Al Harris will return to Green Bay for his sixth season.

The news became official last week when Packers GM Ted Thompson informed Harris that the Pack would pick up his $1.2 million roster bonus and play him in 2009.

Midway through the season, Al wondered aloud whether the Packers intended to bring him back, assuming they’d begin a youth movement and leaving the 34-year-old Harris looking for work.

But after Harris returned from a career-threatening speen injury and completed the season in a strong fashion, the Pack realized Al’s a young 34, and still has a lot to contribute to the franchise:

“This is a guy that I don’t see a lot of drop-off,” Thompson said. “He’s still a good player and we think he’s going to be a good player again this year. We’re not having a big youth movement.”

So the good news just continues to roll in for 3irty1. We’ll hit you guys with updates as spring approaches.

But for now, leave Al a note of support, knowing he’ll be a Packer again next season!

Al Harris makes Calvin Johnson pay for catching the ball Sunday in Green Bay.

Al Harris led the Packers with eight tackles and added a pass deflection for good measure (despite a nasty cold), helping the Packers t0 a season-ending 31-21 victory over the Detroit Lions.

Watch and listen to Al’s post-game press conference here.

The Packers have lost three straight games by four points or less, including Sunday’s 20-16 defeat at the hands of Jacksonville.

Despite the fact the loss eliminated the team from playoff contention, Al Harris told the Green Bay media he’s not looking looking ahead next season:

Al: Everybody needs to be where they need to be. They ran a couple 3-deep. Sometimes guys dial up the right play. And they dialed up the right play.

Q: Seemed like there was some confusion on a couple of the defensive play calls?

Al: There was some confusion a couple times between me and Brady (Poppinga)?

Q: Was he mad there was a discussion on the field?

Al: And that’s all that was was an animated discussion.

Q: You guys were on the same page the entire time?

Al: Well, you were talking about that particular play and that’s what that was: an animated discussion.

Q: What sorts of things do you want to build on as you start to look to next season?

Al: We gotta win. You can’t think about next year until next year. We gotta win and that’s all that boils down to. This is a game of production. You gotta produce, you know what I mean? And…that’s it.

Q: Anything more than just frustration right now?

Al: “Well, that’s about it. You’re frustrated. You want to won. Like I said, this is a game of production. You gotta produce.”

****

On his much-reported interaction with teammate Brady Poppinga, Harris said these kinds of things happen from time to time and they shouldn’t get blown out of proportion:

“We’re trying to win, both of us,” Harris said. “It wasn’t personal, either one of our sides. We’re both trying to do what we’re paid to do. And it happens. It happens more than a few times. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Honestly.”

As usual, Al Harris made no excuses for the tough 24-21 loss the Packers suffered at the hands of the Texans Sunday. Check out some of the interaction he had with members of the media after today’s game:

“This was a very disappointing loss. Very disappointing. Um…this was disappointing. I’m pretty sure everyone in here feels like crap. And hats off to the Texans. They did a good job.”

Is losing today even more painful knowing the Vikings won?

“Man, we don’t care about what they were doing. We were trying to win here. Wherever they were playing at, they were trying to win there. We were playing here, so it really doesn’t matter what they were doing. A loss is a loss, and it’s not good.”

How does the team recover?

“We gotta get ready for Jacksonville. It’s hard to lose in such a competitive sport, so if you’re not feeling some type of way right now then you’re probably in the wrong business. But it’s tough for everyone in here.”

(question inaudible)

“Not at all, because we have expectations of ourselves. So it doesn’t really matter what you guys think or anybody else outside of this organization thinks. We gotta come up with ways to win, to stop these questions that you’re asking now. We gotta come up with ways to win.”

Is it hard to believe the team is 5-8?

“Like I said, this is a business, a business of production and we’re not producing right now. We gotta come out, we gotta work harder, whatever it takes, we gotta do.”

Packers fans representing for Al!

Al Harris’ 33rd year was a roller coaster ride. From a Pro Bowl berth to a contract extension to a return from a career-threatening injury, he’s experienced the highest highs and some of the lowest lows.

