Headed to Hawaii!
Comments(9)3irty1 got the attention and respect he deserves today, as the NFL announced fans have voted Al Harris as a starter to the 2008 Pro Bowl in Hawaii February 10, 2008.
Great news for Al, who has generally been regarded as one of the top cornerbacks in the league for the last several years. This will be his first appearance in the game and for a player his his caliber, his inclusion is long overdue. In fact, check out how the AP begins it’s story:
After years of being called one of the league’s best cornerbacks by opposing wide receivers, Al Harris finally made it to the Pro Bowl.
“I think it’s probably just my time,” Harris said. “There’s a couple guys that I’m very surprised they didn’t go.”
He continued to stick up for his teammates here:
”If you could go back a couple years and you go through the whole season playing man coverage and you only give up one touchdown and you don’t go, you know what I mean,” Harris said. “(Politics) may have something to do with it and factor in, it may not. But it all worked out.”
The Packers had three players named first alternates - linebacker Nick Barnett, left tackle Chad Clifton and cornerback Charles Woodson.
“There are a couple guys that should go. They should have been over there with us,” Harris said. “Definitely Wood, my best crime partner, Nick Barnett played great - both of those guys. Probably the two best players on our defense right now. I think they should have got the honor.”
Harris will be joined by Packer teammates QB Bret Favre, WR Donald Driver and DE Aaron Kampman.
Many thanks to all the fans who voted for 3irty1, and congratulations to Al Harris, starting cornerback in the 2008 Pro Bowl!!!
Going back to school
While many kids rode a bus to school on Tuesday, Jarrett Coniff rode in a limousine. And that was just the beginning of the day for the third-grader from Lincoln Elementary School.
“I haven’t felt this way in a long time. Actually, I never felt this way at all,” he said.
It was a day not to be missed for students at his Green Bay elementary school. The lucky third-grader won a contest to bring a special guest to class.
So Packers cornerback Al Harris went back to school to learn about the solar system all over again.
“Yes, there were, like, we had to make the solar system. I remember when I had to do that. That was like, killer,” Harris laughed.
Jarrett filled out an application at a JCPenney department store for the NFL’s Take a Player to School contest and won. Harris was his prize.
Harris’s goal at school was making sure students received his lesson about staying active and staying in school.
“The message is school, schooling, and everything goes back to school no matter what you do,” Harris said.
It’s a message Jarrett seemed to pick up quickly, “That being good in school helps you with everything that you try to do.”
For Harris, being part of the contest was, well, elementary. “It’s always important, for when you’ve been blessed in any kind of way to give back to the community to show that you appreciate where you come from. Maybe one of these kids today gets something out of it that’s good.”
Harris might have his football game in check, but there’s nothing more difficult than fielding tough questions from third-graders.
“All of them were pretty good. They asked me who’s the hardest team. I told them the hardest team and they were like, ‘Not the Cowboys?’”
3irty1 takes kids Christmas shopping
With so many negative stories in the media, it’s always refreshing to read about an athlete who appreciates what he’s got and gives back to the community in which he lives.
Al Harris is doing his part for the poor communities in Wisconsin. Harris has partnered with the Athletes 4 Causes Foundation and Family Services and he took kids in the Coming Home project for at-risk youth on a holiday shopping trip to Target in Ashwaubenon last week:
“It’s cool. I like it. When I first heard about it, I was blown out. I was like, Yeah!” Romello Wofford said.
“I get to meet a Packer player!” Luceth Escandell exclaimed.
“It’s important because I never went shopping for nobody, all the years. now this is my first time going shopping for everybody,” Markia Graham said.
Each of the 50 kids received a $200 gift card to buy as many gifts as they could. You could say they’ve been making their lists.
“Myself, and I might get a couple gifts for my mom and my granny,” Romello said.
“For me, my sisters, and my parents,” Luceth said.
Harris helped raise the shopping money with a bowling fund-raiser last month with the kids in mind. All in all, Harris gave the kids $10,000.
“If they do the right thing, then you’ll be rewarded,” Harris said.
Maybe the best gift Harris really gave these kids isn’t anything they can buy but the memories and learning to give during the season of giving.
“I’m real excited because it’s a blessing for all this stuff, and I want to thank him a lot,” Shymuria Wofford said.
“Thank you very much,” Markia said.
