Is New York Jets' Linebacker David Harris Overrated?

[F.Chowds]

COMMENTARY | David Harris is a beloved veteran linebacker for the New York Jets who has been one of the most important players on their defense for years. For the first time last season, Harris's performance dipped noticeably, and one could easily argue that this was a big part of the Jets' failure to reach the playoffs.

 

A major question heading into the 2013 season is whether the 2012 performance by Harris was an aberration or whether we should expect to see more downturns in the future.

 

What happened in 2012?

 

Heading into 2012, Harris seemed like a sure thing to be a top-flight linebacker yet again. After five fantastic seasons with the Jets, including an All-Pro year in 2009, the still-young Harris was as reliable as anyone else in the NFL.

 

As the season dragged on, it became clear that Harris was not having the impact he once had. He was not frequently getting sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions or any of the major impact plays that used to make him special. Harrison always has been one of the best run-stoppers in the league, yet even there his play was far from perfect in 2012.

 

Plenty of excuses could be made. The play of the team around him was not as good as it had been in 2009, 2010 or even 2011. He had to account for the mistakes of players around him on the front seven. Perhaps most importantly, star nose tackle Sione Pouha was out for most of the year. Without Pouha, there was no one on the defensive line absorbing double-teams and creating holes for Harris to burst through.

 

An alternate opinion could be that Harris simply played worse in 2012 and that at this point he is somewhat overrated.

 

Most Overrated

 

In a recent round table discussion at TurnOnTheJets.com, Harris got the majority vote as most overrated player on the Jets. This might seem like blasphemy considering how much Harris is done for the Jets over the years. But given a little more thought, it actually makes sense.

 

Consider first what the term overrated actually means. Overrated does not mean bad, it means highly rated but disappointing. There is a funny phenomenon in sports narratives where often players are called overrated so much that they quickly become underrated. Some obvious examples here are quarterback Mark Sanchez, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and outside linebacker Calvin Pace.

 

While each of those three players might have been viewed as slightly overrated in the past, they are so universally criticized at this point that they are completely out of any discussion about overrated players. Simply put, if nobody rates a player highly then he is not overrated.

 

On the other hand, Harris remains a favorite among Jets fans and does not receive as much of the criticism that several of his teammates currently receive.

 

Is It Fair?

 

It may seem unfair to place this title on a guy like David Harris, someone was has done so many good things for the Jets franchise in the past and who has always been a respected leader in the locker room.

 

Nevertheless, objectively Harris does deserve this title. In 2012, he was viewed as one of the best players on the Jets, and he did not play to that level. Hope still rides high that Harris can get back to form and again play as a top-tier linebacker. If he could accomplish this, that would be a fantastic thing for the Jets defense. Harris was a major part of why the Jets had arguably the best defense in the NFL in 2009 in 2010.

 

However, if Harris plays in 2013 like he did in 2012, that could be crippling for the Jets. Even in the modern pass-heavy NFL, a defense-first team needs a strong middle linebacker.

 

 

Adam Waksman is a Yahoo! contributor in sports. He also covers the New York Jets for Bleacher Report, where he is a Featured Columnist and award-winning blogge

[SayNoToDMC]

Yes, he's a one dimensional run stuffer who counts 13 million against the cap.

[sirlancemehlot]

No.  He's overpaid.  Not overrated.  And I keep hearing about how his performance dipped last year.  Like, if someone says it, and someone else repeats it, it becomes true.  But reality is he led the team with 123 tackles last year.  23 more than Laron Landry who was second on the team.  3 passes defensed, 3 TFL, a FF and recovery, he had a very solid season.  There was no "noticeable dip" in his performance.  He had several double digit tackle games last year.  Harris has quietly been the most durable, dependable and productive Jet on the team over the last few years.  So yeah, lets pick on him.  Because its so hard to find anything else wrong with this team.

[Sperm Edwards]

No.  He's overpaid.  Not overrated.  And I keep hearing about how his performance dipped last year.  Like, if someone says it, and someone else repeats it, it becomes true.  But reality is he led the team with 123 tackles last year.  23 more than Laron Landry who was second on the team.  3 passes defensed, 3 TFL, a FF and recovery, he had a very solid season.  There was no "noticeable dip" in his performance.  He had several double digit tackle games last year.  Harris has quietly been the most durable, dependable and productive Jet on the team over the last few years.  So yeah, lets pick on him.  Because its so hard to find anything else wrong with this team.

 

of all the things wrong with this defense, the one thing they're trying to address is team speed.  And David Harris is slow.  He wasn't even such a sure tackler recently no matter what his stats say.  This past year I saw him get juked and outrun like he didn't when he first came into the league.  He was an outright liability against the pass, last year in particular.  

