Joey Harrington

[mad benjamin]

What's the consensus ranking on Harrington seem to be? I drafted him in the later rounds as a guy realizing his potential this year. If everyone stays healthy, this could be the best offense he's been surrounded with since arriving in Detroit (on paper, at least). I figure him to be somewhere between Garcia and Bledsoe (maybe better than both this year).

[P. Griffin]

I like Joey Harrington this year. I don't know if he should be ranked as high as Garcia, but around Bledsoe sounds good. Although I think he has a good enough supporting cast this year to potentially post higher numbers then either of those guys.

[mikeprovri]

I think most people around here would say that even associating Harrington with Bledsoe is a little high. Personally, I imagine him being a #3 QB or undrafted in my league. Sure, he's got some weapons, but consider the fact that he's been in the league about as many years as his 2 WRs and his RB....combined. That's a young team, so maybe someday - just not now. I would take Carr, Gannon, or even Brunell over him.

[Favre.com]

The O-Line needs to get better before Harrington puts up some real numbers. In 2-3 years Harrington will be an amazing QB because both the run game and the recievers will mature (also I assume management will try to improve the OLine) however this year the team is just way too young to put up any real threat.

[IRON CHEF]

Detroit has a lot of young talent, and if they are able to gel I could see Harrington developing into a very sucessful QB. I personally have never been high on him, but if learns to lead his receivers correctly who knows how good he could be.

Bledsoe range is about where I would have him. I don't understand why it is so farfetched to have him there, even if you are looking at him conservatively.

[TheHeat24]

The O-Line needs to get better before Harrington puts up some real numbers. In 2-3 years Harrington will be an amazing QB because both the run game and the recievers will mature (also I assume management will try to improve the OLine) however this year the team is just way too young to put up any real threat.

If im not mistaken they allowed the least sacks in the league last year so that unit is very good... especially since they upgraded with damien woody in the offseason...

[goleafsgo96]

I dont expect much from him, but even if he does exceed expectations, he will NOT come close to Jeff Garcias #s this year. (keep in mind Garcia rushes alot)

[bobafett]

i live in detroit, and there's a lot of talk about harrington, about this being the "make or break" year for him, and that mooch and millen may start looking to replace him next year if there marked improvement.

that being said, i think that it's premature to make that conclusion. charles rogers is essentially a rookie. his other two offensive weapons are rookies. the defense is not good, and lost boss baily for the season; that's the next problem that needs to be fixed for the lions to really contend. the offense can't get in synch if they're always playing from behind. it's going to be at least next year before the lions are making an noise, and that's no fault of harrington's. in fact, he's in a pretty good position; a few years of experience over the other stars, helps with the leader thing.

he's also got this bad habit of throwing at his receivers' feet or over their head. if he doesn't get _that_ under control this year, i think he's gone, but if he shows better accuracy and decision-making skills, that'll be a big step.

back to fantasy world: he's not going to do much this year.

[wizbang]

1. Detroit has an excellent offensive line. The addition of Woody leaves only the LG spot as questionable. Detroit signed Loverne from San Fran and hired Pat Morris from the 9ers as well to coach their line. Loverne is a career backup so that is a definite concern. However, Backus is a solid LT and McDougle at RT is expected to become a fringe probowler this year to go with probowler Woody next to him. Woody was signed to beef up the run game moreso that improve the pass protection.

2. The running game was Detroit's biggest problem the last two years. Teams were able to sit back in cover two because they did not need to respect the run at all. This hurt Harrington a LOT. The Lions are hoping that the additions of KJ and Woody along with the return of Pinner will change this around. I think it is very likely that they are right.

3. The Lions have been horrible at WR. Now, with the talent assembled Harrington should have lots of open receivers downfield. Don't forget Stephen Alexander. He's healthy by all reports and has been a probowler in the past. Mooch loves this guy so I expect him to become a consistent target. Meanwhile the Lions have Streets and Hakim duking it out for the #3 WR with the two potential studs (Roy Williams and Rogers) flanking them.

Basically, the table is set and Charles Rogers should NOT be considered a rookie. He has had an excellent preseason, has all the ability in the world and has reportedly done an excellent job learning the offense last season (he is very coachable supposedly). Making things better for Harrington (fantasy wise) is that the Lions Defense is not good. Expect Detroit to fall behind a lot and thus throw a lot.

With all that said Harrington sounds like a lock. He's in the same postion that Hasselbeck was last season. He also has looked just as bad as Hbeck had leading up to last preseason. While Harrington's preseason play has been very promising I'm still not sold on the guy. I want to see him stand in there and take a hit. He still looks to check down too much. If he pulls a Kelly Holcomb rather than a Hasselbeck the Lions will be looking for a replacement next offseason or at minimum someone to compete with him. High rise/high reward = Round 7-9 in my book (in a 12 team league).

[Cornbread Maxwell]

solid post wizbang. I pretty much agree with the whole thing.

One thing however - the Lions D:

Over the last two years DET actually had success stopping the run, but teams had all day to pick apart our questionable secondary since we had literally no pass rush. Over the last two offseasons, the most visable signings were on offense (Rogers, KJones, RWilliams), but the Lions didnt exactly ignore defense. The secondary has been completely overhauled by bringing in some very solid free agents: Bly, Marion, and Rodney.
With the injuries to the linebackers, this has become one of the biggest weaknesses of this group.
The Dline should be better, but a healthy Kalimba Edwards should provide more of a pass rush threat than they have had the last couple years.

With all the changes this group has seen, I can see opposing offenses flipping the script and running a lot more on Detroit than they have the last couple years.

Of course, one can never guage injuries, but the Lions D actually has some skill on it and are only missing a few components that would take them into the next tier of defenses. Our secondary is quite good on paper, we have youth and speed at LB, and a formidable DLine - I would have liked to have seen what that squad could do if fully healthy this yr. Next yr should be very interesting.