Patriots Sign James Harrison

Byrdbrain

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Jul 18, 2005
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Worth it just to piss off Steelers fans, I don't know if he has anything left but that would just be gravy.
 

PaulinMyrBch

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MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
I’ve got a Steelers buddy that still thinks we had some type of backhand agreement to free LGB from the Steelers. I keep explaining he had to clear waivers, which is a point he doesn’t get. I can’t wait to hear his take on this. It will involve some sort of conspiracy.
 

54thMA

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Aug 15, 2012
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Cue to The Nation's Tears.
Cue the pants off/if he can help out 10 snaps a game it's worth it/he's a leader/this will piss off Steelers fans posts along with the sky is falling/this means Van Noy is not coming back/if he got cut by the Steelers and their linebackers are a mess what does that tell you posts.........................
 

dcmissle

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"But ... but ... Steelers cut him and he is not that good. Baaa Whaaa!"

Yeah, like we have TJ Watts and Bud Duprees hanging like apples from trees.

All he need do is make one difference making play in one game. If he gives us one monster game, could be case closed. In Bill we trust.

It just pisses some fans off because a) they think he is a bad guy and b) this confirms the obvious -- our defense is not very good, won't be very good this year.

But the point is making it good enough.
 

Ale Xander

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Oct 31, 2013
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F yes. There's a little risk in terms of locker room stuff (hes been a hot head sometimes, no? ) but this is worth it just to see him hopefully play in a possible AFC CG
 

CantKeepmedown

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Peter King talked about it earlier (before it was official) and basically said he could envision Belichick telling Harrison that they have, hopefully, 4 games left this season. If you can give me 25 plays over the course of that, that's all we need. He did say 25 at first, and then 100, which seems pretty unrealistic.

Point being, Harrison could be miffed the way the Steelers did things and could light a fire under him. Or, it could be a big nothingburger.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
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I don’t really like him and I think he is washed. Maybe he can get on a new strain of PEDs and make some plays down the stretch. The risk is so minimal it’s worth a shot.
 

NortheasternPJ

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I don’t really like him and I think he is washed. Maybe he can get on a new strain of PEDs and make some plays down the stretch. The risk is so minimal it’s worth a shot.
This is how I feel. Oh well there’s only upside here.
 

TheoShmeo

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If an aging, possibly washed up Willie McGinest was cut by the Pats and immediately signed by the Steelers, with one week to go in the season, and with the Pats and Steelers very likely to play again in the AFCCG, it would annoy me. I'd worry about intelligence he might give the opposing coaches, plays he might make out in the field, the worst case scenario of him making a big play or two against the Pats in the AFCCG and just the sight of him in Steelers colors. I'd worry that this move might energize him and bring out the best in him. That the Pats cut him and thought he was done would not mollify me.

I hope Steelers fans are thinking those kinds of thoughts and that this is very aggravating for them. My hunch is that Harrison will be a net benefit, and that like having some other aging LBs on the D over the years -- such as Seau and Cox -- that this will be fun, and possibly more.

And from a more mundane perspective, LB depth is an issue and he represents that, as long as he can play a little.
 

H78

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Jul 22, 2009
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I can’t help but feel as if the Steelers were well aware of this happening with two weeks left in the season and their biggest threat short at LB, but they still pulled the trigger anyways.

Calling it now: Harrison’s a plant ;-)
 
Apr 7, 2006
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My most optimistic hope is that this energizes him, pumps him up ten percent extra to give it his "all-PLUS" for four...more...games.

Edit clarity
 

Bowhemian

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I think I just lost about 20 IQ points after reading that Steelers message board. I’m ashamed of myself for reading some of it.
 

InstaFace

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I don’t really like him and I think he is washed. Maybe he can get on a new strain of PEDs and make some plays down the stretch. The risk is so minimal it’s worth a shot.
Co-sign. I dislike him, even though I admire his talent. But since he cleared waivers, this has to be at or close to a pro-rated veteran minimum, which means Belichick probably found the money amid the lint in his hoodie pocket.

PFF has graded him this year at "below average"... which would be an improvement for our D.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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It's actually kind of interesting to look at the Steelers' transaction history to get a sense of how this went down.