 

Whatever his stats, there definitely was a noticeable dip in his performance.  Tackles, as a stat by itself, do not mean good play.  Tackle a man after he's crossed the first down marker and you get the same credit as tackling him before he reaches it.  Meanwhile it's all the difference in the world in the game.  (Vilma was a champ at racking up tackles after the first down marker.)

 

Harris is more than just overpaid, ridiculously overpaid as he is.  He also needs to play better and not just be a fat Jabba waiting for someone small to run into him.

[#27TheDominator]

No.  He's overpaid.  Not overrated.  And I keep hearing about how his performance dipped last year.  Like, if someone says it, and someone else repeats it, it becomes true.  But reality is he led the team with 123 tackles last year.  23 more than Laron Landry who was second on the team.  3 passes defensed, 3 TFL, a FF and recovery, he had a very solid season.  There was no "noticeable dip" in his performance.  He had several double digit tackle games last year.  Harris has quietly been the most durable, dependable and productive Jet on the team over the last few years.  So yeah, lets pick on him.  Because its so hard to find anything else wrong with this team.

 

 

I agree with some of this, but tackles are not a valid indicator of performance as a LB.  If they were then that old Horned Forg Kyle Clifton would be one of the greatest ever.  The simple fact is that Harris did not seem as effective last year.  Part of that may have been Scott dropping off and being injured and part the general drop off of the D, but Harris certainly didn't seem to make many impact plays. Tackle stats are notoriously inaccurate.  For what he's paid he deserves any scorn we send him just for not being Dick Butkus. 

[pointman]

Easiest question on the forum next to "does Sanchez suck?" And the answer is clearly, YES.

[SayNoToDMC]

No.  He's overpaid.  Not overrated.  And I keep hearing about how his performance dipped last year.  Like, if someone says it, and someone else repeats it, it becomes true.  But reality is he led the team with 123 tackles last year.  23 more than Laron Landry who was second on the team.  3 passes defensed, 3 TFL, a FF and recovery, he had a very solid season.  There was no "noticeable dip" in his performance.  He had several double digit tackle games last year.  Harris has quietly been the most durable, dependable and productive Jet on the team over the last few years.  So yeah, lets pick on him.  Because its so hard to find anything else wrong with this team.

 

Do you remember Vilma's numbers? GTFO

 

Harris might have the worst coverage skills on the team. How they could play him and slow ass Bart Scott together and not give Demario Davis more time last year I'll never understand

[Kid Lester]

No, he's faster than Verizon Fios!

[bitonti]

he had an off year. It happens when guys get that second contract. It's possible he will bounce back. 

[jetsjetsjetss]

of all the things wrong with this defense, the one thing they're trying to address is team speed.  And David Harris is slow.  He wasn't even such a sure tackler recently no matter what his stats say.  This past year I saw him get juked and outrun like he didn't when he first came into the league.  He was an outright liability against the pass, last year in particular.  

 

Whatever his stats, there definitely was a noticeable dip in his performance.  Tackles, as a stat by itself, do not mean good play.  Tackle a man after he's crossed the first down marker and you get the same credit as tackling him before he reaches it.  Meanwhile it's all the difference in the world in the game.  (Vilma was a champ at racking up tackles after the first down marker.)

 

Harris is more than just overpaid, ridiculously overpaid as he is.  He also needs to play better and not just be a fat Jabba waiting for someone small to run into him.

 

what lb isnt

[Bleedin Green]

I guess it depends on the what you're comparing him to.  For the most part Harris has been perhaps one of, if not the most, oft-criticized Jets defenders around here over the past year.  He's undoubtedly ridiculously overpaid and I would agree his play, and speed, seemed to be in a bit of a decline.  That said, I don't know if I'd really go with overrated for the simple fact that I don't really know many Jets fans who think of him to be much more than solid at this point.

[sirlancemehlot]

I guess it depends on the what you're comparing him to.  For the most part Harris has been perhaps one of, if not the most, oft-criticized Jets defenders around here over the past year.  He's undoubtedly ridiculously overpaid and I would agree his play, and speed, seemed to be in a bit of a decline.  That said, I don't know if I'd really go with overrated for the simple fact that I don't really know many Jets fans who think of him to be much more than solid at this point.

That's exactly it. I don't see anyone saying he's tops in the league or a hall of famer. He's a solid backer who does his job well, but not spectacularly. He's way overpaid. And I think that's the issue most have with him. To be overrated you need to be seen as a better player than you actually are. Sanchez is way overpaid, but he's thought of as a mediocre-to-bad player. So he's not overrated. Harris is a good player, thought of as a good player. So I don't see the problem. You want more out of Harris? Put a big, space eating nose in front of him, and you'll see him and Davis improve. Team sport. Improve the team, you improve the individual performances.

