In Pittsburgh, James Harrison’s move leaves some fans betrayed and bewildered
Betrayed. Bewildered. Those are just a few words that could sum up the feelings of Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans upon hearing that linebacker James Harrison signed with the Patriots.
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True, the 15-year NFL veteran saw his playing time slashed significantly this season, but he was still considered an important presence on the team. His leadership was on display in Pittsburgh’s first game after linebacker Ryan Shazier suffered a serious back injury in a 23-20 win over Cincinnati in Week 13. Prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 14, Harrison carried on Shazier’s ritual of going shirtless during warmups.
The gesture also erased any doubt, if there was any to begin with, that Harrison is in shape for the stretch run.
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Ron Cook of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wants Harrison and the Patriots to face the Steelers in the AFC Championship game this season.
A Steelers season filled with drama took the ultimate dramatic turn Tuesday when Harrison signed with the Patriots just a few days after he was released by the Steelers. Can you imagine the wonderful, delicious possibilities? Can’t you just see Harrison — the Steelers all-time sacks leader, one of the great players in franchise history and a borderline Hall of Famer — coming out of the same tunnel with Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski to face Mike Tomlin, Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell? Story lines just don’t get any better than that.
It turns out that concerns over Harrison spilling team secrets to the Patriots is not just limited to Pittsburgh fans. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said his wife asked him how it would affect the team’s plans if the two teams met up in the playoffs.
“That’s on James. If they want to ask him for every single piece of information he has then that’s what people do in this league. I’m not worried about it. We don’t play them this week. We don’t play them next week. We’ll see.’’
In a series of tweets on Tuesday, former Pittsburgh offensive lineman Trai Essex does not begrudge Harrison for choosing the Patriots, and seemed to downplay the notion that Harrison will provide any meaningful information to the Patriots.
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Pittsburgh defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt was hurt that Harrison signed with the Patriots, writes Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghsports.com. The Steelers parting ways with Harrison could not be more predictable, writes Dejan Kovacevic. and his signing with the Patriots will be comically overblown.
It could very well be overblown, but the sight of him in a Patriots uniform will only spice up this rivalry even more. There has been bad blood between the two teams, some of it steeming from Harrison himself, such as when he accused the Patriots of cheating in an article in Men’s Journal in 2011.
Things really heated up ahead of last season’s AFC Championship game between the two teams, when Antonio Brown streamed live video of Steelers coach Mike Tomlin calling the Patriots a bad name during the locker room celebration after a win in the divisional round.
Then Julian Edelman stirred the pot when he responded: “That’s how that team is run. I personally don’t think that would be something that would happen in our locker room, but hey whatever. Some people like red and some people like blue. Some people like tulips and some people like roses, whatever.
“Hey man, I wouldn’t do that, so I personally — I wouldn’t do that. Let’s just say that and I’d be more worried about just trying to celebrate with my teammates and keeping it internal.’’
Without mentioning Edelman’s name, Roethlisberger addressed the situation.
“I don’t think I need to speak much,’’ Roethlisberger told reporters the Wednesday before the game. “We’ve got the trophies out there. I’ve got owners that I think are the best in the business. They’re family to us. And I’m sure if he talked to his owner, he would say the same thing about the Rooneys. Anybody in here or in the football or regular world that know the Rooneys, know what they are and what they stand for and it’s a blessing to call them family.’’
Perhaps Cook is right. Maybe we all should be rooting for the two teams to reach this year’s conference title game. There would certainly seem to be plenty of story lines.
