Good, Bad, Ugly, Harrell

[HarveyWallbangers]

Just a question for the football minds out there. Do you think Harrell could eventually become like Albert Haynesworth for the Titans? I really didn't hear too much about him prior to this year and now he is an awesome defensive tackle. Just wondering.

I don't think it would be shocking. It took Haynesworth at least 3 years to become a good player, and he wasn't injured his rookie year. I would just about end the anti-Thompson arguments. He looks VERY smart not taking the trade offer from Cleveland. He looks VERY smart for letting Ahman walk. The only thing he doesn't look smart about is Moss and Harrell, and if people were fair, they'd admit that there's no guarantee that Moss would have worked out in Green Bay.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I wish I cared enough to bring up the "Rayner is horrible" threads from last season after he missed some FG's ugly in the cold. I guarantee what was said about him was way worse then what has been said about Crosby to this point.

Do you even remember those kicks from last year Merlin? Rayner wasn't missing 45 or 50 yarders...he was missing 30 yarders.

He missed a 28 yarder against the Seahawks.
He missed a 34 and 38 yarder against the Vikings.
He missed a 32 yarder against the Bears.

There is a big difference IMO between missing a 45+ yard field goal and a 28 or 32 or 34 yard field goal. A HUGE difference.

Crosby inside of 40 yards this year is 15 of 16.

That is why the outcry isn't as loud, Merlin. Rayner missed kicks that NFL kickers SHOULD make 90%+ of the time. Perhaps you should do a little more digging into the cause of these issues rather than speculate about things you clearly have no real knowledge of.

Look, I did a detailed analysis of Rayner vs. Crosby. It wasn't even close.

But, it was WAY to complicated for Merlin to comprehend..or it is just a case of him wanting to see the world as he chooses.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I will give him another season to get it together but I am not holding my breath on this one.

Or what? You'll send him a strongly worded, poorly written letter laden with the same retarded idiocy you post here? I'm sure he cares. Just as much as we do.

LEGITIMATE ROTFL.

[FritzDontBlitz]

{ilr]3]Was Jenkins called for the PF on Mcown on that return for a TD that was called back. They didnt give too many views of it but it looked like a clean shot to me. He was on defense and got on a block. Or does this go back to the protect the pretty QB BS the league is doing to protect Tom Brady's pretty face or the up and coming cant handle temps under 50deg Jamarcus Russel?

The way it was explained, Jenkins was flagged for hitting the QB because he was away from the play. It wasn't that he hit him, it was where he hit him.

He wasn't away from the play, he was within 10 yards of where Bigby was passing by AND he turned toward Bigby like he was about to pursue him.

[FritzDontBlitz]

Harrell looked good. Not spectacular, but good.

The Jenkins personal foul was a good one. No reason at all to go after a QB like that. I realize it's football and guys get hit, but the refs protect QBs and Jenkins should have known that.

As usual do the turnaround test. If Favre got blasted like that, we'd all be screaming bloody murder.

Please. Favre would've made the tackle.

Besides, when Brett takes himself out of a play he runs out of bounds, NOT upfield toward the action like McCown did. It was a bullshit call.

[KYPack]

Just a question for the football minds out there. Do you think Harrell could eventually become like Albert Haynesworth for the Titans? I really didn't hear too much about him prior to this year and now he is an awesome defensive tackle. Just wondering.

I don't think Harrell has the ability of Haynesworth, although many associated with the Vols do feel Harrell was worthy of comparison to Haynesworth...even if he wasn't quite as good.

Tennessee has produced a lot of great talent at DT...really the SEC in general. Since 1995, 11 DTs have been taken in the first 2 rounds from SEC schools. Only 3 were failures, while the other 8 are all at least capable starters in the league...and 3 or 4 are/were legitimate Pro Bowl caliber talent at some point.

Harrell is a huge man who is only going to get better as he gets accustomed to the NFL and what he needs to do to succeed. The jump from college to the NFL is big for any position, but probably more so at DT than any other position other than QB. These guys could simply rely on their athleticism alone in college most of the time. In the NFL, they need to refine their techniques and learn to play fundamentally sound football, because the OL players in the NFL are so much stronger and smarter than what they see in college.

