[Jets] Rave Reviews For Harris The Hit Man

TDJets72027 · #1 11-04-2007, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Eric Hicks doesn't remember the exact moment, but the Jets' defensive end remembered being taken aback by what he saw.

Hicks, a 10-year NFL veteran, was speaking about rookie linebacker David Harris, who made his first start as a pro last Sunday against the Bills.

"I remember looking up at the scoreboard during a TV timeout and seeing that he had 11 tackles and the second quarter wasn't even over," Hicks said. "Obviously, he's out there doing a lot of good things."

Obviously. So obvious, in fact, did Harris' performance in his first NFL start stand out (17 tackles and a sack) that you couldn't help but notice just how invisible incumbent starter Jonathan Vilma had been before a knee injury ended his season.

Vilma, who was a sideline-to-sideline tackling machine in the previous regime's 4-3 defense, simply had not been the same player in the current 3-4 scheme before he was hurt two weeks ago in Cincinnati.

Harris, playing the same inside linebacker position, was a force at the point of attack and he was active, all over the field - the way Vilma used to be.

The one common assessment you hear from Jets players when asked about Harris is how un-rookie-like he is.

"A lot of guys who are rookies go out there and show a lot of nerves and get flustered," Hicks said, "but you can tell David played in a big-time program at Michigan."

Jets linebackers coach Jim Herrmann was Harris' defensive coordinator at Michigan, perhaps affording the rookie a comfort level that is making opposing running backs uncomfortable.

"David's a pretty confident guy," safety Kerry Rhodes said. "He came in and didn't really get blindsided by all the hoopla of him starting his first game. Starting for the first time, he was comfortable with the situation and he had a good debut."

The Jets aggressively traded up to draft Harris in the second round last April. He might hit hard, but one thing you won't get out of him is flash. So if big talk and on-field celebrations are what you're looking for in a linebacker, go look elsewhere. Harris is one of the quieter players in the locker room. "Ted Johnson's a pretty quiet guy and he split a few helmets," Eric Mangini said of the the former New England linebacker.

"I just try to stay humble and try to work hard," Harris said, crediting his success last Sunday to the coaches and his fellow linebackers.

His assessment of his dominant performance against the Bills?

"I think I played OK stepping in for Jonathan Vilma, but there were some things I could have done better and I'm looking to continue playing well," he said.

NY Post