[Sperm Edwards]

what lb isnt

Scott wasn't when he first got here.  Same with Thomas before he got too old.

[jetsjetsjetss]

Scott wasn't when he first got here.  Same with Thomas before he got too old.

 

idk. if were comparing those guys to who can keep up with gronk i dont think itd happen.

 

i dont know a lb in the league that is great at covering the new fast TE's

[Sperm Edwards]

idk. if were comparing those guys to who can keep up with gronk i dont think itd happen.

 

i dont know a lb in the league that is great at covering the new fast TE's

 

Who said anything about keeping up with Gronkowski?

 

I said he is slow and a liability on passing downs.  This means he can neither drop into coverage nor help put pressure on the QB.  He isn't merely unable to keep up with the 2-3 elite TE's in the league; he can't keep up with anyone.  Alge freaking Crumpler - 300 lbs and well into his 30s - ran him down in a dead heat when he had a running head start.

[jetsjetsjetss]

Who said anything about keeping up with Gronkowski?

 

I said he is slow and a liability on passing downs.  This means he can neither drop into coverage nor help put pressure on the QB.  He isn't merely unable to keep up with the 2-3 elite TE's in the league; he can't keep up with anyone.  Alge freaking Crumpler - 300 lbs and well into his 30s - ran him down in a dead heat when he had a running head start.

 

ok gronk is bad choice of words. He couldnt keep up with the type tho hernandez keller fasano heck TEs are running rampant in the league now adays. I dont think you judge a lb on his ability in the pass. And speed isnt necessarily his problem in putting pressure on the qb thats not his role

[LAD_Brooklyn]

You lads lighting up on this stances that he's overpaid and lets talk about his play which has went down hill last season. Most of that had to do with the defense changing with Pouha getting hurt along with Revis as that caused us to play too high safeties. Now to place Harris accountable, he didn't do much to rise above the occasion in picking for the drop off in talent of when they went down. But this season he going to get paid $11 mil with an 13 mil cap hit, then next season he's going to make $5 mil making us spend some money other places.

[Sperm Edwards]

ok gronk is bad choice of words. He couldnt keep up with the type tho hernandez keller fasano heck TEs are running rampant in the league now adays. I dont think you judge a lb on his ability in the pass. And speed isnt necessarily his problem in putting pressure on the qb thats not his role

 

If that was the case, and all LBers are liabilities against the pass, then why did take Bart Scott off the field on 3rd downs?

 

There's an in-between, and not being able to go stride for stride with Vernon Davis doesn't mean you're a liability who should be off the field on passing downs.  

[Lizard King]

The guy's point about the line's shortcomings nailed it. Playing DL you learn early on that we did the hard work and the linebackers got the credit.

[bassmaster2]

If that was the case, and all LBers are liabilities against the pass, then why did take Bart Scott off the field on 3rd downs?

 

There's an in-between, and not being able to go stride for stride with Vernon Davis doesn't mean you're a liability who should be off the field on passing downs.  

I kind of agree with you , Harris is getting older and starting to slow down like most old LB's, the Jets has not adress the LB in the draft , only taking DL with the early picks 

[TnT]

Alge freaking Crumpler - 300 lbs and well into his 30s - ran him down in a dead heat when he had a running head start.

THIS!

There are certain players who I will forever identify by a one play in their career (as wrong and stupid as I am for it)...and that one is one of them.

[JoeKlecko]

of all the things wrong with this defense, the one thing they're trying to address is team speed.  And David Harris is slow.  He wasn't even such a sure tackler recently no matter what his stats say.  This past year I saw him get juked and outrun like he didn't when he first came into the league.  He was an outright liability against the pass, last year in particular.  

 

Whatever his stats, there definitely was a noticeable dip in his performance.  Tackles, as a stat by itself, do not mean good play.  Tackle a man after he's crossed the first down marker and you get the same credit as tackling him before he reaches it.  Meanwhile it's all the difference in the world in the game.  (Vilma was a champ at racking up tackles after the first down marker.)

 

Harris is more than just overpaid, ridiculously overpaid as he is.  He also needs to play better and not just be a fat Jabba waiting for someone small to run into him.

 

This^^^^^^  

[JoeKlecko]

he had an off year. It happens when guys get that second contract. It's possible he will bounce back. 

 

He might miss fewer tackles, but it's extremely doubtful he'll get any faster.  That's they key to his problem.  He's a solid player, gives it his all, and a good citizen, but is just too slow to play MLB or ILB in the modern NFL.

