Tweet
The Epic Run – A story of both James Harrison and the Steelers 2008-2009 Season.
Impossible –
James Harrison, a former NFL Europe player who had been undrafted and released by NFL teams three times, attempts to run back an interception the distance of the entire football field. He is not the fastest player on the field nor the most agile and he has only 17 seconds to achieve the unfeasible.
Impossible –
The 2008-2009 Pittsburgh Steelers face the most difficult 17 week schedule in NFL History with the goal of reaching the playoffs, and winning a record Sixth Super Bowl.
You have to wonder which side of this story had the longer odds.
James Harrison had been on the field for almost four minutes of playing time (with the two play exception when the Cardinals caused an INT). The defenses had their backs against the wall, and were looking to stop one of the NFL best offenses from scoring a touchdown from the two-yard line.
At the beginning of the season, The Steelers had just lost former All-Pro and perhaps our best Offensive lineman Alan Faneca, and they had several players coming off significant injuries (Marvel Smith, Aaron Smith and Willie Parker).
Many message board members had significant questions about:
Santonio Holmes finally having a break-out season? Lawrence Timmons making any headway this season? Rashard Mendenhall being productive? LaMarr Woodley starting for the first time?
And of course some were questioning whether Mike Tomlin would reveal himself to be the wrong choice as Head Coach and falter under the weight of not only such a difficult schedule, but also surrounded with such high expectations.
And of course no one should forget that the AFC was locked up at the beginning of the season. The Patriots were coming off a dominating 18-1 season and everyone knew that they were looking to avenge the enormous embarressment they had suffered in the Super Bowl several months before when former Steeler Plaxico Burress made a touchdown in the corner of the endzone to seal the game -
Did the Steelers even have a shot? Did James Harrison?
Of course at first the competition didn’t look that daunting – the Texans and the Browns were as unlikely to stop the Steelers as Kurt Warner was trying to stop the play.
However any Steeler fan worth their salt would tell you that no matter how much a team looks like a push over on paper there’s always a chance for a lucky trip up that could inevitably cost you the season.
Unfortunately in the middle of the schedule (and the run) it appeared that the Steelers were going to trip themselves up
Three losses in seven games – one including James Harrison miscalculating his ability to long snap to our punter in the game against the Former Super Bowl Champion Giants. And as time is winding down in the second quarter of the Super Bowl (giving us no chance at a Field Goal should he fail) could it be that James Harrison had again miscalculated his ability and could eventually cost us a Championship?
In retrospect perhaps the biggest turning point for the Steelers as a team was the one point victory over the San Diego Chargers, which of course depended on another amazing defensive play to keep our hopes alive.
The Chargers game was the beginning of a 10 game stretch where we would win all but one of them.
Similiar to many of the Cardinal players (especially Larry Fitzgerald) during the 100 yard dash and smash, our opponents were in many cases desperate and frantic for victory as their impending playoff chances counted on beating us during that ten game stretch –
We played the Chargers twice, a team who believed they were destined to go to the Super Bowl after their disappointing injury filled 2007-2008 season.
The Patriots were trying to win without Tom Brady and eek out one more victory on an aging team, and despite an impressive 11-5 record they just missed the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys in a tailspin of a season, used any tactic possible to get them a win and into the playoffs – including spending four draft picks (including a 2009 first round pick) to aquire Roy Williams.
Game winning INT: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvAbSSaoptk&feature=related]DE-SHEA[/url]
And of course we played the Baltimore Raves twice during this time, a team that would have loved nothing more than to defeat Pittsburgh with their rookie Quarterback on the way to the Super Bowl. In my mind losing the division and the first round bye week, and/or losing the AFC Championship Game against this team would have been the abyss.
An Abyss you know the Ravens players and their fans had to swallow after watching James Harrison earn defensive player of the year, and begin his rumble towards the endzone for a Super Bowl record return.
Hey Ravens – remember when you were dismissing James Harrison’s huge night against you two years ago? I think Shaq may have put it best:
Tell me how does Mr. Harrison's ass tastes?
** sorry the Ravens bring out the worst in me.
And then finally as a Harrison touchdown and a Super Bowl victory seemed unstoppable, Larry Fitzgerald held the fate of ending both in his ability.
Fitzgerald never quit on his team – Who could have blamed him for stopping on the Harrison Touchdown once he was bumped by his own teammate on the sideline?
Who would have blamed him for fading down the stretch as the Steelers had a comfortable 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter? When we played the Seahawks we certainly saw them fold up as the game winded down.
But no –
Fitzgerald pressed on – in less than 11 minutes to play in regulation Fitzgerald put up numbers most WR’s wish they have in entire games – 109 receiving yards and 2 Touchdowns.
Could it be that the entire struggle of our season, the improbable odds to give us a chance to take home a Lombardi could be stripped from us in the waning minutes of the last game of the year? Could we end up being like the 2007-2008 New England Patriots and have to deal with the crushing thoughts that all of the toil of 2008 went for nothing?
And as James Harrison, out of breath, having lept over and fought off tacklers on the edge of the sideline for the entire length of the field – could he be stopped at the one yard line with no time remaining, with no chance at a field goal….could that too be all for nothing?
No – in the end it was the kind of epic run you can remember for a lifetime.
