coldarmy20

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/14579819.htm




QUESTION: Was there a moment when you felt that Coach Mariucci had lost confidence in you?

ANSWER: There was an incident. It was about halfway through my third season. I went into his office to talk with him. I said, "Coach, I need you to give me permission to throw the ball downfield. To take some shots downfield. I feel like I can't." He said, "I don't know where you're getting that idea." I said, "You tell me every day if there's any chance of a mistake, pull it back, check down. I feel roped in. Let me take some chances." He stood up, went to his sink and started brushing his teeth. He said, "I've got to go do some interviews. If you want to talk about this, come back later."

And then he walked out.

I look back on that now and it seems like such a defining moment. But at the time, I was so focused on making him happy, on getting in his good graces, I just let it go.

Q: When people tell you not to take chances, to never risk a mistake, how does that affect you?

A: You press. The same thing anybody else who is trying to please someone, please a group of people or please a city does ... you press. You try and do it harder. It consumes you.

Q: How did you feel during or after a bad game?

A: It ate at me. It consumed me. It was like I walked out there with a monkey on my back ... because I thought that people expected me to be a certain way, you know? If I threw an interception last game, I better throw a perfect pass this game.

Q: How would you remold yourself as quarterback?

A: I would play more like I did during the last six games of this year. Cut it loose. If you make a mistake, so be it. At least you went down trying.

You need to be able to step back and say, "You know what, whether I complete this pass or not I'm still a good person. If that DB knocks the ball down, I'm still going home to family that will always be there for me." You do that, you can cut it loose. When your mind is free, you play so much better.

Q: Let's talk about your receivers in Detroit. Did you feel let down by them at all - particularly Charles Rogers and his problems?

A: (Long pause.) I don't feel the need to single anybody out. I would see myself no different than Dre' Bly and what he did if I came out and said what I think Charles needs to do. I will only say that I don't care who you are or what position you play, you have to be into being part of the team. You have to buy into the idea of sacrificing things that you personally may find valuable or important.

Q: How about Roy Williams?

A: I will miss throwing the ball to him. I always appreciated that he showed support for me; I really did. And I think he can be a very special player in this league.

Q: What was your approach to criticism in the media?

A: I don't know that I picked up a newspaper five times in all the time I was in Detroit. I never watched a local newscast. I never listened to sports radio. I couldn't tell you a single sports radio station. I even stopped watching "SportsCenter" on ESPN, the one place I thought was safe. ... There was still too much news about me on that.

Q: How about the fans?

A: Lions fans want to win. That's it. The word fan comes from fanatical and they are fanatical. And that's great. I wanted them to be happy. I wanted them to be fans of us winning.

Q: After Dre' Bly made his critical comments about you, didn't you ever bump into him?

A: Yeah. I acted like I did every other moment I've been in the same room with him. Just normal.

Q: Did he ever apologize?

A: About a month or so later. We were in Green Bay, I think, before the game, in the hotel. We were standing in a group waiting for an elevator. He pulled me aside. He said his comments were from frustration. I asked him why he didn't say them to my face. He said he was in the moment, and it was an emotional moment. He said he respected how I handled the whole thing. We shook hands.

Q: Were you satisfied?

A: I didn't need to be satisfied. ... I don't know that I really felt much differently afterwards.

Q: Did you sense your Lions career was over after your last game?

A: I did. I'm not saying I wanted it or didn't want it. I just assumed that all the signs were working against me. Four years of losing. Huge (salary) cap number. New coaches. If I had to place a bet, I would have bet on me not being back.

Q: When did you first hear from Rod Marinelli?

A: He called me when I was in Detroit for the Super Bowl, and it was just a brief phone call to introduce himself. But from the moment I spoke with him I was very impressed.

Q: What happened at the "Quarterback School," which turned out to be your last official time with the Lions? There were rumors that you were uncooperative.

A: Well, I was uncomfortable when I came back. Did I sabotage Quarterback School? No, I didn't. But I was uncomfortable, because I felt that people were just trying to sweep under the rug what had happened the last four years.

Q: What made you uncomfortable?

A: Being back in that environment, walking back in through those doors into a building where I felt people had turned their back on me - and then to have people pretend it never happened. They acted like "you have a fresh start with us," but there are 50 other guys in the locker room who saw what happened. It wasn't just about having a new start with the coaches.

I was probably visibly uncomfortable, which (Coach Marinelli and I) ended up talking about. But I took notes. I studied. People might have come up and said, "Are you OK?" I probably wasn't as talkative as usual.

