Was Joey Harrington given a fair chance in Detroit?
From time to time I come across articles I don't have time to read, so I stash them away. Such is the case with this Mitch Albom column from the Free Press. The title of the column is "This nice guy insists he isn't finished as a Lion." I am pretty sure the nice guy is Joey Harrington. And in this case, he's cooked.
Joey Harrington has been in the NFL for four seasons now. He's what you'd call a veteran. The Detroit Lions, and more specifically Coach Steve Mariucci, have given Harrington more than enough time to develop into a good NFL quarterback. Here's what they've done for him:
- Drafted wide receivers in the first round
- Ensured a decent offensive line played in front of him
- Hired fantastic quarterback coach Greg Olson
- Provided playing time
With all this, Harrington is still known as "Joey game killer" by fans.
There's something that stands out in Mitch's column. Joey says:
I cannot let anyone take this thing from me -- no player, no coach, no reporter, no fan in the stands. They will never take my passion for this game. People say I'm too nice, do it this way, that way, they don't see half of what goes on. They don't see 95% of what goes on.
Joey, here's a tip. You gave it away by not winning more games, by making bone headed plays and by not being more aggressive with your teammates on the field.