So much for the "impossible".
L.B.
Impossible –
James Harrison, a former NFL Europe player who had been undrafted and released by NFL teams three times, attempts to run back an interception the distance of the entire football field. He is not the fastest player on the field nor the most agile and he has only 17 seconds to achieve the unfeasible.
Impossible –
The 2008-2009 Pittsburgh Steelers face the most difficult 17 week schedule in NFL History with the goal of reaching the playoffs, and winning a record Sixth Super Bowl.
You have to wonder which side of this story had the longer odds.
James Harrison had been on the field for almost four minutes of playing time (with the two play exception when the Cardinals caused an INT). The defenses had their backs against the wall, and were looking to stop one of the NFL best offenses from scoring a touchdown from the two-yard line.
At the beginning of the season, The Steelers had just lost former All-Pro and perhaps our best Offensive lineman Alan Faneca, and they had several players coming off significant injuries (Marvel Smith, Aaron Smith and Willie Parker).
Many message board members had significant questions about:
Santonio Holmes finally having a break-out season? Lawrence Timmons making any headway this season? Rashard Mendenhall being productive? LaMarr Woodley starting for the first time?
And of course some were questioning whether Mike Tomlin would reveal himself to be the wrong choice as Head Coach and falter under the weight of not only such a difficult schedule, but also surrounded with such high expectations.
And of course no one should forget that the AFC was locked up at the beginning of the season. The Patriots were coming off a dominating 18-1 season and everyone knew that they were looking to avenge the enormous embarressment they had suffered in the Super Bowl several months before when former Steeler Plaxico Burress made a touchdown in the corner of the endzone to seal the game -
Did the Steelers even have a shot? Did James Harrison?
Of course at first the competition didn’t look that daunting – the Texans and the Browns were as unlikely to stop the Steelers as Kurt Warner was trying to stop the play.
However any Steeler fan worth their salt would tell you that no matter how much a team looks like a push over on paper there’s always a chance for a lucky trip up that could inevitably cost you the season.
Unfortunately in the middle of the schedule (and the run) it appeared that the Steelers were going to trip themselves up
Three losses in seven games – one including James Harrison miscalculating his ability to long snap to our punter in the game against the Former Super Bowl Champion Giants. And as time is winding down in the second quarter of the Super Bowl (giving us no chance at a Field Goal should he fail) could it be that James Harrison had again miscalculated his ability and could eventually cost us a Championship?
In retrospect perhaps the biggest turning point for the Steelers as a team was the one point victory over the San Diego Chargers, which of course depended on another amazing defensive play to keep our hopes alive.
The Chargers game was the beginning of a 10 game stretch where we would win all but one of them.
Similiar to many of the Cardinal players (especially Larry Fitzgerald) during the 100 yard dash and smash, our opponents were in many cases desperate and frantic for victory as their impending playoff chances counted on beating us during that ten game stretch –
We played the Chargers twice, a team who believed they were destined to go to the Super Bowl after their disappointing injury filled 2007-2008 season.
The Patriots were trying to win without Tom Brady and eek out one more victory on an aging team, and despite an impressive 11-5 record they just missed the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys in a tailspin of a season, used any tactic possible to get them a win and into the playoffs – including spending four draft picks (including a 2009 first round pick) to aquire Roy Williams.
Game winning INT: [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvAbSSaoptk&feature=related]DE-SHEA[/url]
And of course we played the Baltimore Raves twice during this time, a team that would have loved nothing more than to defeat Pittsburgh with their rookie Quarterback on the way to the Super Bowl. In my mind losing the division and the first round bye week, and/or losing the AFC Championship Game against this team would have been the abyss.
An Abyss you know the Ravens players and their fans had to swallow after watching James Harrison earn defensive player of the year, and begin his rumble towards the endzone for a Super Bowl record return.
Hey Ravens – remember when you were dismissing James Harrison’s huge night against you two years ago? I think Shaq may have put it best:
Tell me how does Mr. Harrison's ass tastes?
** sorry the Ravens bring out the worst in me.
And then finally as a Harrison touchdown and a Super Bowl victory seemed unstoppable, Larry Fitzgerald held the fate of ending both in his ability.
Fitzgerald never quit on his team – Who could have blamed him for stopping on the Harrison Touchdown once he was bumped by his own teammate on the sideline?
Who would have blamed him for fading down the stretch as the Steelers had a comfortable 20-7 lead going into the fourth quarter? When we played the Seahawks we certainly saw them fold up as the game winded down.
But no –
Fitzgerald pressed on – in less than 11 minutes to play in regulation Fitzgerald put up numbers most WR’s wish they have in entire games – 109 receiving yards and 2 Touchdowns.
Could it be that the entire struggle of our season, the improbable odds to give us a chance to take home a Lombardi could be stripped from us in the waning minutes of the last game of the year? Could we end up being like the 2007-2008 New England Patriots and have to deal with the crushing thoughts that all of the toil of 2008 went for nothing?
And as James Harrison, out of breath, having lept over and fought off tacklers on the edge of the sideline for the entire length of the field – could he be stopped at the one yard line with no time remaining, with no chance at a field goal….could that too be all for nothing?
No – in the end it was the kind of epic run you can remember for a lifetime.
So much for the "impossible".
L.B.
Comment