Colbert’s Folly -- Harrison Cut
As everyone has seen by now, yesterday GM Kevin Colbert cut James Harrison.
This is merely another in the last couple years of folly and foolishness by Colbert. Yes, there were reports that Harrison was asked to take a 30% pay cut. However, the way Colbert went about this was all foly. Here it is, 3 days before the mandatory cap get-down, and Colbert is demanding a pay cut from a high performing player and team leader. That’s bullshit. Harrison deserved better than this. What has Colbert been doing the past several weeks? What -- aside from lethargy -- prevented Colbert from reaching out to Harrison and his agent weeks ago ? Of course ,Colbert is the genius who, on the same day he cut Harrison, offered should-be-starting DL Steve McLendon the minimum RFA tender, meaning he’ll be as easy as pie for any other team to match with an offer.
The folly of cutting Harrison has many faces and fables, and they are all ugly --
- Fable: Harrison is old and cannot perform at a high level. It’s patent bullshit. Thanks to the training staff’s complete mis-diagnosis of Harrison’s knee injury last spring and summer, Harrison didn’t have surgery until late July. Then, thanks to his idiot GM that refused to use the brand-new PUP rule, Harrison was rushed back into the lineup in week 4, and never got a chance to completely rehab his knee. Without the rehab, he was at less than full strength, power, and leverage, and for an OLB at such a frame=length disadvantage, this was far too much to overcome. Once Harrison was at full strength around week 10 or 11, he played strongly.
Then there’s the fable that Harrison is “old”. He is not, at least not in football years. Harrison is a very young 35-year old player. Because he'd been cut (and cut and cut), he rarely played at all, and didn’t start, until 2007. Wear n' tear wise, he's only had SIX seasons in the NFL.....not the 13 or 14 seasons that a typical 35-year old would have. Then you add in the games missed to suspension and the bizarre broken eye socket, and he's not taken that much wear and tear. And unlike FatASS LaMarr Woodley, Harrison is constantly in outstanding shape.
- Fable: Harrison is too expensive at a $6M cap hit. Again, more imbecilic bullshit. Dick’s defense is predicated on attacking and pressuring the passer. We know Dick is a senile fossil, but nonetheless the sorry bastard is the Def Coordinator. Harrison is one of the very few defenders on this team not named Timmons who has the physical capability and know-how to attack, intimidate, maul, and hurt (not injure, but hurt) opposing players. Harrison is the lone front 7 defender who can beat an assigned offensive lineman and get to the QB. In today’s pass-happy NFL, that’s not worth $6M per year? Bullshit. Add in the fact that Harrison is the lone OLB on the roster capable of setting the edge and holding up at the POA (point of attack) on off-tackle running plays. We all know Woodley is a complete pussy against the run, and Jason Worilds is exceptionally average.
You want to cut salaries to get under the cap....? Fine. Start with FatAss Casey Hampton, a washed up NT who wasn’t worth the NFL minimum, yet Colbert kept him on the roster last season. Hampton best not be re-signed. Then cut FatAss Willie Hole-Lone, another fatass who has been injury-plagued and another total over-valuation by Colbert The Genius. Larry Foote...? Absolutely should be cut. Hell, at this point, the best thing this team could do is trade FatAss LaMarr for a 4th round draft pick.
- Fable: Harrison can be easily replaced. More bullshit. Woodley is a fatass who is so out of shape that he pulls a ham or a quad every 3 weeks. Worilds -- the main backup to FatAss LaMarr -- has followed a similar workout regimen and has packed on at least 18 pounds since he was drafted. Neither is worth a rat’s ass in pass coverage, a MUST for a 3-4 OLB. Chris Carter isn’t worth a cold jar of urine. A draft pick....? Yeah, sure. In Dick’s overly-complicated scheme, the 2013 draftee might -- just might -- be allowed to contribute in a bit role in 2015.
This is simply another in the long line of recent Colbert follies. Welcome to the 1997, Donte Jones/Jason Gildon variety of Softee Defense. Suck, we shall.
(Still Mill and Stillers.com -- when it comes to the analysis of the Pittsburgh Stillers, no one else comes close….)
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