David Harris is a Tackling Machine - and invisible star for the Jets

NDmick · Oct 30, 2010

The Jets Stream
David Harris is a tackling machine - and invisible star - for the Jets »

By Manish Mehta

On a team filled with bravado, Jets inside linebacker David Harris is the invisible star. He doesn’t believe in self-promotion.

I sat down with Harris earlier this week and talked about his reputation as being the quietest and plainest Jet. Truth be told, there’s a lot more to the man than most people think.

I can also thank his wife, Jiali (pronounced JOLLY) for shedding more light on her husband. By the way, Jiali has a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Engineering and is currently a researcher in the neonatal intensive care unit at a local hospital. Impressive stuff.

Here’s the Director’s Cut in my reporting, a few outtakes that were left on the cutting room floor for the story in Sunday’s editions of the Daily News (and appears below).

DAVID HARRIS:
LONGTERM GOAL: “I wouldn’t mind a nice long football career and to be happy at the end of the day. Happiness is the most important thing to me. I don’t see anything wrong with that.”

ON HIS CORE GROUP OF FRIENDS THAT HE’S KNOWN SINCE HE WAS 5 YEARS OLD IN GRAND RAPIDS, MI: “People ask me all the time, ‘Are you still friends with them?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah. We all grew up within a two-block radius of each other. Every day after school, we’d be outside playing tag or playing football. Just doing something athletic. Nowadays, you rarely see kids outside playing.”

IMPORTANCE OF LOYALTY IN HIS LIFE: “It’s a big part of who I am. Just because I’m in the NFL doesn’t mean I shouldn’t ever go back home and hang out with the people that were around me before I made it here. Bart (Scott) always says, ‘Why do you always go back to Grand Rapids?’ I was like, ‘Because I have friends there… What? You got chased out of your neighborhood in Detroit?’ I’m cool with all of my friends that I’ve known since I was little. We stay close all these years and there’s no reason to change now.”

ON NOT GETTING A CONTRACT EXTENSION IN OFFSEASON: “In the offseason, I thought about it. When we got to the season, it’s just something that goes to the back of your mind. When Sunday comes, you don’t think about your contract. You think about executing to the best of your ability. But don’t get me wrong, the contract would be nice.”

HOW DO YOU FIT IN WITH TEAM THAT LOVES TO TALK: “I just be myself. When you’re yourself, you make more friends that way… than trying to come across as somebody that you’re not. I try to be real and genuine.”

JIALI HARRIS:
ON HER HUSBAND KEEPING ALL HIS FRIENDS FROM CHILDHOOD: “I don’t think it’s strange at all. He’s kept the same friends because he’s been the same person. They all grew up in the same neighborhood. Also, it’s hard making new friends because it’s hard to trust who really wants to be your friend and who just wants to be your friend because of who you are. It’s easy for him to go back to what he knows and what he’s comfortable with.”

ON THEIR FIRST DATE AS SOPHOMORES AT MICHIGAN (AT A BLOCK PARTY): “He tried telling me that if anyone asks, tell them that we met at the library. I told him no one would believe that since he doesn’t know where library is.”

ON DAVID’S CONTRACT: “We know that this contract is going to come sooner or later. Just be patient. We know it can’t happen due to the impending CBA situation… So what’s the point of stressing about it if it’s out of your control? We made peace with it. There’s no point huffing and puffing about it when it’s not going to happen.”

BART SCOTT:
ON HARRIS’ WILD SIDE: “I let him drive my Ferrari…He put the pedal to the metal and burned the brakes off.”

DARRELLE REVIS:
On HARRIS’ QUIET DEMEANOR: “I do know one thing: His attitude does change on the field versus when he’s not on the field. He’s way more aggressive and determined to make plays.”

DOES HARRIS TRASH TALK? “No… Dave’s a real respectful guy and he likes to compete. He does his job. We appreciate him. He is a simple guy. He’s not flashy. He’s not that type of dude.”

ON HARRIS’ SENSE OF HUMOR: “He’s a little bit funny. He might slide in a joke or two here and there. … That’s the Dave you like. The Dave who jokes around. Never uptight. He enjoys life.”

NICK MANGOLD:
ON WHY HARRIS ALWAYS DRIVES - NOT FLIES - BACK TO MICHIGAN IN THE OFFSEASON: “Just for the calmness for his own heart, he drives back to Michigan whenever he goes back. Usually, whenever he goes back, he drives. It’s like back in the ‘50s… piling the family in the old station wagon and going on a trip. It’s just the simple nature that he goes by.”

