James Harrison might be released by Steelers

[Sugar]

You're making an assumption there ("still better than almost every other 3/4 OLB in the NFL"). You are assuming that his slight uptick in production toward the end of the year wasn't circumstantial. The rest of the year, he was slow and plodding.

Put it this way:
In '98, Lloyd was cut--the club was right in letting him go
In '08, Peezy was jettisoned--the club made the right choice
This year, it's Harrison--I'm pretty sure the writing is on the wall.

Explain what you mean by "circumstantial?" In my view, the circumstances were football games where he was getting healthy after knee surgery. The D played better toward the end of the year. Maybe that had nothing to do with him, but from what it looked, he was the primary driver of that.

Again, just because the team got lucky after Porter or even Lloyd, doesn't mean they get lucky again. Let's hope they do.

[BigRob]

Explain what you mean by "circumstantial?" In my view, the circumstances were football games where he was getting healthy after knee surgery. The D played better toward the end of the year. Maybe that had nothing to do with him, but from what it looked, he was the primary driver of that.

Again, just because the team got lucky after Porter or even Lloyd, doesn't mean they get lucky again. Let's hope they do.

Your giving short shrift to Timmons, Cortez Allen, and Keenan Lewis as the reason for the improvement. Allen and Lewis played very well at the end of the season.

[Sugar]

Your giving short shrift to Timmons, Cortez Allen, and Keenan Lewis as the reason for the improvement. Allen and Lewis played very well at the end of the season.

That is not my intention. They had been playing well. As Deebo got healthier it appeared that they were freed up to be even stronger.

[Shoe]

Explain what you mean by "circumstantial?" In my view, the circumstances were football games where he was getting healthy after knee surgery. The D played better toward the end of the year. Maybe that had nothing to do with him, but from what it looked, he was the primary driver of that.

Again, just because the team got lucky after Porter or even Lloyd, doesn't mean they get lucky again. Let's hope they do.

Well I specifically meant it in how we know sacks can come in bunches, and that it doesn't mean anything unless you realize the circumstances. IOW, let's say he had four sacks in the last four games (I don't know the stats he did have). If he got them against Joe Thomas and Jake Long, that says a lot. But if he got them because it was garbage time or he got two of them because Ryan Fitzpatrick slid down at his feet... see what I mean?

I watched every quarter of every game this year. As it pertains to Harrison, I definitely noticed how slow and unathletic he seemed running around the field. Toward the end of the year, I (as someone who really watches him and hangs his hopes on Harrison) saw a SLIGHT uptick in terms of his game. Slight. I didn't see the old Harrison, or anything near. I didn't see him rocking back OT's, or dipping his shoulder. (In fact, I saw them drop him more than anything else, which says a lot in/of itself.)

Point being, I don't really know what we get with him. If you asked me straight up, I'd say that he is washed up, painful as it may be to say.