James Harrison For The First Time After Signing Newly Restructured Contract

by Blitzburgh on Apr 17, 2009 1:00 PM EDT Comment 9 comments

On Tuesday, we celebrated all things James 'Deebo' Harrison after he restructured his contract in a far more equitable way for a player who was the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year. On Thursday, Harrison joined Dan Patrick on his daily radio show to talk about the new deal, his interesting back story, why he enjoys being in Pittsburgh. I have transcribed much of the interview below. Good stuff from Deebo, who seems to me to be a far better dude than people perceive him to be from the outside looking in.

On how he handled being cut by the Steelers after getting a meager $5,000 signing bonus as an undrafted rookie free agent:

"The bonus, that was the most money I'd seen in my life. I thought I was rich then but on getting cut, I didn't take it hard or cry about it or anything. I figured I'd go back and try to improve whatever it was that I felt got me cut."

On who should be the highest paid defensive player on the Steelers:

"James Harrison [laughing]"

What does Troy Polamalu think about that:

"Troy, he doesn't care about money. He likes to sit back, go to church and read the Bible so he doesn't really care about money. He's just happy to be here, as I am. Troy could have gone out and gotten a whole lot more money than he did, but a lot of the guys just want to stay here."

On who is more intense, Coach Tomlin or former Steelers head guy, Bill Cowher - at least in terms of emotional outbursts:

"Rage?? Coach Cowher. There's no hesitation about that one."

After DP joked that Cowher would probably run out there and try to be a wedge buster on special teams even at this age:

"Oh yeah, easy. I don't know if he'd go bust a wedge but he'd go try though. He might get bounced back up out of there."

On who the best player from Kent State, his alma mater, is in NFL history:

"Jack Lambert."

He doesn't think he's surpassed him yet?

"Oh no, that guy did it big for a long time. I think I need two or three more Super Bowls; four or five more Pro Bowls. Thats going to be something that's terribly hard to do.."

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Good stuff

Nice to see a lighter side of James…

… but don’t let any other teams know about it.

by Varmint on Apr 17, 2009 2:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Loved that he named himself as leaderof the defnese

by saying he should be highest paid defensive player. That’s significant. If we didn’t resign him, you get the sense of a void in the locker room…

by SteelersVT on Apr 17, 2009 2:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Great balance too, though. I particularly loved that he showed the proper respect for Lambert and said that he had a long way to go to surpass him. That shows that he’s very confident while still being humble enough to keep himself motivated.

by WolfpackSteelersFan on Apr 17, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hometown discount

I love that despite the business aspect players say stuff like this:

“Troy, he doesn’t care about money. He likes to sit back, go to church and read the Bible so he doesn’t really care about money. He’s just happy to be here, as I am. Troy could have gone out and gotten a whole lot more money than he did, but a lot of the guys just want to stay here.”

BTW – coupled with what leon Searcy had to say about the Steelers Organization, you begin to get the feel that guys REALLY want to be here.

by SteelerBuddha on Apr 17, 2009 4:22 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yea

felt these two posts baack to back hinted at just that.

by Blitzburgh on Apr 17, 2009 4:46 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The problem with that quote is what’s left unsaid.

“Troy, he doesn’t care about the money… he just wants to be here….” As opposed to James, who wants the money.

He also says, “a lot of the guys just want to stay here,” not “a lot of US want to stay…” Yeah, I know I’m reading too much into it, but this quote doesn’t make him look like an altruist. I don’t blame him. He has earned his money as much as any footballer can. But I don’t see this particular quote as evidence of him looking past the paycheck.

by Varmint on Apr 17, 2009 6:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

"this quote doesn’t make him look like an altruist."

I have never seen my man smile such a sincere smile EVER! But he has 13 brothers and sisters and countless nieces and nephews and a son and now they’re all set for life. He deserves it. Hopefully he’ll stay motivated.

"It was an attrition football game and you know we like that."

by showtime on Apr 17, 2009 11:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Funny

“Rage?? Coach Cowher. There’s no hesitation about that one.”

by Romain El 82 on Apr 17, 2009 4:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Worth the cash!!!!

Of course he was looking to get paid but he did not get “greedy” in the process. Unlike Troy (who received a multi million dollar signing bonus and huge yearly salary from the start) Silverback never has seen guaranteed money or huge bucks and was looking to cash in on his proven performance while he still is physically able too. He could have refused any offer to extend and became a franchise player next year or hit the free agent market in an uncapped year and really cashed in! He is a Steeler thru and thru and takes his rage and work ethic and applies it to the opponent……..and there fan’s it they are stupid enough to get within his reach!!!!!

I wasn't hired for my disposition!

by Burgernazi on Apr 18, 2009 1:02 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs