I apologize for kicking off the Alamo jokes. The joke was ma de 'cos I thought it would be perfecto, but I guess I hadn't expected that I would end up giving out pun opportunities and playing pun Santa. Annaway, if you want to groan and boo - we deserved it.
Back on point: Harrison said in his interview with the Post-Gazette that essentially the Steelers kept stringing him along, saying he would get playing time and then not making good on those promises. Apparently Tomlin told him to “stay in shape in case we come back to you in a month.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/12/27/james-harrison-patriots-steelers-release-mike-tomlin-bill-belichick-afc-nfl/stories/201712270172
Back on point: Harrison said in his interview with the Post-Gazette that essentially the Steelers kept stringing him along, saying he would get playing time and then not making good on those promises. Apparently Tomlin told him to “stay in shape in case we come back to you in a month.”
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2017/12/27/james-harrison-patriots-steelers-release-mike-tomlin-bill-belichick-afc-nfl/stories/201712270172
Reeeeeeeally looking forward to the Steelers getting upset in their first playoff game and not even getting to face off against THE LOUD SNORING ONE in the AFCCG.
Edit because autocorrect just makes shit up and shit.
Edit because autocorrect just makes shit up and shit.
I beg to differ. The Pats have needed a player who can get to the QB from the edge and set the edge against the run. Harrison is old and was deemed expendable by the Steelers but the Pats need him for four games and he could give them something given how well rested he is and the fact that he raised his game in last year's playoffs. Also, that a Steelers icon left for a team that the Steelers are likely to see again in the playoffs, and who have owned the Steelers for the Brady/Belichick era is drama that does not need to be invented. Now sure, Harrison could turn out to be like David Harris; a nice piece to have and an occasional contributor. But he could be more on the field and the team switch is interesting, if nothing else. Imagine if McGinist or Bruschi had left for the Steelers under similar circumstances.
Last edited:
It looks like an "impact" signing but that all depends on what impact means to you. AFC Defensive Player of the Week? Very unlikely. But after watching this year's Belichick Breakdowns where we see an important non-block by Allen, Ricky Jean picking off Clay, a gunner's route to the ball, etc. and to hear BB gush about the play leads me to think my definition of impact is clearly different from the guy who matters.
It seems he's a distraction to the Steelers as much as anyone. How are these stories affecting the Patriots?
The only way he'd be any sort of distraction is from a "New guy trying to fit in" perspective. Veterans and young players would all be wanting to get to know him, but there would likely be plenty of time in the week for that.
How he responds to the jabs from his old team is on his own time.
How he responds to the jabs from his old team is on his own time.
The Patriots in the non-TB12 faction are real mad because Harrison keeps hogging all the weights in the weight room.
Sure. He could also, like, never see the field. I'd love to see him get four sacks in the playoffs and draw some key holding penalties... but I'm skeptical. My broader point is that the amount of coverage this signing has gotten already and will continue to get is likely 1,000x the actual impact he'll have on the field.
Pronounces Gronk's name "Gronkoski". You'd think a coal mining region dweller could pronounce a Polish name right.
It’s so great that I honestly just laughed out loud.
I can’t get over the fact that someone could convince themselves that the same team that won a Super Bowl two weeks after Deflategate broke and went 12-4 and made the AFC Championship the season after one of their star players turned out to be an actual serial killer is going to be laid low by signing an aging OLB from another team.
I'm just glad we've reached the point in time where we can laugh at this. Yeah, it could've happened to any team. And yes, the tragedy side of it is still the most important. But still, of all the goddamn things that could get in the way of your team's success, the Hernandez story has got to be one of the most bizarre and unsettling things that could occur in a team sport.
I suppose the same sport and league brought us Jovan Belcher, and there's some cause-effect relationship there, and I realize some of that is being litigated as we speak. But there's still a "you gotta be kidding me" piece of it that doesn't go away.
100% agreed. It's really a shame - that little hesitation jab step he used to do was fun to watch - that he literally could not stop murdering people.
Especially when he got no other offers.
https://www.google.com/amp/profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2017/12/30/patriots-were-only-team-to-offer-james-harrison-a-contract/amp/
Spectacular to be butt hurt about this.
Right? I mean, how hard is it to stop murdering people? Shit, I love murdering people, and I haven't murdered anyone in months, because the holidays were coming up.
It's like those drug tests before you start a job. Yeah, they're obnoxious and big-brothery, but at the same time: If you can't hold off for a few weeks for the sake of gaining employment and income, you really need to acknowledge that you have a serious problem.
Agreed. Even as I was typing it I felt strange.
Bizarre and unsettling is right. There are a few deranged people in the world. We mourn and grieve when they perform evil acts. But we usually don’t also have memories of cheering for them and owning jerseys with their names on them.
me, too. I'm also excited to see what he can do.
There aren't too many players who will be counted on (I assume he will be, in particular circumstances) who are as healthy and rested as he is in january. While i understand he's rested because he wasn't as good as the guys ahead of him in Pitt, in hindsight, I see him like Seau, he's got *something* left, and I trust the coaches to deploy it just right. He got nearly 30 snaps yesterday, and even on special teams. Like Seau, he's a HoF caliber player, so even in decline, he should have something to offer. The biggest challenge will be when he's on a play that requires something new for him, and the offense runs a play specifically designed to mess him up. I hope that's where 15 years and 200 games comes in. Like Brady, he has seen it all.
I was surprised by the number of times he dropped into coverage. I’d guess they a) wanted to get at look at him, and b) wanted to muddy the tape for future opponents.
The production was good but I was also impressed at the sheer number of different things they had him do. Just focusing on the clip above, the first play he is lined up as the RDE in a base package against the Jets' heavy look, the second play he is basically an OLB on the left side in a 4-2 type alignment, he's playing a similarly role in the third play a little deeper off the line but its more of a 3-3 look with the opposite side edge player standing up, in the fourth play he is lined up in a wide-9 type RDE pure pass rush position, then in the fifth play he is also playing the RDE on a four man front but lines up tighter. The guy is obviously a veteran but I didn't expect so much variation for a player who has only been with the team four days.
At least on the few plays I saw, not only did he set the edge but he easily fought off the blockers sent his way. He also seemed pretty full of juice at the end of the game on the pass rushes, which could just be because it was his first game, but if that carries into the playoff games I can really see it being of value.
Man, I hope this gets posted on that Steelers board wired quoted up thread.