You got it, Leap.

The criticism of Harrell on this Forum seems to be by those posters who wanted somebody else drafted @ #1.

They either don't watch Harrell play or they don't know what they are looking at.

This is a good kid. He's strong, quick, with good feet and long arms. He will get way better after a year in an NFL weight room & the coaches teaching him all the tricks. Baring injury, he could be a big thing for us in the future.

[run pMc]

I didn't watch Harrell as much as I meant to, but I heard his name called a few times and it looked like he was active and getting some push. For a rookie with relatively few snaps under his belt, not bad.

As for drafting Harrell -- I think GB knew this season would be something of a growing season for him, coming off the injury. The kid has an NFL DT-size body with good athleticism, plus a history of being a hard worker who will play hurt. With the injuries to the DL (Cole, Jolly, KGB, Jenkins) and C.Williams' likely departure, I have no problem with TT drafting him. It's way too early to put him in the same category as Jamal Reynolds, and I wouldn't give up on him unless he shows zilch after 3 seasons.

I'm with those who think he'll make a big jump next year, once he's had a healthy offseason to get stronger and learn.

As for Crosby, seems like another good pick...he's among the leaders in scoring as a rookie K. I'm going to guess that over the last 10 years there haven't been many rookies that became a NFL team's K, much less become a scoring leader.
His kickoffs are better than Longwell's and his accuracy is better than the now-unemployed Rayner. Long-term, he's (IMO) an upgrade over either one. I've been disappointed and concerned about his misses lately, but they seem to be from 40+ yds out. He needs to figure out how to kick in Lambeau, but I don't see him lacking confidence or leg strength. I think he'll only get better, but I'd hate to see GB lose a close game in Jan because of a missed FG.
As for the 50+ yard miss vs. OAK, my first thought was M3 wanted to test him under those conditions. A 50 yarder in good conditions is no gimme, much less at Lambeau in Dec. I would have felt better had he made it, but I think he'll learn from it.

[PackerBlues]

The Bad: ]{ilr]3 stealin my damned avatar . Otherwise, at 11-2, its all Good!!! :P

[PackerBlues]

{ilr]3]Was Jenkins called for the PF on Mcown on that return for a TD that was called back. They didnt give too many views of it but it looked like a clean shot to me. He was on defense and got on a block. Or does this go back to the protect the pretty QB BS the league is doing to protect Tom Brady's pretty face or the up and coming cant handle temps under 50deg Jamarcus Russel?

If that hit had been against Favre, I would have been pissed if no flag had been thrown. Since it was against the opposing QB......screw him, lol.

Reminded me of the Sapp hit on Clifton though, in the sense that Mcown didnt see it coming.

[Harlan Huckleby]

{ilr]3]Was Jenkins called for the PF on Mcown on that return for a TD that was called back. They didnt give too many views of it but it looked like a clean shot to me. He was on defense and got on a block. Or does this go back to the protect the pretty QB BS the league is doing to protect Tom Brady's pretty face or the up and coming cant handle temps under 50deg Jamarcus Russel?

If that hit had been against Favre, I would have been pissed if no flag had been thrown. Since it was against the opposing QB......screw him, lol.

Reminded me of the Sapp hit on Clifton though, in the sense that Mcown didnt see it coming.

I thought about the Sapp hit, but that was more of a violent, blindside shot. IT was dirty and borderline legal.
Jenkins blocked McCown in the chest.

the important detail to note is that McCown was not a QB. He was one of 11 defenders attempting to tackle on an interception return.

If Jenkins had made that block on any other player, it would not have drawn any attention, it really wasn't particularly brutal, certainly not even close to being dirty.

I think if it is illegal to block QBs after an interception, it should be illegal for QBs to make tackles.

[The Leaper]

I think if it is illegal to block QBs after an interception, it should be illegal for QBs to make tackles.

I agree. I'm not sure where it states in the rule book of the NFL that a defensive player can't block an offensive player...regardless of position...on an INT return.

Sapp's hit on Clifton was excessive...he launched THROUGH Clifton.

Jenkins just shoved the guy in the chest. He did not launch through him. It is ridiculous that it drew a flag, especially when the guy was turning TOWARD the player returning the ball when he was blocked.