Does it make him feel like Santa? “Not quite like Santa but maybe Santa’s helper,” Harris said.
He is the guy in your face
Great feature story on Al Harris over the weekend in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that talks about 3irty1’s tough route to the NFL and how he soaked up all the info he could from teammates in order to become what many describe as the most feared CB in the NFL. Read the entire story here, and check out a sample:
For a while, Harris said he could get away with his aggressive bump-and-run style of play because so many other receivers underestimated him. Not anymore.
“But sometimes I will still get a guy and push him and he’ll fall on the ground and he’ll look back up like, ‘Hey, damn, how did that happen?,” Harris said.
Now Harris is usually assigned to the opponent’s top receiver. He’s been called, by some of his opponents, the toughest corner in the game. Most recently, it was Detroit’s Roy Williams on AM-1130 in Detroit.
“I think he is the best in the league,” Williams told the radio station. “If anyone can play press man, up in your face like a Deion Sanders type that can shut the whole field down, it’s Al Harris.”
3irty1 has what will likely be his most important matchup of the season on Sunday when the Packers take on Terrell Owens and the Cowboys. How will Harris handle T.O.?
On Thursday, Harris will face his greatest one-on-one challenge yet: Dallas receiver Terrell Owens. On smaller guys, Harris can push on their shoulders to jam them, but on a big player like Owens will have to get more into his chest and use both hands. It could be a real battle.
“I’m probably going to be stronger than most of the receivers in the NFL,” said Harris. “There’s a couple guys that are strong, like T.O. The guy from San Diego is strong. Arizona, Anquan Boldin, he’s strong. But once I touch ‘em, I can pretty much guide them to where I want to go.”
Media in Dallas is already expecting a “jam session” with the Packers CBs getting physical with the Dallas wideouts:
Of all the matchups in Thursday’s game against Green Bay, none is as intriguing as that of Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton against Green Bay cornerbacks Charles Woodson and Al Harris.
Woodson and Harris play more aggressively at the line of scrimmage than any cornerbacks the Cowboys have seen this year. Woodson, however, is battling a toe injury and did not fully take part in Sunday’s practice.
“They’ll be physical,” Owens said. “They’ll be a little aggressive. I know what to expect.”
Owens has caught at least six passes in his last six games with touchdown receptions in all six. Cowboys receivers coach Ray Sherman has his receivers work against press coverage almost daily in practice.
“Some of our guys are hard to bump,” coach Wade Phillips said, “so we’ll see how it works out.”
Old school coverage
Great stuff from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on the bump-and-run defense employed by Al Harris, Charles Woodson and the Packers. Here are a few of the better quotes, but the entire piece deserves a read:
“Everybody hates it,” Harris said, one of the top practitioners of bump-and-run coverage in the NFL. “When we watch tape of a guy, we have to watch tape of the Raiders or the old Dolphins because it’s hard to find a tape on guys (receivers) getting pressed. They’re getting free releases all day.
“When we go into a game, after a few plays, or two or three series, some guys are like, ‘Are you going to do this all day?’ ‘That’s what we do, dog. This is our scheme.’ “
On the risks of the bump-and-run:
“The risk factor is, if you don’t get a jam on Randy Moss or any good receiver, it’s six points,” Harris said. “You have to be sound in your technique. I think that’s probably why teams shy away from press coverage. The margin for error is small.”
On channeling aggression while playing defense:
“I remember (Eagles coach) Andy (Reid) was so mad at me, he used to send me to anger management (classes),” Harris said. “We were playing Chicago in a playoff game in 2001 and I got a 15-yard penalty for slapping David Terrell. We could have lost the game. I was a hothead. Andy was so (mad).
“Now I take it out, but it’s right at the play.”
Against Denver Monday night, Harris showed some of that when he lined up opposite receiver Brandon Marshall and launched himself into Marshall’s chest, knocking the receiver at least a yard back. Getting hands on a receiver’s chest is the goal of every bump-and-run corner and those kinds of shots don’t come often.
“I shouldn’t have done that then,” said Harris, who allowed Marshall to get by him after he recovered from the shove. “That was not a good spot. But usually guys don’t fall for that anymore. That’s an old trick.
“The next play, I told him, ‘How did you fall for that?’ He wasn’t looking at me, which I really thought was disrespectful. Most guys (who) line up in front of me are at attention. He was looking all at the safeties. I was like, ‘C’mon.’?”