They signed LB Sean Spence three weeks ago which likely was meant to be the Harrison replacement, but Smith-Schuster's suspension gave them the spot. I bet they would have cut him right then if not for the suspension. Then Shazier got injured and went on IR, which freed up the spot to bring Smith-Schuster back from his one-game suspension without having to cut anyone. They've been able to keep Harrison on the roster because of that, but now that Gilbert comes off his PED suspension they had to cut someone, and I guess it was Harrison.

So, they delayed the inevitable for three weeks. They held on to him as long as they could in case someone else got injured, but their only injuries were Brown (who they can't IR just in case he's back for the playoffs) and Connor who they had to replace with another running back (old friend Stevan Ridley).

http://www.steelers.com/team/transactions.html
 

HurstSoGood

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"That's the closest JH has been to TB without a flag being thrown."
Good one, Steeler fan.
 

kartvelo

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I liked this exchange:

" Umm..what? I hope he never puts a helmet on and watches the AFCCG from his couch."

"It’d be just like he was still on the Pittsburgh roster!"
 

Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
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The reaction from Steeler fans should be how incredibly bad the Pats defense must be if a guy who can’t even find his way into a uniform on the Steeler D is considered an upgrade on anyone who currently is seeing meaningful snaps on the Pats D.

Edit: “Good, I hope they play him, he ain’t hurting us” from that Steeler message board
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Aug 15, 2006
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I have to give post #34 credit, though. In replying to the picture of Harrison with Brady, he said:

"That's the closest JH has been to TB without a flag being thrown. Goodell will probably fine him for unsportsmanlike conduct."
I’m partial to the poster who said he’s treating him him like Chris Benoit myself.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Can he play special teams? Pats cut Reilly who had been on ST
Reilly really only makes the 46 when the Patriots have significant injuries, and last week he was a scratch even though they seemed to have had room for him. I wonder if he's nursing an injury. Or maybe the Patriots are expecting to get healhy -- especially Van Noy.
 
Apr 7, 2006
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Van Noy was reportedly close to playing Sunday. I'm happy the team got another win AND another week of R & R for him, Branch, Hogan and others. Hoping we see a fresh and juiced-up (so to speak) Harrison to inject (so to speak) a little life into the front 7.
 

Kenny F'ing Powers

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The reaction from Steeler fans should be how incredibly bad the Pats defense must be if a guy who can’t even find his way into a uniform on the Steeler D is considered an upgrade on anyone who currently is seeing meaningful snaps on the Pats D.

Edit: “Good, I hope they play him, he ain’t hurting us” from that Steeler message board
That could be there take, but it would be disingenuous.

The teams have different needs. Their OLB need to cover, Harrison can't. If he can play a bastardized Chris Long role and pin his ears back for 10 snaps a game, then that's a need the Patriots have. I'm optimistic he can do that.
 

The Big Red Kahuna

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From that message board:

“Harrison is a knife when we needed a spoon. Ever try eating a bowl of soup with a knife? You end up hungry and with a mouth full of cuts.
Pats needed a knife. They got one. Now it's up to us to serve them soup.”

Amazing.
 

Deathofthebambino

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Apr 12, 2005
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I think Harrison has only played like a dozen snaps since week 7. He's about as rested as you can hope for, and I remember a few games last year where he seemed to have something left in the tank. He may not be Julius Peppers or Terrell Suggs, but if you only ask him to go like a crazy person for 10-15 snaps a game on obvious passing downs, I think he can give it to you. If the Pats could have figured out a way to keep him, it's the role that I think Chris Long would have been perfect for this season (even though he could have handled more than 10 snaps).
 

dcmissle

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It took ESPN till 5 minutes ago to post it on the crawl. “You sure about this? Check it again!”

Bristol not amused.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

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Dec 4, 2005
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I have nothing against him, I'm just thinking this turns out to be a Steven Jackson redux and his role will be so limited, I'm not sure it turns out worth it. But, I guess they can play roster roulette and give it a shot. I imagine they can keep Reilly on the shadow roster just in case.
 

snowmanny

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Dec 8, 2005
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I have quite a bit against him, I'm just thinking this turns out to be a Steven Jackson redux and his role will be very limited so I'm not sure it turns out worth it. But, I guess they can play roster roulette and give it a shot.