But through it all, Al Harris continued to be the great man is always has been, giving his all to his family, his team and his city.

So take a minute to wish Al a happy 34th in the comments below!

Al Harris on his matchup with Panthers WR Steve Smith: "There's no love lost at all."

Injuries have decimated the Packers secondary, and head coach Mike McCarthy decided to shuffle the deck a bit on Sunday with Atari Bibgy hurting.

The coaching staff moved Charles Woodson to safety, filling the spot vacated by an injured Bigby and joining Nick Collins. Nickel back Tramon Williams was promoted to a starting assignment at cornerback, opposite Al Harris, which gave the Packers three defensive backs on the field in their base defense.

This makeshift defensive backfield limited Carolina QB Jake Delhomme to just 12 completions for 177 yards. Unfortunately for the Pack, Delhomme connected with WR Steve Smith on a 54-yard pass late in the 4th, which helped seal the win for Carolina.

After the game, Al Harris didn’t have a lot to say. But as usual, what he did say was full of class and good sportsmanship:

Harris sought out Delhomme after the game that dropped Green Bay (5-7) two games back in the NFC North with four to play.

“He said, ‘Hey, you did a great job, you took what we gave you today,’” Delhomme said. “That was something that as a quarterback you try to take what they give you. It’s hard. You want to take shots.”

Early in the game, Panthers wideout Steve Smith got tangled up with 3irty1, pinned him to the ground and the two exchanged words (in fact, the Charlotte Observer called it an “absolute wrestling match.”). Here’s what Al had to say about the matchup:

Some of the most physical play was away from the ball. Harris and Steve Smith kept jawing after Smith fell on top of Harris and took a shot at him. Harris made sure he had a little more bump in his bump-and-run defense after that.

“We’re competing, now. We’re competing. This was my third, fourth time playing against him,” Harris said. “He knows me, I know him. I know what to expect when I play him. . . . There’s no love lost at all.”

Greg A. Bedard of the Journal Sentinel also reports helmets collided as Smith and Harris left the field for halftime.

As you all know, Al’s career was in jeopardy earlier this season when he was diagnosed with a lacerated spleen.

But if you know anything about Al, you know he’s the most determined athlete on the planet. And when he returned from the injury weeks later, many people were surprised.

The experience gave Al a new perspective this Thanksgiving season, and the Wisconsin State Journal wrote about his return from injury, his future with the Packers and more. Here’s a sample:

“I am extremely thankful. Extremely thankful,” Harris said as the Packers prepared for Sunday’s game against the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. “It was scary. It just made me put my life in perspective. This (football) is only a small piece, but an important piece. I appreciate it a little more.

“It was scary. I thought it was over for the year, and being that our team is going in a younger direction, that it could be it here.”

Being the ultimate team player and a loyal Packer, Al Harris said what you’d expect him to say after Drew Brees passed for 323 yards and 4 TDs during New Orleans’ 51-29 win over Green Bay on Monday Night Football:

“Our offense put up 29 points,” cornerback Al Harris said. “We’ve got to help them out. We didn’t get it done. We’ve got to hold them to 28 points.”

And to his enormous credit, Al wasn’t backing off his pre-game claim that the Packers have the best seconadary in the NFL:

“As talented a group as we have — not to say anything negative towards them, but we’ve got the best secondary, period,” Packers cornerback Al Harris said. “We’ve got shutdown guys on the edge, a great nickel guy, two great safeties. They didn’t fool us, they did exactly what we thought they’d do. We’ve just got to make it happen.”

It was admittedly a tough night all around. But one bright spot came – surprisingly – on New Orleans first TD of the game. It was a short pass to Lance Moore, who caught the ball on the right side of the field, danced around one defender and bolted toward the end zone. It appeared as though no one could catch him, but as he sprinted closer to paydirt, a Al Harris was seen absolutely hauling butt (:50 in the video) from the left side of the field at an angle that almost allowed him to catch Moore. Harris grabbed Moore and threw him to the ground, but it was one yard too late. Still, it was great to see Al continue to play with his “never say die” mentality, and to see him run so quickly knowing it was just weeks ago when he was diagnosed with a lacerated spleen.