And despite playing with a bad back, 3irty1 says he knows he won’t win every matchup, but he doesn’t sweat getting beat:
“You can’t worry about that. You start worrying about that, you’re going to get beat. The saying you need a short memory is true, but in bump it’s really true. It’s the nature of the beast. You just have to win more than you lose.”
Harris says Packers are staying humble
Fresh off two inspiring victories in tough road games, including a big 33-22 win in Sunday’s game at Kansas City, the Packers (7-1) are cruising and the young players are helping to lead the way. But will overconfidence be a factor in coming weeks? Al Harris doesn’t think so:
“Mike’s keeping us humble. We’ve got a lot of young guys who are completely playing their (expletive) off. If we don’t get too cocky, we’ll be good.”
Another great quote from 3irty1 as Harris talks about the Packers’ deadly cornerback combination (Harris and Charles Woodson):
“We’re Anthrax and Cyanide,” Harris said.
Huh? So which one are you?
“It doesn’t matter,” Harris said. “They both can kill you.”
Finally, here’s a testimonial from one of 3irty1’s teammates:
Both (Woodson) and Harris play a physical style of press corner that allows the Packers to do so many different things on defense. That is the luxury that is guiding the Green Bay defense. You can blitz more. You don’t need to help as much.
“Them being able to get a slight jam on the receiver is the difference between us being able to get there,” (Defensive end Aaron) Kampman said. “That fraction of a second can be the difference between a sack and a completion.”
Finally, Al says he loves it when the game comes down to the defense needing to make a play:
“We have no problem with the game being on our shoulders,” Harris said…
Listen to 3irty1’s post-game locker room comments here.
Al Harris: all inked up
We just got several behind-the-scenes photos of Al Harris’ body art. He spent some time during the Packers’ off-week to add to his previously-existing body art, and he wanted fans to see the latest. Even a tough guy like Al grimaced a bit when the needle hit his skin! See for yourself:
Click here to see Al’s body art!
(Tattoos by Rick Harnowski at “Tattoos by Rick”)
Quick text message from Al…
With Denver’s No. 1 receiver, Javon Walker, out for Monday’s night’s Packers/Broncos game, 3irty1 sent a text message to let his fans know he’ll be matched up against Brandon Marshall on 3rd downs Monday night and will probably see some time against Brandon Stokely as well. But pay special attention to 3rd down plays and how frequently Marshall is or is not making plays when the offense needs him most.
Operation Shutdown will be in full effect come Monday evening.
Get the full breakdown and preview Monday’s Packers/Broncos game right here.
3irty1: I trust what I know
How does Al Harris prepare for his defensive assignment each week? He says he gambles on every play, but in a controlled kind of way. Check it out:
”It’s really hard in our scheme because our back is always to the quarterback,” said Harris. “I learn the guy, learn the system, pick my spots where I may be able to make an interception, cause a turnover, study and then just trust what I know.”
“Operation Shutdown” adds this Packers team is the best he’s ever been on as far as creating turnovers is concerned:
“Actually, we’re putting more emphasis on getting turnovers with this defense than defenses that I’ve played on in the past,” said Harris.
Harris said other defenses he played for emphasized either shutting down the quarterback or playing with speed in getting to the ball. “We really preach turnovers here,” he concluded.
The Sporting News: Al Harris is key to Packers D
Check out The Sporting News NFL page today and you’ll see a feature story on 3irty1. Click the image below to read the story, or scroll down to read a some key bits and pieces:
The story on 3irty1 includes great insight from Matt Crossman of the Sporting News on Al and the massive impact he makes for the Packers defensively:
Al Harris can’t win. He wants to be known as one of the best cornerbacks in the league, and he wants to make the Pro Bowl. In pursuit of those goals, he has worked to perfect his technique, studied hour upon hour of film and consistently shut down the best receivers in the game. And that’s the problem. The better he gets, the lower his profile.
If it’s possible for unimpressive stats to be vastly impressive, that’s the case with Harris. He doesn’t get many interceptions because offenses are afraid of him — and because his guy is never open. In the same way, his tackle numbers are meager because there’s nobody to tackle. That might sound like hooey, but it’s not. Harris always covers the opponent’s best receiver, and he’s on pace for only 37 stops.