But I didn't have any cross words with Coach (Mike) Martz. Not at all. I wanted to listen. A lot of the stuff was difficult for me because it was so completely opposite of what I'd been coached, the drop, the ball carriage, the release point.

Q: You said you spoke with Coach Marinelli about all this.

A: We spoke. I was honest with him. It was one of the best talks I've ever had with a coach. I told him how I felt. I told him the things that had happened when I had been here. I told him I felt that people had turned their back on me. However, at the same time - I want to emphasize this - at no time did I ever tell him, "Coach, I want to leave."

My exact words to him were: "If you want me to be you quarterback, I'm here for you."

Q: And what did he say?

A: He told me exactly what he was thinking. He said you signed a contract with the Detroit Lions and I said, "Yes, I did, and I will work to get though these issues." And I went home after Quarterback School and he called me before my overseas trip that I had planned for six months and he said, "You know, I've been thinking about our talk and I need to decide if you're the right quarterback for this team at this time."

I told him, "Coach, if you want me to be your quarterback, then I'll get on a plane and I'll cut my trip short and I'll be there for report date, but I'd like you to let me know."

Q: Did he let you know?

A: They let me know when they signed two other guys.

Q: How did you find that out?

A: When I left for my trip, my agent told me they were thinking about signing Jon Kitna. I understood that. There were still moments during the trip when I thought, "Let's change this ticket." . . . But then they signed Josh McCown.

I was in Bali when that happened, sitting outside on the deck of a house my fiance and I had rented. I was looking at the Indian Ocean. I made my morning check-in call with my agent and he said they decided to sign Josh.

My emotions? A lot of different emotions. ... I was disappointed at first ... because I didn't finish what I started ... but the uncertainty was over. My fiance was packing for us to come home, then she came outside and sat down and we talked.

And then we unpacked and continued our trip.

Q: In your heart, did you really want it to work out?

A: Part of me did, part of me didn't. That's natural. What person is going to 100 percent want to walk back into a situation where they've been booed out of a home stadium, where they've lost four years, where some people on the team have openly, publicly and nationally blamed things on you?

I was upset when it happened, I was, but I knew there was gonna be a chance to get a fresh start somewhere. I wasn't gonna let it ruin me.

And the next days, when we went to Thailand, I felt a sense of freedom.

Q: Do you think if you had pushed for it harder, you would still be the quarterback here?

A: Yeah, I think I probably would.

Q: Your thoughts on Matt Millen throughout your four years in Detroit?

A: I think he was always fair. ... I think that's a good way to put it. He criticized me plenty of times. He looked me in the eye and said, "You need to make that throw. You need to do this better or that better." But he was always very fair, and I always appreciated that. He was always honest and upfront.

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coldarmy20

Q: Was your image in Detroit that you were too nice, too much of a cheerleader type?

A: You mean "Joey Blue Skies"? I don't care. Image is what people think you are; character is who you are. Too upbeat? Too upbeat for what? For who? For all the years of the Lions losing? What is too upbeat?

That was the job they handed me, to go in and change that organization, make it a winner. Am I gonna do that by conforming to whatever happened in the past? That wasn't gonna work and that wasn't who I am. So for people to criticize me for being too glass-half-full - I don't care. I had a goal. I had a job to do. Listening to what people thought and said around you is probably part of why things are the way they are in Detroit.

Q: Why do people do it then?

A: Because it's easy. It's easy to fit in. Easy to conform, easy to follow everyone else and what has always been because you never have to stick your neck out there, you never have to risk anything. I felt I did that every day.

Q: What mistake will you not repeat on your next job?

A: I will never let other people control my happiness. I will never let other people try and dictate who I am.

Q: Will you think of Detroit fondly?

A: Yeah, I will, I will. It was my first opportunity in the NFL. There were people who taught me a lot of very important lessons here. But it was the most frustrating football experience I've ever had.

Q: Any last things to say to the people of Detroit?

A: Don't stop being fans. Don't stop caring. I really do believe that things will turn around with Coach Marinelli, I really do. And when they do, that city is gonna go crazy. That city will go absolutely crazy.

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Professor

interesting, sounds a little bit like sour grapes and the rest is him trying to move on. I am one that thinks he cannot do it, but he could prove me wrong.

