I'm going to go on record about this Harrison Issue

I told a bunch of people that I believed the reason Harrison was released was because his behavior was detrimental to the team. In my mind there was no way that a guy who played with Peezy AND had a Linebackers coach in Butler for more than a decade just all of a sudden gets cut without there being a major reason why.

What bothers me is that the man sold his soul for a mere 59K. He washed away his legacy in my eyes. NOW let me tell you how I believe this plays out. For all those who are worried about the big bad Patriots and what James Harrison will do to Ben or what he will say to Bill Belichick I say STOP being scared. Here's the fact of the matter. In the year 2017 with a full squad WE ARE A BETTER TEAM and what this traitor has done will work to our advantage. Do you know how pumped up our defense will be if Harrison is in a Pats uniform (especially Dupree and Watt). Do you really think our O-Line will let Harrison get anywhere near Ben in a big game. Do you know how hard Decastro, Pouncey, Vance, Jesse, Ramon and Gilbert will want to block to open holes on Harrisons side if he were to get into the game. The move of cutting Harrison was in our favor and I will explain why but him going to the Pats was the lighting of a fuse if we meet them again this year.

Sometimes you have to get rid of veterans who wont conform to the new regime!! Lets face it Harrison wanted out of Pittsburgh and that's just the facts. He seemingly could not accept that the Steelers wanted to run with the youth because

A/ They want speed LB's who can also cover if asked
B/ Like it or not the only way for Dupree and Watt to really learn was to play them.

This isn't Dick Lebeau's defense where it might take 3 or 4 years to see the field, many of these new guys are playing right away (I for one am happy about that). I remember years ago a tight end and running back named Jeremy Shockey and Tiki Barber used to moan and groan about not just Coach Coughlin but also how a young Eli Manning wasn't getting them the ball enough. Truth be told that offense couldnt function properly until Eli was allowed to be the leader. One year after Tiki retired and after the Giants traded Shockey they beat the Patriots to win their 1st of 2 Superbowls in a 5 year stretch.

You know who besides Big Ben is still left from the old regime but does not seem to have a problem with his snaps? William Gay.
If you haven't noticed Gay does not get the amount of reps he used to but he still has value. Wasn't it William Gay who the Steelers used to call the Defense in the game when Shazier went down? Team Player.

This is how I see it playing out, James Harrison will be trotted out on the field to play against the Jets because Bill Belichick has issues with his LB's at the moment. Having Harrison allows him to save the legs of the guys who will actually play for the Patriots when the playoffs start (namely Kyle Van Noy)
On top of this reason the Patriots will see how little and how much of a non fit James Harrison is in a 4-3 Defense (anyone remember JH with the Bengals). Plus there is no way that Bill Belichick allows the momentum of a team to build to appease the desires of one James Harrison. He too will do whats best for his team which is:

JAMES HARRISON WILL BE CUT BY THE PATRIOTS BEFORE THE PLAYOFFS BEGIN

The sad part is that Harrison will then retire unceremoniously, be invited back to Heinz after 7 years of exile or after the main cogs in the current regime leave and in 10 years we will celebrating our anniversary of wining our 7th Lombardi in 2018 and the "Harrison Issue" will be no more than a trivia question we look back on and shake our heads.

 

*phew* almost dropped under the JH thread quota there but back strong again. (joking).

he has played so little this season and when he did, you could tell it just wasn't the same. one wonders if that was him not giving 100% in protest. oh well, he leaves in a fizzle but that happens sometimes.

 

It's going to take 10 more years? I can't wait that long!

 

No way I have the attention span to read all that. But, your all caps statement stood out and I believe there's a good chance of that happening as well.

 

Harrison could turn out to be a situational asset for the Pats.

 

After Belicheat extracts the desired intelligence out the deep recesses of Harrison's gray matter, he will be terminated.

 

I see him sticking around, should they play KC

 

photo of BB extracting details

 

Although I don’t want or like anyone hurt, but James H. has a bad back. When he takes the field, between the adrenaline and desire to show the nay-sayers, he’s liable to spring a leak somewhere in that strong but football old body.

 

Frankly, I don't think it's that big of a deal. Look, I don't think Keith Butler is the next Dick LeBeau, but he is with his defensive unit daily. If he thought Harrison still had enough in the tank, he would have played more this season and therefore he'd likely still be on the roster. I honestly don't see him helping the Cheats at all.

 

If he does get invited back and has a ceremony at Heinz, I will be there with my 92 “Traitor” jersey on, and you can take that to the bank.

 

I think this whole thing is going to motivate and galvanize the Steelers much more than it's going to help the Pats. Going on record now. IF (and that's a BIG IF at this point) we play the Pats in the AFCCG, we win by double digits. Write it down.

 

I feel like I got cheated on, but like those sad people that take back the cheating spouses... I still miss him

 

You're better than that, BBH. You have so much to offer. James couldn't see that, and he never showed you how much he cared. You're better off without him. You just need a little time away, and you'll see I'm right. Now put on your Boswell jersey -- we're going out and drinking that man right outta your head!"