The Future of Al' Harris

[Tarlam!]

I was amazed at how Al' got smashed in the mouth trying to cover T.O. Far worse was Al's dismal performance against Plaxico.

I hope Al' has a few more seasons in him, but those 2 critical games might be an indication that he is over the hill.

Anybody pointing to his Pro Bowl nomination as evidence that he still has it might want to consider that most, if not all pundits base that on past performances. Woodson outplayed Harris last season.

So, what do you think? Will Al' be around as our starting CB all season long?

[falco]

i don't even think I need to chime in on this one...

[MJZiggy]

I keep telling you, Pro Bowl nominations are a year behind. I hope it never happens, but I hope if he has even part of another "T.O. game" he gets benched for the remainder of it.

[falco]

I keep telling you, Pro Bowl nominations are a year behind. I hope it never happens, but I hope if he has even part of another "T.O. game" he gets benched for the remainder of it.

I just have to wonder if they would have ruled his interception correctly at the very beginning of the game, how different he might have played the remainder.

[MJZiggy]

Good point. He did play frustrated. And didn't they have him playing zone that game?

[packrulz]

In Al's defense, he could've used some safety help covering both guys, i.e: someone to lay the wood on T.O. & Plaxico, still, they were a field goal away in overtime from going to the Super Bowl. Both corners are aging, IMO, they only have one or two good years left.

[3irty1]

I'm optimistic about this year as I think last year Al was playing through nagging injuries that made him seem much more mortal. One thing for sure is that he definitely cut down on his penalties last year. Remember that he was shutdown for the 10 games or so excluding the Chargers game but Phillip Rivers was lights out in that game and Al was still contesting the throws which is all you can really ask for. Al still had a solid year although I agree his probowl visit did seem to be something of a lifetime achievement award. About TO and Plaxico, those guys are the cream of the crop WR in the NFL, they are going to get their yards. I don't think the answer is to bench Harris but perhaps he could use a little help over there. You leave anyone on an island all game with TO and you're asking for trouble. Another reason to be optimistic is the elimination of the push-out rule. Which should help AL more than the typical CB.

Also Al still plays 90 some percent of snaps, I think the indicator that he is "over the hill" you'll see that slowly drop off, not disappear completely overnight.

[KYPack]

I'm optimistic about this year as I think last year Al was playing through nagging injuries that made him seem much more mortal. One thing for sure is that he definitely cut down on his penalties last year. Remember that he was shutdown for the 10 games or so excluding the Chargers game but Phillip Rivers was lights out in that game and Al was still contesting the throws which is all you can really ask for. Al still had a solid year although I agree his probowl visit did seem to be something of a lifetime achievement award. About TO and Plaxico, those guys are the cream of the crop WR in the NFL, they are going to get their yards. I don't think the answer is to bench Harris but perhaps he could use a little help over there. You leave anyone on an island all game with TO and you're asking for trouble. Another reason to be optimistic is the elimination of the push-out rule. Which should help AL more than the typical CB.

Also Al still plays 90 some percent of snaps, I think the indicator that he is "over the hill" you'll see that slowly drop off, not disappear completely overnight.

Some good points there. Al plays a physical game and is vulnerable to big, fast, physical WR's. So does everybody. He had the misfortune of facing a motivated Burris on a day when Manning was hot. Nobody covers Plax well when he's running that back shoulder fade and into the game. Al didn't do it, but nobody else could've either. Al is a slow guy who's slowing down. He never was fast, but he's quick and smart. Most QB WR combo's aren't skilled enough to take great advantage of Al bc he is so smart. That said, he's gonna see a lot of those routes this year. If the QB's and recievers can execute those patterns on Al, we may need to change things up. That could include other CB's getting into the mix

[Patler]

Al Harris has suffered late season swoons for at least two of the last three years, 2005 and 2007, I don't remember if he did or not in 2006. That is not uncommon with older players as the rigors of the season gets to them. The concern is that it will start earlier and earlier, or that he will come back one year and just no longer have "it" from the start of the season. Realistically, it could happen any time with Harris, even this season. Hopefully, Williams, Lee, Blackmon or someone else will be ready to step in when it does happen.

[Gunakor]

I keep telling you, Pro Bowl nominations are a year behind. I hope it never happens, but I hope if he has even part of another "T.O. game" he gets benched for the remainder of it.

Woodson was out of the Dallas game with an injured toe. Bob Sanders went with a super soft zone defense that TO would end up taking advantage of, since Sanders didn't trust Williams/Bush in press coverage on the other side against Crayton. Al Harris wasn't the only one that TO victimized. He ran through LB zones and picked on Barnett and Hawk. He ran deep crossing patterns to pick on Bigby and Collins. It wasn't man coverage Green Bay was playing most of that game, so it's hard to call out a single person for TO's big day. Fact remains that Harris did in fact pick off one Tony Romo pass that day, and should have been credited with a second for ripping the ball out of TO's hands on the sideline. It wasn't his greatest day, but it's wrong to blame him entirely for what happened. If you wan't to blame a single person for that day, blame Bob Sanders. It was his zone defense that was the problem.

[Gunakor]

Good point. He did play frustrated. And didn't they have him playing zone that game?

Srry MJ, didn't read this one before my previous post. Indeed he was playing zone.

[DonHutson]

Al has more and more games every year where he doesn't get it done. That's what happens when you get old. I wouldn't expect the trend to change.

That said he's still scrappy, and if he's healthy he can be physical enough to remain a quality CB.

If he's not getting it done, remember Lito Sheppard is still out there on the block.

[3irty1]

Al has more and more games every year where he doesn't get it done. That's what happens when you get old. I wouldn't expect the trend to change.

That said he's still scrappy, and if he's healthy he can be physical enough to remain a quality CB.

If he's not getting it done, remember Lito Sheppard is still out there on the block.

I'd rather play with 10 guys on the field than get into trade talks with the Eagles. It would probably take our front 7 to get Lito.

[AV David]

The scary part of the 2007 Al Harris is this:

I can remember half a dozen times where he was badly beaten for a touchdown, a LONG touchdown, and the ball was overthrown.

I think we will know whether Al is declining rapidly by about the third game of the 2008 season.

[Joemailman]

The scary part of the 2007 Al Harris is this:

I can remember half a dozen times where he was badly beaten for a touchdown, a LONG touchdown, and the ball was overthrown.

I think we will know whether Al is declining rapidly by about the third game of the 2008 season.

A lot of those balls get overthrown because Al disrupts the timing of the play by pummeling the receiver. Al can't run 50 yards downfield with a fast guy. Never really could.

Al's game is getting his hands on the receiver and disrupting the pattern. It's the tall strong guys who give him trouble because they can fend off his physical play. The coaching staff needs to be quicker to recognize that there will be some matchups where they will have to give Al more help.