packers11
12-13-2008, 04:03 PM
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20081212/PKR01/812130363/1058
Harris wins against clock
Conditioning keeps corner on top of his game at 34
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
Barely noticeable during the Green Bay Packers' recent defensive collapse is the play of cornerback Al Harris.
Harris has come back from a ruptured spleen that sidelined him for five weeks and has played at least as well as he was before getting injured in the Packers' Sept. 21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Harris' performance after a serious internal injury suggests he has time as a quality starter ahead of him even after turning 34 on Sunday. That's an age when many cornerbacks have left the NFL or at least are on their way out the door.
"I don't even know how old he is, 33, 32, whatever it is," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' secondary coach.
"There are guys that have those types of bodies and take such great care of themselves, when they're (getting) healthy they come back and keep playing at a high level. There are guys that have played to 37, 38 at that position, and I think he's one of those guys."
In the six games since his return from the ruptured spleen — his recovery took place over the bye week, so he missed only four games — Harris has defended five passes.
That's by no means an exceptional number and fails to show how solid his play has been. By unofficial count, he's had 18 passes thrown to his man in those games, and only six have been completed. He's pitched shutouts in four of those games.
While New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was completing 20 of 26 passes and scorching the rest of the Packers' secondary for 323 yards passing, Harris allowed zero receptions and knocked down one of the two passes thrown to his man. He also gave up no completions in eight passes thrown to his man against Tennessee, Carolina and Minnesota combined.
Last week against Houston was his worst performance since returning to the starting lineup — he gave up four receptions to Andre Johnson for 55 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown on an excellent in-and-out pattern. However, Johnson is one of the NFL's elite receivers and ranks second in the league in receptions (92) and receiving yards (1,201). Harris also knocked down two passes, including staying stride for stride with Johnson and breaking up a bomb in the third quarter.
Overall, Harris looks like he has some good football left in him, and he's lasting this long in the NFL because of his combination of natural gifts and strong work ethic.
He's among the best-conditioned players on the Packers' roster, and during training camp, the team measured his body fat at about 3 percent. He thinks his low body fat is the main reason he's had major problems with cramping throughout his career, and he now takes IV fluid before each game, regardless of the weather.
Lionel Washington, the Packers' cornerbacks coach, was a starter in the NFL until 37.
"(Harris) is one of those freaky athletes," Washington said. "No body fat, all muscles, real strong, understands how to play the game. If he wants to play for a long time, I think he can. It's just a matter of him going out there and taking care of his body and continuing to learn about football."
Harris has played at a high level despite an end to the 2007 season that raised legitimate questions about whether the decline of age had set in. In a league in which players can fall off the table in an offseason or even during the course of a season, Harris was beaten on several key receptions by the New York Giants' Plaxico Burress in the NFC championship game.
Burress had 11 receptions for 153 yards, including several jump-ball type fade routes in which the 6-foot-6 receiver went over the 6-1 Harris for the catch. That had to raise a red flag for the Packers, but the Packers stayed with Harris as a starter, and he's proven it was the right move.
Harris' physical style and ability to jam receivers and disrupt their routes at the line of scrimmage are a perfect fit with the Packers' bump-and-run oriented scheme, and Harris doesn't appear to have lost anything this season.
Washington said he didn't see any decline in Harris' play in the Giants' game, and moreover didn't doubt Harris would return this season after doctors diagnosed his torn spleen in September, a rare injury in the NFL that left some doubt about whether he'd come back this season.
"Honestly, I didn't (doubt his return)," Washington said. "Because when he told me, 'I'll be back in two weeks,' I believed that. I didn't know the extent of the injury, didn't get into the medical terms because I didn't understand that. But I started hearing (reports about) eight weeks, nine weeks — he said, 'I'll be back in two weeks,' and I knew the way he worked and he had a passion for the game and love for the game, I knew he was going to do whatever it takes to get back."
In comments to the Wisconsin State Journal, Harris recently speculated the Packers probably would trade him this offseason, judging by the way Ted Thompson has turned over the roster to younger players in his four years as general manager.
However, teams would have to be wary about giving up a draft pick of much value for a player his age, and his worth to the Packers has to be more than a late-round pick. Harris' statements raised the possibility he wanted to end his career with another team, but Harris said that was the furthest thing from his intent.
"I was just talking in theory," he said this week. "I have no indication on anything like that. I'm extremely happy here. I definitely want to be here. I like the guys. We have a good group of guys, Mike (McCarthy) is a good coach. I don't even know if I could survive without Lionel, (assistant head coach) Winston Moss, a great coach, great guy to be around. We've got some good guys."
