Monday, August 29, 2005

My position on Joey Harrington

There are two articles that accurately present my position on Joey Harrington - that we jsut don't know what to think about him. Here they are, and the relevant sections of each.
Jeffri Chadiha - SI.com - Pressure's on Harrington
There's too much talent around him. There are too many reasons for him to succeed. In short, there are no more excuses to explain his struggles. I admit to being one of Harrington's defenders, because, like a lot of young quarterbacks, he deserves time to grow up. I've wanted to know what he could do with a supporting cast of playmakers around him. Now, in year four of his tenure with the Lions, we're about to find out. The critics who bash Harrington the most tend to overlook the problems Detroit has had with its passing game since his arrival. He didn't have any receivers as a rookie, unless you want to mistakenly classify Az-Zahir Hakim and Bill Schroeder as reliable targets. Injuries have limited Rogers, the second pick in the '03 draft, to only six games over his first two seasons (which is another reason to have Mike Williams in the fold). And Roy Williams limped through most of his rookie season after exciting fans with his potential. Regardless of Harrington's deficiencies, this isn't the way to find out what kind of quarterback the Lions have.


Jerry Green - Detroit News - Quarterback controversy is nothing new for Lions
But Joey Harrington, in my view, has been a bust mostly because Charles Rogers has been injured early in the past two seasons. Joey has been a bust because the acrobatic Roy Williams dropped an occasional pass in a critical situation. He has been a bust because Az-Zahir Hakim has butterfingers. He has been a bust because he has lacked reliable tight ends.

He has been a bust because after his most stirring moments as a pro -- the 80-yard drive against the clock against Minnesota -- the Lions failed to manage a proper snap on the extra-point attempt.


I think both of those columns sum it all up perfectly.

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