ON HARRIS’ CONTRACT SITUATION: “I’m sure he did think about it a little bit. I think he made his peace a little bit earlier knowing full well that nothing could/would be done. Once you make that peace, you move on.”

BRANDON MOORE:
ON HARRIS’ STEADINESS: “He’s the same guy every day. He works hard. He’s in here taking care of his body. He eats right. All the little things that you notice. He’s the same consistent every day. That’s the biggest thing about him. He’s quiet to me. We talk, but he’s a laid back guy.”

***

HERE'S THE ARTICLE:

BY MANISH MEHTA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
The search for the real David Harris begins in a karaoke bar 700 miles away, where the quietest Jet recently channeled his inner Jodeci.

If there's any doubt in your mind… You can count on me… I'll never let you down…

He had no rhythm. He sounded terrible. But he had a blast.

Two weeks ago, Harris went back home to Grand Rapids, Mich., to visit family and friends he’s known since he was 5 years old. While his teammates vacationed in exotic locales during the Jets’ bye week, the inside linebacker enjoyed simple moments with the people that mattered the most.

“He plays video games and eats deer sausage that his uncle makes,” teammate Bart Scott says. “That’s it. Ain’t no bowling. Ain’t no shopping. He don’t do nothing…. Yeah, he’s a dork.”

On a team loaded with bravado, swagger and bluster, Harris is the invisible star, a tackling machine that blends into the background.

“He doesn’t want big things,” says Darrelle Revis, who was part of the same draft class in 2007. “He doesn’t need big things. He’s a typical citizen in America.”

Harris drives a Chevy Tahoe. “Dependable car,” he says.

He lives in a modest four-bedroom house in New Jersey with his wife.

“Got friendly neighbors,” he says. “It’s quiet and peaceful.”

“He is boring,” Jiali Harris says about her husband, laughing. “We are boring. We’re very simple people. Little things in life make us happy. We don’t need all those bells and whistles.”

Harris insists his public persona is misleading, claiming that he’s not as quiet as people believe. The youngest of Tim and Shirley Harris’ four children swears he’s done some nutty stuff in his 26 years. The most outrageous? He took a ride on a zip line in Costa Rica last summer. “Actually, I did it twice,” he confesses.

Nothing crazier?

“I’ve never been streaking,” he says.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/je...ed:+nydnrss/blogs/jets+(Blogs/The+Jet+Stream)

awesome man.

NDmick · Oct 30, 2010

***
The search for the real David Harris means understanding that simplicity isn’t synonymous with stupidity.

Harris knows exactly why he was the only member of the Jets’ “Core Four” nucleus not to get a new contract this year. He harbors no ill feelings toward teammates D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis for getting their big paydays.

The unsettled NFL labor landscape created inherent hurdles that made it virtually impossible to get an extension for the former second-round pick. Harris’ agent gave him the facts: The Jets would have had to dole out 90-95% percent of a long-term deal right now for it to work.

“No GM is going to do that nowadays,” says Harris, who’s in the final year of his four-year rookie contract. “So I understood where they were coming from. There’s no point for me to think about it. It’s not going to do anything but make me stressed. As time passed, there was nothing I could do. It was out of my hands. So, go ahead, play football and do I what I love.”

“Don’t get me wrong: Every NFL player wants to get that big deal,” he added. “But everybody gets it at different times in different ways. It’s not my time yet.”

He came to peace with it and didn’t miss a day of work.

“He deserves a new contract as much as anyone in this lockerroom,” safety Jim Leonhard says. “But he never said a word. He came in and did his job. That’s Dave. He’s not going to make a scene.”

General manager Mike Tannenbaum put Harris at the top of the list for an extension after a new collective bargaining agreement is reached.

“I’ve never been a guy that was happy because of money,” Harris says. “At the end of the day, you could have a billion dollars and still not be happy.”

***

The search for the real David Harris takes you inside the film room, where the linebacker is putting on a clinic. Never flashy, Harris earned second-team All-Pro honors last season after recording a team-high 142 tackles, 5 1/2 sacks and two interceptions for the top-ranked defense in the league. He leads the Jets with 49 tackles through six games this season.

“He’s the Plain Jane of linebackers,” defensive coordinator Mike Pettine says. “He made a play at Denver (two weeks ago) and pumped his fist. We were just like, ‘Wow, Dave! You really got fired up on that one!”

Harris’ steady temperament is a perfect complement to Scott’s emotionally charged on-field presence.

“He does a great job of controlling his emotions,” Pettine says. “You need guys like that. His demeanor has a calming influence on the rest of the huddle.”

