The Harrington Family Foundation

By Mike O'Hara
ALLEN PARK -- Look around, young man. Suddenly, you aren't so young anymore. Youth is fleeting for Joey Harrington. In his fourth season with the Lions, Harrington has become the team's old hand at quarterback, in terms of tenure with the team.

Harrington has achieved seniority fairly quickly. He was a rookie in 2002 on a team that had Ty Detmer and Mike McMahon on the depth chart. Harrington was the starter in his third game. Detmer departed last year, to hold the clipboard in Atlanta as the Falcons' No. 3 quarterback. This year, McMahon has signed with Philadelphia. Jeff Garcia, signed as a free agent to be the backup, has six NFL seasons on his resume; it's his first in Detroit. Two rookies are on Detroit's roster -- Dan Orlovsky, a fifth-round draft pick from Connecticut, and Todd Mortensen, a free agent from San Diego.

Harrington seems comfortable with his senior status -- at the ripe age of 26, and with 44 NFL starts. "It's an interesting position," Harrington said Tuesday as the Lions began two weeks of mini-camp workouts. "This is the type of position you want to be in as a quarterback, where guys are looking to you for answers. It's slowly been changing to where it is now. Every quarterback wants to get into the huddle with guys he's been working with for a while, guys he feels he can grow and improve with."

Of course, there are some pitfalls that come with being the Lions quarterback. Whoever plays the position inherits a legacy of failure. With that comes an inordinate amount of criticism and scrutiny. Harrington has had more than his share of both.

Harrington is impressed with how his teammates have responded in the second mini-camp since the draft, April 24-25. Rookie receiver Mike Williams, the Lions' top draft pick, is on a mission to prove he belongs in the NFL. "I heard about Mike's work ethic, and how focused he was coming off a year of being out of football," Harrington said. "I don't think what I heard did justice to what his attitude is right now. When he makes a mistake, it's almost like we've got to pick him up a little bit -- 'It's OK, you're not a five-year veteran. You're going to make a few mistakes.' He expects perfection from himself. I like to see that."