kelly Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Earlier this week, NFL Media's Elliot Harrison put out his 2015 NFL all-underrated team. It's an interesting idea, to recognize some guys who don't get a lot of recognition.Of course, "underrated" is a pretty subjective thing. Harrison notes that just two players on his 2015 team have ever made a Pro Bowl, but almost all the players included have played well in recent years. Fair enough. That's a reasonable definition of underrated, though Pro Bowl balloting is far from the defining factor for whether a player is any good or not. One Jets player made Harrison's team: nose tackle Damon Harrison. Here's what Elliot Harrison wrote about the man known as Snacks : Hard to believe that one of the NFL's premier run stuffers is now the fourth-best known player on the Jets' defensive line, behind Sheldon Richardson, Muhammad Wilkerson and Leonard Williams. Sacks might make headlines, but you can't get those if your opponents are facing too many third-and-shorts. Players like Harrison clog the middle, leading to early-down stuffs that turn into third-and-throws. All of this is reasonable analysis.It's worth noting, too, that the very nature of Harrison's position is under-appreciated. In Pro Bowl balloting, there is no separate category for 3-4 nose tackles, even though their jobs are somewhat different than the duties performed by other defensive tackles, in a 3-4 or a 4-3 scheme.We mentioned this last year, when pointing out that while Harrison was a Pro Bowl-caliber player at his position, he basically had no shot of being voted into the game. Because nose tackles don't accumulate a lot of stats, it is difficult for them to get recognized for traditional honors like the Pro Bowl. This latest all-underrated team isn't the first time Harrison has been mentioned as underrated. Last summer, Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com labeled Harrison the Jets' most underrated player. Between Harrison's thankless position — and the fact that he is a fourth-year undrafted player from an NAIA school — it's easy to see why he gets pegged as underrated.But is this a fair assessment of Harrison? At what point does he stop being underrated and simply start being rated, for lack of a better word ? Let's forget the fact that three first-round draft picks (Wilkerson, Richardson and Williams) also play on the Jets' defensive line. If you examine Harrison in a vacuum, you'll see that he is, quite simply, one of the NFL's best run defenders. A guy like that should get the recognition he deserves.Not that Pro Football Focus' ratings are gospel, but last season, Harrison was rated as the league's 14th-best nose tackle/defensive tackle (PFF groups them together) and the third-best against the run. The two guys ahead of him: Marcell Dareus and Ndamukong Suh. That's elite company, especially considering Harrison's primary job is to stuff the run. In 2013, Harrison was fourth overall among nose tackles/defensive tackles, including first against the run — by a wide margin. PFF gave Harrison a plus-33.2 run defense rating in 2013. The next-closest nose tackle/defensive tackle was Seattle's Brandon Mebane, at plus-18.5. In the 2013 overall ratings, Harrison trailed only Gerald McCoy, Suh and Mebane. Again, really good company there.Plus, remember that 2013 was Harrison's first year as a starter — and just his second year in the league, period, after making an enormous step up in competition from NAIA to the NFL.PFF's ratings database goes back through 2007. Over those eight seasons, just one other player besides Harrison has eclipsed plus-30 in the nose tackle/defensive tackle run defense ratings — San Diego's Pro Bowl nose tackle, Jamal Williams, in 2007 (plus-33.7). That puts into context how effective Harrison was against the run in 2013. Last year, Dareus led the position group with a plus-20.7 run defense rating, while Harrison checked in at plus-16.8, two spots below Dareus on that list.If Harrison puts together a third straight impressive season in 2015, perhaps he'll finally earn the honor of not making an all-underrated team next offseason. > http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/06/does_jets_damon_harrison_belong_on_nfls_all-underr.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villain The Foe Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Harrison would have probably received much more recognition if the Jets didnt continue to blow 3rd and long situations. Its not like teams were in a alot of 3rd and short plays because guys like Harrison couldnt stop the run. There were countless times opposing teams converted on 3rd and longs. Its was ridiculous last year. If they were able to get the opponents offense off the field maybe that would have contributed to the recognition, but when all of that work goes down the drain when a QB continuously converts 3rd and 5+ it takes away from what the guy actually provided. Snacks is a beast, but is in fact underrated. He'll probably never make it to the probowl either. Guys like David Harris never made it. Wilkerson, a top 3 3-4 DE in this league hasnt made it and Richardson, a better overall player than Wilk, made it as an alternate while the rookie Aaron Donald made it outright. The jets are usually overlooked in that regard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetdawgg Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Losing teams have many players that get overlooked. Harrison will not be overlooked after this season. Also note that he outplayed a good draft pick by the Jets to win his position. Go Jets Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Savage69 Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Losing teams have many players that get overlooked. Harrison will not be overlooked after this season. Also note that he outplayed a good draft pick by the Jets to win his position. Go Jets Wait Snacks developed under Rex?? I don't think your allowed to say that.