Watch video of Al taking questions at his locker after Monday’s game:

Click to watch and listen to Al Harris talk with reporters.

Transcript: “We gotta cover our guys, that’s it. Not to say anything negative about Drew. Drew played a great game, made a lot of good decisions, you know, we gotta step up.

Q: How do you prepare for Carolina on a short week?
A: Hey, we gotta get ready. We got another good team coming in here, another good group of receivers. We gotta play.

Al Harris defends against a pass intended for Chicago's Devin Hester Sunday in Green Bay.

As we noted last week, Al Harris entered Sunday’s game with an amazing streak: He had not allowed a completed pass to his side of the field since returning from a lacerated spleen in Week 8.

And 3irty1 continued his streak Sunday vs. Chicago, using his signature physical style of play, his speed and his smarts to help take Devin Hester, Rashied Davis and Brandon Lloyd completely out of their games.

In fact, Bears QB Kyle Orton did not complete a pass to a Chicago WR until the nine-minute mark of the third quarter.

Chicago wideouts finished the game with a measly four receptions for 60 yards and no scores. And Al Harris extended his streak of not allowing a completed pass to four games and counting.

Afterwards, the Bears showed a healthy amount of respect for the job the Packers secondary performed. Brandon Lloyd:

“I’m a huge fan of Woodson and Harris,” said Lloyd, who was back on the field after missing five games with a sprained knee. “I think those guys are awesome. They get paid a ton of money to do what they do. So it is a lot of work to get open against them.”

And Bears GM Jerry Angelo:

“They’re very good. They’re tough to throw on. If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to execute well.”

Executing “well” is proving to be inadequate against this Packers “D”. In Al Harris’ mind, if opponents want to get anything done on offense, they must execute to perfection:

“If you get pressure when you’re playing press coverage, balls have to be perfectly thrown balls,” said Harris. “That’s the goal. For them to complete a pass, it has to be a perfect pass.

“That’s how I look at it.”

As you know, teams have learned to not throw in Al’s direction and as a result, his stats don’t look impressive on paper. Sunday’s totals: One tackle. No interceptions. But the game isn’t played on paper. It’s played on the field, and fans, coaches and opposing WRs know no stats can describe the effectiveness with which Al Harris is playing on the defensive end.

Just ask Devin Hester, Bernard Berrian and Justin Gage.

Click to watch and listen to Al Harris chat with reporters after the Bears game.

The Wisconsin media surrounded Al Harris’ locker shortly after Sunday’s dominating 37-3 victory over the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field.

Watch and listen to the Q&A session right here. Cool to see Al mixing it up with the beat writers, joking around and having a good time while making it clear he worries about nothing other than the team, the fans and his task at hand:

Al: New Orleans is the team to beat. We play them next. So we’re looking to get our game plan for New Orleans. You know, anything after that is after that.

Q: How much do you pay attention to the standings?
Al: Me, personally? Not at all. (New Orleans) has got some good wideouts, so that’s what I pay attention to. (Laughing with reporter) C’mon, dog! You know how this goes!

Q: Talk about holding Chicago to without a touchdown today.
Al: It was a good win. It was a good win for the defense. It was a good win for the team.
I mean we played well, played hard and came out with a win. That’s what you want.

Q: How does it feel to beat a team like Chicago who has kind of had your number recently?
Al: Yep, feels great, feels great. But like I said, it didn’t matter who it was, we were trying to win.

Q: Was that the best total performance of the season? Better than the Colts game?
Al: I don’t know. I wasn’t part of the Colts game. (Laughing) But, it was a good win. It was a good win. All jokes aside, it was a good win, it was an all-around great performance by everybody.

Q: How does it feel to get that winning feeling back in the lockerroom?
A: It feels good. It feels good to good win today.