The Harrington Family Foundation

By Tim Froberg
News-Chronicle
Joey Harrington's rookie season as a starting quarterback in the National Football League could be summed up by the awful 1975 top-40 single, "Run Joey Run."

When he wasn't on the run trying to elude heavy defensive pressure, a harried Harrington was scrambling mentally to pick up an NFL offense on the fly.

With 13 NFL starts underneath his belt, Harrington is finally starting to find a comfort zone and gain control - not only of his game, but of a Detroit Lions offense that at times looked explosive in last week's season-opening 42-24 rout of the Arizona Cardinals.

Harrington enjoyed a strong season debut, throwing a career-high four touchdown passes and completing 17 of 30 passes for 195 yards and no interceptions - numbers that helped him gain NFC offensive player of the week honors.

Although it was just one regular-season game, Harrington seems far more advanced, confident and decisive than he was at any point last season, when he threw more interceptions (16) than touchdown passes (12) and finished with a dreadful efficiency rating of 59.9.

"Things have slowed down for me," said Harrington during a conference call Wednesday. "You hear quarterbacks say there's a point where the game just slows down for you. I'm feeling more comfortable, so I'm able to get through my reads a little easier. Things aren't as scattered in my head.

"Last year, especially when I played Green Bay for the first time in my first start, I was all over the place. I had happy feet and my mind was going a million miles a minute. It was just a whirlwind for me."

Getting the opportunity to work closely with a first-rate quarterback tutor and one of the game's best offensive minds in Lions head coach Steve Mariucci likely will accelerate the development of Harrington, the third overall choice in the 2002 NFL draft and a talent whom the Lions are counting on to become a franchise player.

Mariucci, the ex-Packers quarterbacks coach and former San Francisco 49ers head coach, played a role in Brett Favre's rise to the top of the game, coached another probable Hall of Famer in Steve Young and also took an unknown Canadian League refugee named Jeff Garcia and transformed him into a Pro Bowl passer.

Harrington has all the physical tools necessary to become an elite quarterback and also seems to have the presence that field leaders desperately need.

"Coach (Mariucci) has worked with so many great quarterbacks, Brett Favre, Steve Young, Jeff Garcia - guys who have won Super Bowls and gone to the Pro Bowl," said Harrington. "He's been able to teach not only through his experiences, but through their experiences and to show me how to apply it on the field."

No one, particularly Mariucci, is ready to anoint Harrington as an NFL star, and Mariucci avoids making comparisons between Harrington and proven Pro Bowlers such as Favre.

"I try and stay away from that because it's not fair to the Brett Favres or the Steve Youngs," said Mariucci. "But if there is a similarity, it's their work ethic. They all love to work and they learn quickly and are students of the game who are dedicated to their sport and have high aspirations. Joey's got that, just like Brett (Favre), Steve Young and Jeff Garcia do."

Packers safety Marques Anderson has noticed the growth in Harrington's game from a year ago.

"He looks like he knows the system well," said Anderson. "He looks more patient. Last year, he may not have always known where he was going with the ball, but now he looks a lot more confident in where he's going with it."

Packers head coach Mike Sherman says Harrington is an ideal young quarterback for Mariucci's version of the West Coast offense.

"I studied him coming out of college and graded him out very high," said Sherman. "He's a great West Coast quarterback with the ability to create a lot of things."

The significant addition of explosive Michigan State wide receiver Charles Rogers, the second overall pick in last spring's NFL draft, has helped Harrington pump up the Lions' passing game. Rogers had two touchdown catches among his four receptions for 38 yards in his NFL debut. He has outstanding size (6-2, 202) and athleticism, along with home-run speed, but needs to improve his hands.

"I've said this since the preseason - Charles is not going to be the single person that saves this franchise," said Harrington. "I think people were trying to draw that up too much when he came in and trying to overhype the connection between Charles and I.

"Am I thrilled to have him on my team? Absolutely. He's an incredible player. But what Charles is going to do this year is not only catch a lot of balls, but draw coverage and open things up for everyone else."

Former Packer Bill Schroeder starts opposite Rogers at split end and also got off to a good start last week with four receptions for 36 yards.

Az-Zahir Hakim, who signed a big-money free-agent contract with Detroit two years ago, has been sidelined the past month with a knee injury and is questionable for Sunday.

Schroeder was a disappointment in 2002, missing three games with injuries and finishing with 36 receptions for 595 yards. Still, he continued to show the big-play ability that he had in Green Bay, averaging 16.5 yards per catch and scoring five touchdowns.

"Bill's doing great," said Harrington. "Last year, he had some injuries he was fighting through, especially early in the season, so it's been nice having him all through training camp at full speed. I've been able to get more comfortable with how he runs routes and what he's doing on the field."