The Harrington Family Foundation

ALLEN PARK — Joey Harrington is settling in and taking command. His work year officially started two weeks ago, but much earlier he began taking stock of where he and the Lions stand in their development.

The official off-season conditioning program began March 29. Harrington wanted to come in sooner, but the coaches told him to hold off. “They told me to take a couple more weeks,” Harrington said. “I was ready to come back the first part of March. I was just anxious to get started again. I’m excited to play. I started to get the bug early this year — seeing some of the moves we made, and the possibilities from the draft.”

For Harrington and the other quarterbacks, there is no pressure this time of year. They lift weights, do conditioning and fundamental drills and throw twice a week. It’s always fun to throw the ball. “This is the time when it doesn’t count,” Harrington said. “No one’s keeping score. No one’s keeping stats. You get good work in, but you can have fun doing it.”

“Fun” is not a word used around the Lions very often the last three years. That could change. They are undergoing a transformation. The team is getting younger and - they hope and expect - better. Harrington’s performance in 2004 will be crucial for the Lions’ success and his own status.

By virtue of going into his third season as the starter, Harrington’s role is expanding. He stayed in touch with Coach Steve Mariucci and the front office to see what moves were being made in free agency. “I talked to a couple people, staying up with it,” Harrington said. “I’m obviously planning on being here a long time. If this is going to be the team I hope it can be, I want to be a part of building it. I don’t want to be left out of the loop. I don’t want to show up one day and not know who my right guard is and have to introduce myself.”

Harrington called guard Damien Woody after Woody signed with the Lions.
“I gave him a call and introduced myself and talked to him a little bit,” Harrington said. “I got a feel for what kind of guy he is. I need to have that kind of relationship with the guys around me.”

The nature of a quarterback’s position gives him more influence on a team than other players. There are signs that Harrington has been biding his time for two seasons before stepping out. “It’s been difficult the last couple of years, and it still will be difficult until we start winning football games,” Harrington said. “Number one, it’s tough to lead when you’re not producing and you’re not winning. Even more so, it’s tough to lead veterans as a young guy, which is kind of the position I’ve been in the last couple of years.”

Harrington’s performance improved in the second half of last season. So did the team’s. After a six-game losing streak dropped their record to 1-6, the Lions won four of their last nine games to finish at 5-11. They defeated two playoff teams — Green Bay and St. Louis — in the last five weeks.
For the first seven games, Harrington completed 52 percent of his passes (129-for-248) for 1,230 yards, eight touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
For the last nine games, his completion rate was 58.8 percent (180-for-506) for 1,550 yards, nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

There is a widely held belief in the NFL that a quarterback who has played regularly for two years will define his career in his third season.
“I’ve heard that as well,” Harrington said. “Look at the last half of last season. After about the eighth game, I started settling down. I started completing more balls, throwing more touchdowns. We beat St. Louis. We beat Green Bay. I felt more comfortable. Things kind of started to click a little bit. I expect more this year.”

There are parts of his game that he expects to modify. He’ll run a little more, move out of the pocket more often and hold the ball a little longer at times to wait for receivers to break open. He was sacked just 11 times last season, but Harrington admits he pulled the trigger too soon at times. “To use a golf analogy, it’s risk-reward,” he said. “Maybe I’ll slide a little, drift a little, and something will pop. Maybe I can just hold on for a second longer. If I buy a little bit of time, I can hit something big.”