Professor

it continues

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald...erald_football

Harrington airs out past
QB Joey Harrington called his struggles in Detroit 'a learning experience' and welcomes the opportunity to help the Dolphins. 'I'm going to do everything I can to be ready for this team.'
BY BARRY JACKSON
bjackson@MiamiHerald.com

New Dolphins quarterback Joey Harrington craved a fresh start.

But whether he will be needed to start in Miami early next season remains uncertain.

On the first day Harrington, 27, was made available to the local media, much of the focus remained on Daunte Culpepper, who's rounding back into form after a major knee injury in October.

Though his availability for the Sept. 7 opener at Pittsburgh won't be determined for months, several players were encouraged after watching Culpepper participate in offseason practices this week.

''I'm expecting him to be out there when the season opens,'' said defensive back Renaldo Hill, one of four players who were permitted to speak to reporters Thursday. ''He's been looking good.''

In fact, linebacker Channing Crowder said that for the first time in practice, Culpepper took off running Thursday when no receiver was open. ''He looked good doing it,'' Hill said. ''I didn't see any limp.''

Said Crowder, smiling: ''Our coaches were nervous, but nobody touched him. I'm not going to hit him.''

Crowder noticed something else, too: 'He throws hard, real hard. I would have about 17 picks if he throws regular. You can see from close range, or rolling out, when he has that momentum from running, . . . it will hurt [the receivers'] chest a little bit.''

Harrington said Culpepper hasn't told him if he thinks he will be ready for the opener. He said all the quarterbacks (including Cleo Lemon and rookie Justin Holland) shared snaps equally this week.

Asked if he will be content as a backup if Culpepper is healthy, Harrington said, ''I don't think any player is content when they're not on the field. But I've been in this situation before. I'm going to do everything I can to be ready for this team. If that means sitting for a season or two, then I'm prepared to do that.''

Hill said that ''you can tell he and Daunte have a good relationship.''

Harrington, who threw 60 touchdowns and 62 interceptions in four seasons with Detroit, wanted to become a Dolphin because ''I love the coaching staff. I wanted to come to a place that was going to be honest with me and tell me where I stood. And that's what you get from [Nick Saban] and everybody on the staff.''

OPTIONS LIMITED

But he also said, ''It's not like I had people beating down my door to come be the starter. But I did have chances here, Cincinnati, Cleveland to compete for a starting spot or take some snaps while somebody was injured.''

Harrington indicated Dolphins coaches give him more precise direction than in Detroit: ''We go over in meetings, if this happens, then you [throw] here . . . As opposed to situations in the past, where if it gets cloudy, then you might want to think about throwing here. . . .

''I've always played better in systems where they give you answers. [Quarterback coach Jason Garrett] is very thorough in the meetings. There's no stone left unturned. Every time I have a question, he has an answer. And if he doesn't, he goes and gets it.''

Mechanically, coaches have altered how he drops back in the pocket. ''All the things they changed in Detroit, we're changing back to things I was really comfortable with. It's a complete fresh slate, and I love it.''

So what went wrong in Detroit? ''How much time you got?'' Harrington said. ''In order to change results, you have to change your attitude. I was criticized when I came in because I was too positive, I was too upbeat, I was too optimistic. That always really confused me. Why would you criticize somebody for trying to change the way things have been? In my time there, I don't think the attitude ever changed.

''We had pieces in Detroit. I don't necessarily think we had a direction. That's what I loved about this situation -- the control Coach Saban has over this team.''

Is his confidence shaken from his Detroit experience? ''Why would it be?'' Harrington said. ''It's a learning experience. I learned what kind of players I want to surround myself with, how I want to attack certain situations, what to do when things don't go well.''

Harrington also responded to two publicized incidents with the Lions. When Steve Mariucci was fired during the 2005 season, cornerback Dré Bly blamed Harrington, saying, ''I just feel like Joey's been here four years and being the No. 3 pick in the draft, he hasn't given us anything.''

GAVE HIS ALL

Harrington said Bly's comment 'was an incredibly selfish statement. Of course I was hurt. For four years, all I had done was work for those guys. There's nobody in that locker room who can stand up in front of the mirror and say, 'You know what? I played great every single game Coach Mariucci was there.' ''

Two years ago, Fox's Tony Siragusa said that in a meeting with Harrington, he found the quarterback ''a little bit too overconfident. Just a different kind of guy. He's over there with the champagne and caviar.''

Harrington addressed that Thursday: ''More than anything, Siragusa was trying to call me soft. . . . I don't think you have to look at whether a guy is going to go out and get drunk to say he's a tough guy. You look at . . . how many times he takes a shot in the jaw and gets back in the huddle.''

