The thing I always wondered about Joey Harrington when he played quarterback for the Lions is whether it was the player or the environment that caused him to fail. He came to the Lions as the ultimate clutch performer in college at Oregon and started out well. He clearly outplayed Mike McMahon during training camp as a rookie and played well during his first couple games, nearly leading the Lions an upset of Green Bay, which was very good at the time, and beating New Orleans when it was unbeaten. It just seemed like he got beaten down by the losing culture in Allen Park. They handled him poorly, coddling him his first year and allowing him to become an arrogant kid that was resented by his teammates and disliked by the media. Then, when Steve Mariucci came in, he was just left Joey twisting in the wind. Some of it was the fault of Harrington. He never asserted himself when his teammates and coaches continually pointed fingers of blame at him. The question is whether he is that g ood. Miami is starting to win football games with Harrington under center. Yet, he still appears inaccurate at times and continues to have a propensity to make big mistakes. The one thing about Harrington is he is fairly tough. He takes a hit and gets up, and he seemed to learn a lot from the mental gymnastics he went through with the Lions.
Random thoughts
- Talk about an interesting American League Most Valuable Player situation this season. If I had a vote, it would have been a tough one, but I probably would have selected Derek Jeter over Justin Morneau. He plays shortstop, contributes more on the bases, is the Yankees undisputed leader and the Yankees won more games than the Twins.
- The Pistons have won three straight games entering Wednesday. Why? Rasheed Wallace. He averaged 18.7 points and 11.7 rebounds in those games. When he produces, the Pistons win. When he does not, they lose. This Pistons are that simple to figure out.
- If there is a rematch between Michigan and Ohio State in the BCS title game, the biggest factor might be the layoff. It will be more than seven weeks. That is hardly ideal. And you cannot tell me that it will have no bearing on the game. I would think it would benefit Michigan. Ohio State seems to have peaked.
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6 Comments:
Pat,
All I have to say about this Thanksgiving Day game is Thank God Joey is involved in it this year! There would be no intrigue at all for the rest of the country, who are becoming more vocal about be forced to watch the pathetic Detroit Lions on this day - the worst franchise in the NFL, and contender for the worst sports franchise PERIOD!
If this keeps up, the day will soon come when Detroit sports fans lose our hallowed tradition, and all the arrogance of Ford Sr. won't be enough to stop the NFL from taking this game away from us. He will never be forgiven when that happens, and will take his place alongside of Art Modell, as a despised man, amongst many pro football fans, both in and outside the Detroit area. It's such a joke to build a football field, name it after yourself, and field such a horrid product! Arrogance isn't such a bad thing, when there is an element of PRIDE in it. The biggest part of Ford's arrogance is the sense of knowing that he can fleece his "bread and butter" public, and that makes him a complete moron!
I think the Lions' ruined Harrington. In spite of what he went through in Detroit, he'll play tommorrow with a sense of class. Of course, he'll want to beat the Lions, but if he has the chance to rub their noses in it, I think he'll decline the opportunity. Joey had another fault that was just part of his makeup... he was too loyal to an organization that just didn't deserve it.
If Harrington leading the Dophins to a win that hastens Millen's departure here; I say GO JOEY! I don't think he has the talent to pick Dre Bly apart, but he may have luck and karma on his side; boy, that wouuld be sweet! I'll bet most of the Thanksgiving Day football fans across the land will be rooting for him, and not for the Detroit Lions.
Happy Thanksgiving Day, Book!
Garold,
I love the Thanksgiving Day game tradition, but I do not blame the rest of the country for the way they feel about it. The Lions are horrible and have been for a long time. Barry Sanders hasn't played for eight seasons. Since then, the Lions have offered the nation nothing to enjoy at the prime game when everybody is watching.
Caputo
Pat...
Joey's problem was lack of mental toughness. Physically, he has enough talent, but the fans, most of his teammates, his coaches and the losing culture of Lion football took his desire to stay here away...Yes, Joey didn't produce enough, his sunny optimism, his champagne personality rubbed many the wrong way ( personally, I admired his positivity and the fact he never pointed fingers at anyone but himself..) If one calls that weakness in not standing up for himself against Dre Bly's comments, so be it....He simply lost confidence and wasn't thick skinned enough to overcome all the negativity. Anyway, I hope Joey throws 4 touchdowns, all against Dre Bly ( can't respect someone who publicly blames a teammate..) and the Lions lose by 30...I don't care to waste anymore emotion on a team run by an out of touch owner, an incompetent GM, and players who just don't seem to know what it takes to be professional football players...I feel sorry for Rod Marinelli because he appears to be someone with a solid philosophy on how to build a winning team, but he's ultimately doomed here... Curse you Paul Edinger!
Happy Thanksgiving Book
Flof,
I think a lot of people feel the way you do about not wanting to invest a lot of emotion in the Lions. Seems to me like it is hopeless as long as they continue in the same direction with Millen in the front office. If Harrington beats the Lions Thursday by playing well, it will interesting, to say the least, what the reaction will be.
Caputo
Mudhenfan,
I agree with you about Mathews. He was very good this season, but it might just be his 15 minutes of fame. That's an awful lot of money for an awful lot of years considering his track record.
Caputo
Thinkingman,
When you come down to it, the problem comes down to Ford Sr. - period. He just does not care about what anybody thinks. Just that he proves he is the owner. He likes Millen more than winning.
Caputo
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