Harris wins against clock
Conditioning keeps corner on top of his game at 34
By Pete Dougherty
pdougher@greenbaypressgazette.com
Barely noticeable during the Green Bay Packers' recent defensive collapse is the play of cornerback Al Harris.
Harris has come back from a ruptured spleen that sidelined him for five weeks and has played at least as well as he was before getting injured in the Packers' Sept. 21 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.
Harris' performance after a serious internal injury suggests he has time as a quality starter ahead of him even after turning 34 on Sunday. That's an age when many cornerbacks have left the NFL or at least are on their way out the door.
"I don't even know how old he is, 33, 32, whatever it is," said Kurt Schottenheimer, the Packers' secondary coach.
"There are guys that have those types of bodies and take such great care of themselves, when they're (getting) healthy they come back and keep playing at a high level. There are guys that have played to 37, 38 at that position, and I think he's one of those guys."
In the six games since his return from the ruptured spleen — his recovery took place over the bye week, so he missed only four games — Harris has defended five passes.
That's by no means an exceptional number and fails to show how solid his play has been. By unofficial count, he's had 18 passes thrown to his man in those games, and only six have been completed. He's pitched shutouts in four of those games.
While New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was completing 20 of 26 passes and scorching the rest of the Packers' secondary for 323 yards passing, Harris allowed zero receptions and knocked down one of the two passes thrown to his man. He also gave up no completions in eight passes thrown to his man against Tennessee, Carolina and Minnesota combined.
Last week against Houston was his worst performance since returning to the starting lineup — he gave up four receptions to Andre Johnson for 55 yards, including an 11-yard touchdown on an excellent in-and-out pattern. However, Johnson is one of the NFL's elite receivers and ranks second in the league in receptions (92) and receiving yards (1,201). Harris also knocked down two passes, including staying stride for stride with Johnson and breaking up a bomb in the third quarter.
Overall, Harris looks like he has some good football left in him, and he's lasting this long in the NFL because of his combination of natural gifts and strong work ethic.
He's among the best-conditioned players on the Packers' roster, and during training camp, the team measured his body fat at about 3 percent. He thinks his low body fat is the main reason he's had major problems with cramping throughout his career, and he now takes IV fluid before each game, regardless of the weather.
Lionel Washington, the Packers' cornerbacks coach, was a starter in the NFL until 37.
"(Harris) is one of those freaky athletes," Washington said. "No body fat, all muscles, real strong, understands how to play the game. If he wants to play for a long time, I think he can. It's just a matter of him going out there and taking care of his body and continuing to learn about football."
Harris has played at a high level despite an end to the 2007 season that raised legitimate questions about whether the decline of age had set in. In a league in which players can fall off the table in an offseason or even during the course of a season, Harris was beaten on several key receptions by the New York Giants' Plaxico Burress in the NFC championship game.
Burress had 11 receptions for 153 yards, including several jump-ball type fade routes in which the 6-foot-6 receiver went over the 6-1 Harris for the catch. That had to raise a red flag for the Packers, but the Packers stayed with Harris as a starter, and he's proven it was the right move.
Harris' physical style and ability to jam receivers and disrupt their routes at the line of scrimmage are a perfect fit with the Packers' bump-and-run oriented scheme, and Harris doesn't appear to have lost anything this season.
Washington said he didn't see any decline in Harris' play in the Giants' game, and moreover didn't doubt Harris would return this season after doctors diagnosed his torn spleen in September, a rare injury in the NFL that left some doubt about whether he'd come back this season.
"Honestly, I didn't (doubt his return)," Washington said. "Because when he told me, 'I'll be back in two weeks,' I believed that. I didn't know the extent of the injury, didn't get into the medical terms because I didn't understand that. But I started hearing (reports about) eight weeks, nine weeks — he said, 'I'll be back in two weeks,' and I knew the way he worked and he had a passion for the game and love for the game, I knew he was going to do whatever it takes to get back."
In comments to the Wisconsin State Journal, Harris recently speculated the Packers probably would trade him this offseason, judging by the way Ted Thompson has turned over the roster to younger players in his four years as general manager.
However, teams would have to be wary about giving up a draft pick of much value for a player his age, and his worth to the Packers has to be more than a late-round pick. Harris' statements raised the possibility he wanted to end his career with another team, but Harris said that was the furthest thing from his intent.
"I was just talking in theory," he said this week. "I have no indication on anything like that. I'm extremely happy here. I definitely want to be here. I like the guys. We have a good group of guys, Mike (McCarthy) is a good coach. I don't even know if I could survive without Lionel, (assistant head coach) Winston Moss, a great coach, great guy to be around. We've got some good guys."