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Harrington:Resurrection

New QB will shimmer in Sunshine StateBy Scott McNeish

Recently acquired Miami Dolphins quarterback Joey Harrington has escaped the cocoon encasing him during his first four years as a professional and will finally live up to the billing that persuaded the Detroit Lions to draft him third overall in 2002.

Harrington is coming into a golden opportunity. The Dolphins — after struggling to adapt to new coach Nick Saban’s system in the first 10 games — ended the 2005 season riding a six-game win streak and a tsunami of momentum heading into 2006.

Until starting quarterback and prized off-season accusation Daunte Culpepper fully recuperates from off-season surgery, Harrington will be at the controls of a talented offensive corps, featuring Pro Bowl-caliber threats Chris Chambers, Randy McMichael and Marty Booker, along with the gifted second-year stalwart Ronnie Brown in the backfield.

This veteran nucleus will be vital to his success in Miami. Harrington’s role in the offense will be deluted — compared to the situation in Detroit, where he was asked to be the savior of a drowning franchise.

Fresh off a fourth-place finish in the 2002 Heisman voting, Harrington came into a situation where he was expected to emerge from a phone booth with a big red “S” on his chest every Sunday and flourish in a cave of kryptonite.

Motown’s arch-enemy, team president Matt Millen, put the burden of restoring order to a team that had not won a championship since 1957 on the 22-year-old’s shoulders. He had a universe of pressure to deal with before he even buckled his chinstrap.

If that wasn’t enough, he was dealt one clueless coach (Marty Mornhinweg) and another convinced he was running a day spa (Steve Mariucci), both of whom ran the West Coast offense — a system focusing on short passes — that contrasted Harrington’s strengths.

At Oregon, Harrington was successful, in part,  because he put pressure on defenses by taking shots downfield. The West Coast system, and more importantly his coaching staff, did not permit him to do so.

In an exclusive interview with the Detroit Free Press’ esteemed columnist Mitch Albom, Harrington stated he approached Mariucci, explained how he felt tied down by the play-calling, and asked permission to take more chances. Mooch’s response?

“He stood up, went to his sink and started brushing his teeth,” Harrington said in the interview. “He said, ‘I’ve got to go do some interviews. If you want to talk about this, come back later.’

“And then he walked out.”

The offense surrounding Harrington — although solid on paper — underachieved, to put it kindly.

Charles Rogers showed no durability and took more hits off the field than on. Roy Williams made spectaclar grabs, but lacked consistency. Mike Williams’ rust after spending a year away from football was visible from Comerica Park.

The offensive line had more holes than a slice of Swiss. Harrington rarely had proper time to go through his reads, set his feet, and make a strong throw.

Particulary in his rookie season, a lack of blocking up front forced Harrington to panic, causing him to make rash decisions and throw inaccurately off his back foot — cementing bad habits he would never shed.

With the exception of Kevin Jones’ second half of 2004, no running game was ever established, making the Lions’ attack one-dimensional and permitting defenses to bombard Harrington with pressure.

Worst of all, Harrington — a man who thrives on his leadership ability — plummeted psychologically after the organization lost faith in him. Coaches bashed him. Teammates bashed him.

No one publically defended him. He was benched in favor of an aging Jeff Garcia. Re-instated. Benched again. Re-instated again — all while a city emphatically cheered his demise.

The man’s confidence evaporated. He was the only one who believed in himself — until that vanished too.

New coaches Ron Marinelli and Mike Martz insisted they were confident in Harrington. But then the Lions signed free agents Jon Kitna, Shaun King and Josh McCown — again portraying a complete lack of trust.

Marinelli called Harrington soon after and told him he wasn’t sure if Harrington was going to be included in the team’s plans or not — culminating Harrington’s mental pulverisation.

Harrington is a competitor that feasts on confidence and respect. He is a natural leader and — like anybody else — cannot succeed when deemed the Anti-Christ of a highly-rabid sports town.

Luckily, Harrington is being given a breath of fresh air in Miami. He won’t be asked to do too much; just keep the offense organized and let the playmakers make plays.

With so much lifted from his conscious, combined with more freedom in Saban’s offense, Harrington’s mind will be free to roam — producing a much better football player.

The Dolphins and the rest of the league will watch as he erases a turbulent past with notable performances in the Florida sunshine.

 

4 replies on “Harrington:Resurrection”

Interesting article I think the Swiss cheese cliche must be retired from sportswriting for good.

Harrington’s stock is so low right now (another cliche) but maybe he’ll get a chance at redemption (it’s like a disease these cliches). Still, it’s just a stop gap solution (ahhh!) and they did bring in Daunte Culpepper to be the man (falls over, dies), not Harrington.

I completely disagree… …with your assessment of Harrington’s potential, but I thought the article was very well-written and had a strong point of view (even though I don’t think Harrington will ever be a solid NFL QB).

Agree with others… …nicely written – but Harrington has no one to blame but himself.

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