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetdawgg Posted June 5, 2015 Share Posted June 5, 2015 Wait Snacks developed under Rex?? I don't think your allowed to say that.. Lol....he is on defense... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesr Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Snacks is the least known / talked about player on the D line, despite being an animal. That's why he's underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Mostro Posted June 6, 2015 Share Posted June 6, 2015 Saw that Snacks has been committed to a strict and strenuous offseason regimen, including a 180 on his diet. As good as he has been he should pop some eyes this, year literally and figuratively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Snacks is the least known / talked about player on the D line, despite being an animal. That's why he's underrated. yup !.. he's a " keeper " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetster Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Harrison would have probably received much more recognition if the Jets didnt continue to blow 3rd and long situations. Its not like teams were in a alot of 3rd and short plays because guys like Harrison couldnt stop the run. There were countless times opposing teams converted on 3rd and longs. Its was ridiculous last year. If they were able to get the opponents offense off the field maybe that would have contributed to the recognition, but when all of that work goes down the drain when a QB continuously converts 3rd and 5+ it takes away from what the guy actually provided. Snacks is a beast, but is in fact underrated. He'll probably never make it to the probowl either. Guys like David Harris never made it. Wilkerson, a top 3 3-4 DE in this league hasnt made it and Richardson, a better overall player than Wilk, made it as an alternate while the rookie Aaron Donald made it outright. The jets are usually overlooked in that regard. Your right on with us not getting off the field. When you think about how long Geno had to sit on the sidelines last year while the refs moved the chains he probably felt like the tin man needing to be oiled. There is something to TOP & how it affects the opposing QB. Every time the Jets control the ball on Brady he seems to get out of sync. If you've ever seen a team punt to the Pats after couple 3 & outs you actually SEE Brady start tearing it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSU_Jet Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 Harrison would have probably received much more recognition if the Jets didnt continue to blow 3rd and long situations. Its not like teams were in a alot of 3rd and short plays because guys like Harrison couldnt stop the run. There were countless times opposing teams converted on 3rd and longs. Its was ridiculous last year. If they were able to get the opponents offense off the field maybe that would have contributed to the recognition, but when all of that work goes down the drain when a QB continuously converts 3rd and 5+ it takes away from what the guy actually provided. Snacks is a beast, but is in fact underrated. He'll probably never make it to the probowl either. Guys like David Harris never made it. Wilkerson, a top 3 3-4 DE in this league hasnt made it and Richardson, a better overall player than Wilk, made it as an alternate while the rookie Aaron Donald made it outright. The jets are usually overlooked in that regard. That's because the Pro Bowl is a joke that no smart fan or NFL exec takes seriously. I bet if you surveyed football people from around the league from the various front offices, they would give you nothing but glowing reviews about the talent level of the Jets d-line and its production. Just about every team in the league, aside from maybe St. Louis or perhaps Buffalo, would kill to have 2-3 of our d-line guys on their roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villain The Foe Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 That's because the Pro Bowl is a joke that no smart fan or NFL exec takes seriously. I bet if you surveyed football people from around the league from the various front offices, they would give you nothing but glowing reviews about the talent level of the Jets d-line and its production. Just about every team in the league, aside from maybe St. Louis or perhaps Buffalo, would kill to have 2-3 of our d-line guys on their roster. Also with the fact that DT's have different positions on the field. There is no actual representation for 3-4 NT's in the probowl. So a guy who can put up statistics in a 4-3 would more than likely get the nod over a guy who in a 3-4 didnt rack up stats....but based on each players responsibilities probably had a much better season than the 4-3 tackle. The same goes for DE's. As a side note, that's what makes JJ Watt even more special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelly Posted June 8, 2015 Author Share Posted June 8, 2015 Also with the fact that DT's have different positions on the field. There is no actual representation for 3-4 NT's in the probowl. So a guy who can put up statistics in a 4-3 would more than likely get the nod over a guy who in a 3-4 didnt rack up stats....but based on each players responsibilities probably had a much better season than the 4-3 tackle. The same goes for DE's. As a side note, that's what makes JJ Watt even more special. watt is one of the best I've seen.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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