fordfixer
01-08-2009, 06:36 PM
Q&A with … Steelers OLB James Harrison
‘We want to get turnovers, we want to score’
SPORTING NEWS TODAY http://www.sportingnews.com NFL THURSDAY, JANUARY 08, 2009 17
BY ERIC FISHER
You can measure James Harrison’s
impact on a game in some ways—he led
the league with seven forced fumbles
and finished fourth with 16 sacks—but
his impact on every snap is less tangible.
Unless you considering being a nightmare
to every offensive tackle and quarterback
he faced this year as a
measurement. The newly-minted NFL
Defensive Player of the Year stopped by
this week to chat with Sporting News
Radio’s Tim Montemayor about the
award and the Steelers’ expectations in
the playoffs.
Q: Did this season live up to
your own expectations? A: Yeah, it lived up to my expectations
and beyond.
Q: Do you go out there
expecting to win the game on
defense? A: Yeah, that’s how we play the
game. We want to get turnovers.
We want to score. We don’t want the
offense to get all the glory. We want to
go out there and snatch some for
ourselves.
Q: You joined some pretty elite
company in being named
Defensive Player of the Year. Fellow
Steelers Joe Greene, Mel Blount and
Jack Lambert won the award during
the 1970s and Rod Woodson in ’93.
How does it feel to be on a list with
them? A: It’s definitely an honor just to be
mentioned with that group. But
as far as being in that category, those are
guys who did it real big for a long time,
and I’m not even close to that right
now. If I’m so blessed to have the careers
that they did, it would be a tremendous
honor.
Q: How far do you have to go to
reach their Hall of Fame
level? A: I really don’t think that much
about it. ... I don’t look back, I
don’t sit back and look at the things I’ve
done. I know I’ve come a long way, but
right now I’m focusing on the things we
need to do like looking at film of the
Chargers and trying to go in there
Sunday to get a win and move forward
toward the ultimate goal, which is
winning the super bowl.
Q: When you look at the
Chargers’ offense, what do
you see? A: They’re doing a good job of
getting the ball to the guys who
are making plays for them and last
week that was (Darren) Sproles. We’re
going to have to come in and do what
we’re good at doing and try to stop the
run ... have all the guys play their
assignments like I said before, try to
keep them contained and do what it is
we do.
Q: Is it more difficult to play
against Sproles, who is listed
at 5-foot-6? A: For some guys, it may be more
difficult because of how short he
is, but his height has nothing to do with
his power. He has a lot of strength
behind him. But you know it’s kind of
hard to find him: He’s running behind
linemen who are almost 2 feet taller
than him, and with his speed you can’t
let him get to the corner.
Q: What is it like to play for
Mike Tomlin? A: From last year into this year, he’s
turned into, I would think, more
of a players’ coach. He’s taken care of us
to where, last year, I think we were a
little beat up towards the end of the year
... we were at full pads almost the whole
year, hitting and everything. And this
year he’s really taken care of us, gotten
us out of pads and letting guys heal up
and get ready to play a Sunday
game. He’s straight forward, he’s going
to tell you how it is and he’s not going to
beat around the bush and that’s something
I really like about him.
‘We want to get turnovers, we want to score’
SPORTING NEWS TODAY http://www.sportingnews.com NFL THURSDAY, JANUARY 08, 2009 17
BY ERIC FISHER
You can measure James Harrison’s
impact on a game in some ways—he led
the league with seven forced fumbles
and finished fourth with 16 sacks—but
his impact on every snap is less tangible.
Unless you considering being a nightmare
to every offensive tackle and quarterback
he faced this year as a
measurement. The newly-minted NFL
Defensive Player of the Year stopped by
this week to chat with Sporting News
Radio’s Tim Montemayor about the
award and the Steelers’ expectations in
the playoffs.
Q: Did this season live up to
your own expectations? A: Yeah, it lived up to my expectations
and beyond.
Q: Do you go out there
expecting to win the game on
defense? A: Yeah, that’s how we play the
game. We want to get turnovers.
We want to score. We don’t want the
offense to get all the glory. We want to
go out there and snatch some for
ourselves.
Q: You joined some pretty elite
company in being named
Defensive Player of the Year. Fellow
Steelers Joe Greene, Mel Blount and
Jack Lambert won the award during
the 1970s and Rod Woodson in ’93.
How does it feel to be on a list with
them? A: It’s definitely an honor just to be
mentioned with that group. But
as far as being in that category, those are
guys who did it real big for a long time,
and I’m not even close to that right
now. If I’m so blessed to have the careers
that they did, it would be a tremendous
honor.
Q: How far do you have to go to
reach their Hall of Fame
level? A: I really don’t think that much
about it. ... I don’t look back, I
don’t sit back and look at the things I’ve
done. I know I’ve come a long way, but
right now I’m focusing on the things we
need to do like looking at film of the
Chargers and trying to go in there
Sunday to get a win and move forward
toward the ultimate goal, which is
winning the super bowl.
Q: When you look at the
Chargers’ offense, what do
you see? A: They’re doing a good job of
getting the ball to the guys who
are making plays for them and last
week that was (Darren) Sproles. We’re
going to have to come in and do what
we’re good at doing and try to stop the
run ... have all the guys play their
assignments like I said before, try to
keep them contained and do what it is
we do.
Q: Is it more difficult to play
against Sproles, who is listed
at 5-foot-6? A: For some guys, it may be more
difficult because of how short he
is, but his height has nothing to do with
his power. He has a lot of strength
behind him. But you know it’s kind of
hard to find him: He’s running behind
linemen who are almost 2 feet taller
than him, and with his speed you can’t
let him get to the corner.
Q: What is it like to play for
Mike Tomlin? A: From last year into this year, he’s
turned into, I would think, more
of a players’ coach. He’s taken care of us
to where, last year, I think we were a
little beat up towards the end of the year
... we were at full pads almost the whole
year, hitting and everything. And this
year he’s really taken care of us, gotten
us out of pads and letting guys heal up
and get ready to play a Sunday
game. He’s straight forward, he’s going
to tell you how it is and he’s not going to
beat around the bush and that’s something
I really like about him.