Harris’ ability to blitz, stop the run, drop into zone coverages or cover running backs out of the backfield makes him invaluable. Despite his versatility, he often gets overlooked by his peers. Bengals running back Cedric Benson quipped before last year’s AFC wildcard game that he had never even heard of Harris. “I don’t even really know who that is,” Benson said before the Jets beat the Bengals.

“Just look at the name,” Pettine says. “David Harris. Even that is simple.”
***

The search for the real David Harris ends in a familiar neighborhood.

Before the bye week was over, Harris sat around a bonfire in Grand Rapids with friends that he’s had for 20 years. They all grew up within a two-block radius, lifelong buddies, who played everything from tag to tackle football together as kids.

Harris enjoyed the break from his job, flashing a sense of humor that only his closest friends get a chance to see. “He’s very goofy,” Jiali says.

No matter what he accomplishes in his career, no matter how big he becomes, Harris always comes back to visit the people that helped shape him.

He’s proud to call Derrin Davis, a factory worker in Detriot, his closest friend in life.

“He moved across the street from me in 1989,” the linebacker says with a smile.

Simplicity doesn’t define the real David Harris.

Loyalty does.
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He's a rare breed of athlete. Never ask "why aren't all athlete's like this?"

624 · Oct 30, 2010

I love David Harris

but...

We need to trade this 2 down linebacker + a 1st for Brandon Marshall

and fuck Cedric Benson

Miamipuck · Oct 30, 2010

NDmick said: ↑

He's a rare breed of athlete. Never ask "why aren't all athlete's like this?"
Click to expand...

You would have to watch Hockey to find more athletes like this.

David Haris is the man. Funny he still doesn't have a sack this year.

624 · Oct 30, 2010

Miamipuck said: ↑

You would have to watch Hockey to find more athletes like this.
Click to expand...

No thanks, that would involve watching Hockey.

Miamipuck · Oct 30, 2010

624 said: ↑

No thanks, that would involve watching Hockey.
Click to expand...

Could be worse, you could watch a sport that sucks horse cock......... say Basketball.

dgonx · Oct 30, 2010

Or professional horse cock sucking on ESPN13.

Vorrecht · Oct 30, 2010

Got his jersey coming in the mail!

Rascio · Oct 30, 2010

Just ordered his jersey myself! This guy is a beast and definitely overlooked by many.

wa2k99 · Oct 31, 2010

A great draft pick who hopefully will get his respect from the football world.

IrishSteveZ · Oct 31, 2010

ABinx56 said: ↑

Got his jersey coming in the mail!
Click to expand...

So do I! and its got the new meadowlands patch on it!

JetRizing89 · Oct 31, 2010

love harris

hope he is here for a long time

srqman1 · Oct 31, 2010

Both him and Bart Scott are awesome... I really wish they both stick around for a while. Easily the best LB core we've had since the Marvin-Mo days.

xxedge72x · Oct 31, 2010

Great article about a great player.

This team is loaded with personalities. Not only is this one of the best teams we've ever seen, its one of the most unique as far as the personalities are concerned.

JetsKickAss · Jan 24, 2011

He's an average LB at best...he doesn't make enough plays. He is too slow (he got caught from behind in the NE game) and he gave a 1/2-assed effort on the final 3rd-and-6 yesterday.

I would not sign him to big money.

Jetfan76 · Jan 24, 2011

ABinx56 said: ↑

Got his jersey coming in the mail!
Click to expand...

Better hope they resign him.

ace_o_spades · Jan 24, 2011

Dude he didn't give a half assed effort on that 3rd and 6 play. He's just bad in coverage. And Antonio Brown is a burner with serious speed.

LukasHenry · Jan 24, 2011

"Interesting that the media star of last week, Bart Scott, led the Jets in missed tackles." Skip Bayless

RLUCAS4137 · Jan 24, 2011

LukasHenry said: ↑

"Interesting that the media star of last week, Bart Scott, led the Jets in missed tackles." Skip Bayless
Click to expand...

Fuck that clown. Skip Bayless is a joke and I'm pretty sure most sports journalists and TV anchors feel the same way about him. His opinion holds no value whatsoever.

When he talks, it likes listening to a yappy old man with dementia who you don't know. You kind of feel bad for him, but in the same sense want him to just shut the fuck up.

Royal Tee · Jan 24, 2011

Look, 2 LB'ers made bad plays on the last play.
Pace & Harris.

Harris missed his bump and fell off balance enough to be in a trail position in coverage.
Pace was indecisive and got caught.

That isn't why we lost but it is what clinched the game.
Fact is we also had the wrong package out there because we were sold on them running.

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