Should've kept Mangini then this would not be an issue... It is a shame that Mangini took all of Hariss' talent with him. BTW wasn't there a million people on here protesting not to include Harris in a deal for Cutler? This place is like the twilight zone.
actually, this is needed to balance or counteract the fact that we here label every lb we draft who doesn't have an excellent rookie season a complete and utter bust for life
Usually they are, and when we get a guy that puts up solid stats as a rookie he's labeled the next great thing. I like Harris, but he's going to have to be consistent and healthy before I will label him a stud.
The kid is far from dominant or excellent. He had a great 9 games followed by a very ordinary 11 games. We have no idea at this point which David Harris we will see for the rest of his career or maybe somewhere in between.
He was solid and played with intensity, but he wasn't on the field and that's the point. He was also slow in coverage.. not a liability but not 'very good' either. I wanted Cactus gone, Harris/Barton inside and Pace/Gladys outside, with Scott playing inside or outside if Gladys didn't pan out. With Barton gone I'd like to draft someone who can play outside and get rid of BT.
+1 I like Harris alot, but year 3 will be the tell-all story about how good of a player he is. Vilma: Dominant rookie year, average year 2, mediocre year 3, injury year 4... and he is nothing more than average at this point. The contract NO gave him is assinine, he is vastly overrated.
I agree with you 100%. He had a great rookie season that showed a lot of promise. I remember he had a game with like 20 tackles or some ridiculous number like that. Last year he didn't live up to a lot of people's expectations, maybe it had to do with his mysterious injury he got in training camp. He still looked solid against the run, but his pass coverage skills could definitely improve (as can the rest of our LBs). I think playing next to Bart Scott and an improved secondary will put him in a good position to make plays.
Harris his rookie year was outstanding. Last year he got hurt. He'll have another outstanding year under Rex Ryan and having Scott next to him
Was there an ounce of difference with or without Harris last year? Looks like a strong candidate for another 8 game wonder but I guess we’ll see.
I saw Harris as a liability in pass coverage last season. So many times on third and long the Jets had good coverage down the field, but a short underneath dump off would gain enough for a first down. The linebackers covering the middle of the field just were not closing fast enough after the reception to limit the YAC. Harris in particular looked slow in open field pursuit. I really hope that it had more to do with coaching than with actual ability. And maybe that all changes this year. I'd love to see Harris emerge into a great 3 down linebacker, but right now I'm a bit concerned.
Harris was injured in camp last year and was never the same. He basically played on one leg which would account for the dramatic fall off in his production from his outstanding rookie campaign. Even after he returned from surgery, I did not see any evidence of the excellent closing speed he showed in 2007. If he is completely healthy and back to full strength in 2009, I think he has an excellent chance of being the solid (and at times dominant) player he was in the nine games he started in 2007, particularly playing alongside of Scott.
David Harris' rookie year gets overrated because he averaged around 20 tackles a game in his first two games and this skewed his numbers. Many Jet fans believe Harris would have led the league in tackles that year if he had started the whole season, but this is not true. Teams got used to running to where Vilma was playing, when they put Harris in there he got a bunch of tackles in the first two games and then teams adjusted and his tackle numbers went down to normal. Nevertheless, Harris did have a great rookie year. He looked much faster than was his reputation coming out of college. Then in his second year he suddenly looks slow. No one really knows the reason. We'll find out more once the season starts and the fact-to-opinion ratio starts to become more useful.
We know the reason. He put on weight in the offseason as per Mangini's request. Mangini believed it'd be better for shedding blockers and run-defense.