• Ronnie Brown said Ricky Williams' suspension left him ''kind of disappointed'' but also ''excited'' about the prospect of more carries. ''I'm a little more confident,'' he said. . . . Crowder said Dom Capers, who is running the Dolphins' defense, has made subtle changes: ''Capers simplified a lot of things. We'll still blitz a lot.'' Hill said the Dolphins have him splitting time between cornerback and safety.

juggalo6772

Joey seems like a good guy, i dont think he got a fair shot in detriot. If he can do well at the start of the season he maybe able to get the starting job perminatly. But then what becomes of Culpepper?

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Davey

Its hard to say, but right now C pep is gonna be the franchise qb.

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GO DOLPHINS!!

Professor

it seems like no one gets a fair shot in detroit, to be looked down on for being positive is ridiculous.

coldarmy20

On why he wanted to play for Miami:

"First of all, I like the coaching staff. More than anything, I wanted to come to a place that was going to be honest with me, that was going to be upfront, look me in the eye and tell me where I stood, and that's what you get from coach (Nick) Saban and everybody on the staff.

"I respect that, and I appreciate it. Obviously, nobody knows what Daunte's (Culpepper) situation is, and it's not like I had people beating down my door to come and be their starter.

"I am in a situation where I need to be prepared to play if I need to, but I also need to be prepared to be there for the team if Daunte is healthy and ready to go. It's just a chance to come in and be part of a great organization."


On what went wrong in Detroit:

"How much time do we got? I really believe that in order to change results, you have to change your attitude. It's funny, I was criticized when I came in because I was too positive; I was too upbeat, I was too optimistic. It always really confused me.

"Why would you criticize somebody for trying to change the way that things have been? In my time there, I don't think that the attitude ever changed. I really do think that coach (Rod) Marinelli is going to be great for that team. I really do. He's a very tough, hard-nosed kind of guy.

"He is somebody who is going to change those attitudes that need to be changed. I wish him nothing but the best."


If he thought Lions president Matt Millen handled his trade situation oddly:

"No. Matt and I have always had a great relationship, and he was honest with me through the whole process. He said he was trying to get something of value for me. He knew that come June (15), I would be free to go, but in the meantime he was going to try to get the most value for me that he could.

"While I wanted to get here as soon as I possibly could and get started and start learning the offense, I understood where he was coming from in taking his time."


If Miami's downfield offense was an attraction:

"Offensively, the attraction for me was that they give the quarterback answers. We go over in the meetings, if this happens, then you go here, if this happens, then you go here, as opposed to situations in the past where, 'If it gets kind of cloudy, then you might want to think about throwing here and letting him make the yards for the first down.'

"As a quarterback, I always played better in systems and situations where they give you answers, and that's what I like. They'll give you answers."


On what going to Miami means:

"It's a huge relief. It's a huge -- I don't want to say burden off my shoulders -- but it's a rest to the uncertainty. The last four months have been very up in the air for me. My future has been resting in the balance of a couple general managers trying to work out a trade."


On whether his confidence is shaken:

"No, why would it be? Why would my confidence be shaken? It's a learning experience. I learned what kind of people and what kind of players I want to surround myself with.

"I learned how I want to attack certain situations. I learned what to do when things don't always go well because, you know what? In college and in high school -- in college, I lost three games when we were there. We didn't have a whole lot of adverse situations. I've learned how to handle those because, especially in this league, those are going to happen."


If he thought there was any truth to Dre Bly's comments that he was responsible for getting Steve Mariucci fired:

"Of course I don't think there was any truth about it. If you have ever been part of a team, if you have ever been in a team situation, it was an incredibly selfish statement to make.

"Of course I was hurt, because for four years all I'd done was work for those guys. All I'd done was sit in the film room, prepare and be ready for every situation. I'm not saying I played well every game because I didn't. That's not what I am trying to say at all, but nobody in that locker room did.

"There is nobody in that locker room who can stand up in front of the mirror and say, 'I played great every single game that coach Mariucci was there.' We all felt terrible for him losing his job because he's a person."

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chris_36824

Harrigton will definitly not be the starter for the Phins for too long.. Culpepper gots that job locked up..

Davey

not if hes too injured to play. What happens if Harrington come to Miami the way he should have been 4 yrs ago. What if Harrington becomes a stud of a qb in Miami? WHat happens then?

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GO DOLPHINS!!