The Harrington Family Foundation

BY CURT SYLVESTER
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

August 10, 2004


Nineteen plays in the move-the-ball drill weren't quite enough for Lions quarterback Joey Harrington.

So Harrington stuck around after practice Monday.


First he ran with quarterbacks coach Greg Olson. Then he threw to Olson. And finally he got wide receiver David Kircus to take some of his throws. Always moving, always throwing on the run.


"Just getting a little conditioning," Harrington explained. "Trying to simulate being tired. There are times when things are going to break down and you've got to be just as accurate as when you're setting your feet."


If this is going to be the year Harrington leads the Lions back to NFL respectability -- and maybe even to the fringe of contention -- he wants to be ready for anything that comes along.


He can't practice experience; it comes over time by playing NFL games.


He can't practice leadership; it's something that is developed and earned.


But he can work on his conditioning, his accuracy as a thrower and his familiarity with the linemen, running backs and receivers he will be working with during the season.


And that's where he hopes the extra work pays off.


"No matter how much you run in the off-season and go full-speed during practice, there's nothing like simulating what's actually going to happen when you've got 60,000 people there and your adrenaline is going and you're (driving) for seven minutes straight," Harrington said. "I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can to be effective when I get tired."


Harrington will get his first test Saturday when the Lions meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in the exhibition opener. Anything that happens in game conditions obviously outweighs anything that happens on the practice field, but Harrington seems to be making progress.


"It seems like he's more comfortable," offensive tackle Jeff Backus said. "It seems like he's quicker on his toes as far as making decisions with checking to different plays and stepping up and giving that little bit of leadership we need at times. It's all part of growing up and becoming a veteran."


Coach Steve Mariucci, who was reserved in his evaluations of Harrington last season, has been satisfied with what he has seen in the first 10 days of camp.


"I think Joey's having a good camp," Mariucci said. "I see progress in a lot of areas. He's working like crazy, he's completing passes at a higher level than he did a year ago.


"He's getting about half the snaps in practice. He's sharing with the other quarterbacks and we're going to start picking that up a little bit, give him more towards 60 percent of the snaps. I'm very pleased with his progress in this camp."


Harrington said he had to cut down even more on mistakes. He said he felt more comfortable but was guarding against getting overconfident. And after two seasons as an NFL quarterback, he has reached a level where he can work on the details of his job more effectively.


"There are little intricacies about this offense that take awhile to pick up on," he said. "I think the St. Louis game would have been a great example of that -- the touchdown to Bill Schroeder in the front corner of the end zone.


"That was an on-the-fly check. That was something that Steve Young or Joe Montana would have done eight years in. I had help, Billy gave me a heads-up and said, 'Hey, watch for this,' and I was feeling comfortable enough that I could take a look at it and stray from my progression a little bit."


The Lions beat the Rams, 30-20, in the final game of the season, with the help of Harrington's 13-yard touchdown pass to Schroeder in the second quarter.


Contact CURT SYLVESTER at 313-222-2621 or sylvester@freepress.com.