[joewillie2013]

Over and over last year he got stuck on a blocker as he watched the RB fly by him for 20-30-40 yards? we are stuck with him this year-hopefully he can make a reasonable rebound.

[shhwagah]

Of all the overpaid LBs on the roster last year, David Harris is the most likely to bounce back and have a good season. He lost a little weight so maybe he did a little speed training. 

 

As for overrated? I'm not sure anyone who is not a Jet fan knows who David Harris is, so probably not overrated. Probably overpaid at this point, but his leadership is definitely needed for all the rookies on the defense right now.

 

WTF was up with Tanny and his contract sweepstakes mentality? I guess order has been restored now that he's a player agent lol.

[jack48]

COMMENTARY | David Harris is a beloved veteran linebacker for the New York Jets who has been one of the most important players on their defense for years. For the first time last season, Harris's performance dipped noticeably, and one could easily argue that this was a big part of the Jets' failure to reach the playoffs.

 

A major question heading into the 2013 season is whether the 2012 performance by Harris was an aberration or whether we should expect to see more downturns in the future.

 

What happened in 2012?

 

Heading into 2012, Harris seemed like a sure thing to be a top-flight linebacker yet again. After five fantastic seasons with the Jets, including an All-Pro year in 2009, the still-young Harris was as reliable as anyone else in the NFL.

 

As the season dragged on, it became clear that Harris was not having the impact he once had. He was not frequently getting sacks, forced fumbles, interceptions or any of the major impact plays that used to make him special. Harrison always has been one of the best run-stoppers in the league, yet even there his play was far from perfect in 2012.

 

Plenty of excuses could be made. The play of the team around him was not as good as it had been in 2009, 2010 or even 2011. He had to account for the mistakes of players around him on the front seven. Perhaps most importantly, star nose tackle Sione Pouha was out for most of the year. Without Pouha, there was no one on the defensive line absorbing double-teams and creating holes for Harris to burst through.

 

An alternate opinion could be that Harris simply played worse in 2012 and that at this point he is somewhat overrated.

 

Most Overrated

 

In a recent round table discussion at TurnOnTheJets.com, Harris got the majority vote as most overrated player on the Jets. This might seem like blasphemy considering how much Harris is done for the Jets over the years. But given a little more thought, it actually makes sense.

 

Consider first what the term overrated actually means. Overrated does not mean bad, it means highly rated but disappointing. There is a funny phenomenon in sports narratives where often players are called overrated so much that they quickly become underrated. Some obvious examples here are quarterback Mark Sanchez, wide receiver Santonio Holmes and outside linebacker Calvin Pace.

 

While each of those three players might have been viewed as slightly overrated in the past, they are so universally criticized at this point that they are completely out of any discussion about overrated players. Simply put, if nobody rates a player highly then he is not overrated.

 

On the other hand, Harris remains a favorite among Jets fans and does not receive as much of the criticism that several of his teammates currently receive.

 

Is It Fair?

 

It may seem unfair to place this title on a guy like David Harris, someone was has done so many good things for the Jets franchise in the past and who has always been a respected leader in the locker room.

 

Nevertheless, objectively Harris does deserve this title. In 2012, he was viewed as one of the best players on the Jets, and he did not play to that level. Hope still rides high that Harris can get back to form and again play as a top-tier linebacker. If he could accomplish this, that would be a fantastic thing for the Jets defense. Harris was a major part of why the Jets had arguably the best defense in the NFL in 2009 in 2010.

 

However, if Harris plays in 2013 like he did in 2012, that could be crippling for the Jets. Even in the modern pass-heavy NFL, a defense-first team needs a strong middle linebacker.

 

 

Adam Waksman is a Yahoo! contributor in sports. He also covers the New York Jets for Bleacher Report, where he is a Featured Columnist and award-winning blogge

 

 

I think the answer is he used to be a bit overrated but not now.  Also, Scott did a lot of dirty work for Harris.  Til he lost a couple of steps.  I think he had lost a step when he got herre but he was willing to take on the guards and create space for Harris.  Last year no go.

[bitonti]

[CTM]

Of course he is, by us. A complete liability in pass defense

[Larz]

probably played with a bad wheel.  he's slo to begin with. 

 

is it illegal to rite about wilk or cro ?  d'brick ?  mangold ?

 

what a hate fest with this ******* team

[SenorGato]

he had an off year. It happens when guys get that second contract. It's possible he will bounce back.

Pretty much this. Good for the press finally catching up to him not being as exciting as he was once perceived. He's probably got a good season or two in him, and hopefully the 2013 Jets get one of them.