Justin Harrell

[Harlan Huckleby]

I think a point missed in this latest dissappointing year is that Harrell had significant back surgery in late August. The season-ending hip problem late in the year was related to the weakened back.

Hindsight is 20-20, or at least 20-30, but the real story is that TT should have IR'd Harrell in 2008. Desperation led to a bad risk taken.

HArrell's back problem was not related to conditioning, he showed up in good shape last summer.

I think people who want to define him as a bust now are justified in doing so. Fine, he hasn't delivered anything, that is a bust. But I don't draw any conclusion from what happened this fall, I don't expect that HArrell was ever healthy. There is still hope that he will be a good player next season. Its not (yet) a Jamal Reynolds situation, where the player physically proved to be inadequate.

[DonHutson]

from McGinn's grades:

Justin Harrell: His second season turned into a nightmare when he fell far out of shape in February and then ruptured a lumbar disc in March as he lifted weights trying to make up for lost ground.

Sounds like it was a conditioning problem, or a lack of conditioning problem, that was at the root of everything. And the back problem didn't date from August, but from March. Therefore, he was never in shape for the season.

He'll get another chance to prove himself, but the time when you could rely on him to offer anything of value is gone.

[Joemailman]

I believe the Packers trainer said Harrell did not show up in good shape in the spring, which is when he hurt his back. I agree that if he can get healthy, he still has a chance. I also agree that he is a big reason for the failure of the Packer defense this year. I'm not sure TT would have traded Corey Williams if he had known he would get nothing out of Harrell.

[Pacopete4]

Harrell is a piece of shit.. time to move on

[pbmax]

I will say this about Harrell. Someone threw him under the bus to the press this offseason after he hurt his back at the beginning of the off-season program. They said he reported out of shape, etc.

How does being out of shape guarantee a specific back problem?

How out of shape could he have been in 7 weeks? Someone asked this a while back and its bothered me ever since. Was the source just ticked at him, trying to motivate, or is seven weeks enough time to guarantee this kind of injury?

[MJZiggy]

No, PB. You can gain weight in 7 weeks, and you can lose some strength, but you do not transform from a game-ready athlete to the Pillsbury dough boy in 7 weeks. Yes he did need to learn to put down mama's dumplings, but the remedy is the treadmill. He got hurt lifting, that's all there is to it.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Justin Harrell: His second season turned into a nightmare when he fell far out of shape in February and then ruptured a lumbar disc in March as he lifted weights trying to make up for lost ground.

Sounds like it was a conditioning problem, or a lack of conditioning problem, that was at the root of everything. And the back problem didn't date from August, but from March. Therefore, he was never in shape for the season.

What I know as FACT is that assistant coaches were praising his excellent conditioning in newspaper quotes this summer.

McGinn's SPECULATION might be correct. Or it could be axe grinding to make a spicy story. Its always fun to kick a guy when he is down. We just don't know the truth here, but I believe the coaches comments.

[Harlan Huckleby]

I believe the Packers trainer said Harrell did not show up in good shape in the spring, which is when he hurt his back.

OK buddy, we're gonna dance. Its google-on-google.

[pbmax]

No, PB. You can gain weight in 7 weeks, and you can lose some strength, but you do not transform from a game-ready athlete to the Pillsbury dough boy in 7 weeks. Yes he did need to learn to put down mama's dumplings, but the remedy is the treadmill. He got hurt lifting, that's all there is to it.

We keep up this dismantling of McGinn's favorite saws from this season and I am going to be right behind tex in the torch carrying mob trying to drive them out!

Or, probably not

[Lurker64]

Well the season is over, so what happened in the past is pretty irrelevant. What I do know is that going forward for year three:

-If Harrell continues to be continually injured and not produce, he's a bust and it was a bad pick.

-If Harrell shows up and plays well, all is forgiven.

[pbmax]

What I know as FACT is that assistant coaches were praising his excellent conditioning in newspaper quotes this summer.

I don't want to slow down your Google duel, but the asst. coaches were praising his shape, but it was the rehab work that they were praising (he's doing all we ask of him, weights down, etc.) not his actual practices or game condition.

[pbmax]

Well the season is over, so what happened in the past is pretty irrelevant. What I do know is that going forward for year three:

-If Harrell continues to be continually injured and not produce, he's a bust and it was a bad pick.

-If Harrell shows up and plays well, all is forgiven.

Speak for yourself, we have got to kill the time before the draft somehow. I can't keep reading about the "real" haters in the Favre thread! :P

[Harlan Huckleby]

What I know as FACT is that assistant coaches were praising his excellent conditioning in newspaper quotes this summer.

I don't want to slow down your Google duel, but the asst. coaches were praising his shape, but it was the rehab work that they were praising (he's doing all we ask of him, weights down, etc.) not his actual practices or game condition.

I'm not finding much in google to support my case, so thanks for the diversion.

[MJZiggy]

No, PB. You can gain weight in 7 weeks, and you can lose some strength, but you do not transform from a game-ready athlete to the Pillsbury dough boy in 7 weeks. Yes he did need to learn to put down mama's dumplings, but the remedy is the treadmill. He got hurt lifting, that's all there is to it.

We keep up this dismantling of McGinn's favorite saws from this season and I am going to be right behind tex in the torch carrying mob trying to drive them out!

Or, probably not

We could take over for them. (except that there's no way I'm moving back to Wisconsin)

[Patler]

I will say this about Harrell. Someone threw him under the bus to the press this offseason after he hurt his back at the beginning of the off-season program. They said he reported out of shape, etc.

How does being out of shape guarantee a specific back problem?

How out of shape could he have been in 7 weeks? Someone asked this a while back and its bothered me ever since. Was the source just ticked at him, trying to motivate, or is seven weeks enough time to guarantee this kind of injury?

I posted a "timeline" about Harrell. From the time he could have left Green Bay following the player exit interviews the week after the playoff loss, to an interview I found with him already back in Green Bay, a day or two before the voluntary, off season conditioning program started was about 7 weeks. That's it. Another article said he had gained about 10 lbs, which the team did not want him to gain. Ten pounds on a 325 lb. tackle.

People are equating this to players who report out of shape for training camp in August. It wasn't. He had gained a little weight (not unheard of for mammoth DTs) when he reported for a voluntary conditioning program in March, more than 5 months before the season would start. He was there for the specific purpose of getting stronger and in better shape. He had 5 months to do it.

He could have skipped the camp, reported at weight in August, and no one would have known.

People need to think a little bit about what really happened here. Harrell took conditioning seriously enough that he was in GB in March for the first day of the voluntary program. We have had others who skip it and report out of shape in August.