Post by jcappy on Jul 19, 2015 16:31:30 GMT -5
www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/07/jets_damon_harrison_says_todd_bowles_will_let_him.html
Jets' Damon Harrison says Todd Bowles will let him rush the passer more than Rex Ryan did
WEST CALDWELL — A big reason why you see Jets nose tackle Damon Harrison listed among the NFL's most underrated players is because nose tackles have thankless jobs that result in them accumulating few sexy stats.
Harrison, entering Year 4 in the NFL, has been a starter for the past two seasons. During that time, he's been one of the league's best run stoppers.
But he has just one career sack, in 2013. Last season, he was credited with three quarterback hits and seven hurries by Pro Football Focus. In 2013, he had zero hits and nine hurries, in addition to that lone sack.
Harrison thinks he has a good chance of adding to his sack total in 2015, a contract year for him. That's because new Jets coach Todd Bowles is asking Harrison to be more aggressive with pass rushing than Rex Ryan did.
Under Ryan, Harrison did a lot of "two-gapping," he said. This means he lined up straight-on with the center was responsible for the gaps on either side of the center — two gaps, even though both gaps are known as the A gap, in football terminology. Lining up straight-on with the center is known as zero technique.
"There was a lot of two-gapping with Rex," Harrison said Thursday at James Caldwell High School, after working out with Parabolic Performance and Rehab's head trainer, Brian Martin. "Here [under Bowles], we're attacking. We were attacking with Rex, too. But for myself, as the nose tackle, I didn't get a chance to get up the field like Muhammad and Sheldon were doing."
Ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson certainly get plenty of pass-rushing opportunities. Harrison knows those guys are going to be the Jets' biggest stars. But it bothers him when people diminish his role in the defense.
"I hate when I read that, man," Harrison said. "Mo and Sheldon are good players. They're damn good players. But when people are like, 'Anybody can be good between those two all-star defensive ends,' I still have to do my job. I still have to get off blocks. I don't know if people watch, but I get double teamed a lot. Even if they're double teamed, I still have to get off the block and make a tackle for loss."
But as Harrison explained, when he is in the zero technique, he is solely responsible for the two gaps to either side of the center.
"Those two are my gaps," Harrison said. "I can't just jump out of one gap and go to another one" to rush the passer.
Yet a defensive tackle playing a three technique can do something different than a nose tackle playing a zero technique. A three technique is when a defensive tackle (typically one who plays in a 4-3 scheme) lines up on the guard's outside shoulder and rushes through the B gap, between the guard and tackle.
Those three technique defensive tackles "can go" and rush the quarterback, Harrison said. In a 3-4 scheme, like Ryan and Bowles use, Harrison doesn't always have that luxury. While he surely will be required to play a lot of zero technique under Bowles, Harrison also believes he'll be able to rush the passer more.
"We have a little more freedom to do some stuff," Harrison said.
So that means less two-gapping and more attacking for Harrison?
"A whole lot more," he said with a smile.
He is clearly excited about the opportunity to diversify his game and show he is more than just a run-stopping, space-clogging, gap-filling nose tackle.
"Heck yeah, man," Harrison said. "Rex did an excellent job with the defense. It worked. That's what I was asked to do, so that's what I did to the best of my ability. Now I'm being asked to do something different. I'm going to do that to best of my ability as well."
Improving his pass rushing production is the next step for Harrison, he said.
"People love sacks," he said. "Obviously, I haven't had as much opportunity to get them as many other people. But I've had my opportunities and I haven't been able to capitalize on them."
Harrison clarified that he did some three technique work under Ryan, but he mostly stuck with what he thrived at — the traditional 3-4 nose tackle zero technique duties.
"People think I just played [zero technique] nose tackle with Rex," Harrison said. "No. I was a three technique. I had opportunities to play defensive end, but I didn't want to. It's just that, OK, I'm doing this [nose tackle stuff] really well. Why move from doing that?"
He did it so well that he rates among the NFL's best nose tackles. He said last week that he considers himself the best.
"Who am I to tell myself that I'm not the best?" he said Thursday. "That's not me."
Harrison will earn $2.356 million this year, playing on a one-year restricted free agent tender. After going undrafted in 2012, he made $1.44 million combined in his first three seasons — not a lot by NFL standards.
"Especially with the amount of taxes [in New Jersey], man," he said.
But he said he's not focusing on playing for his next contract this year.
"Everybody wants to have that security," he said. "But I don't think about it. I've just got to go out there and do my job. If I don't, then we're back to square one."
Jets' Damon Harrison says Todd Bowles will let him rush the passer more than Rex Ryan did
WEST CALDWELL — A big reason why you see Jets nose tackle Damon Harrison listed among the NFL's most underrated players is because nose tackles have thankless jobs that result in them accumulating few sexy stats.
Harrison, entering Year 4 in the NFL, has been a starter for the past two seasons. During that time, he's been one of the league's best run stoppers.
But he has just one career sack, in 2013. Last season, he was credited with three quarterback hits and seven hurries by Pro Football Focus. In 2013, he had zero hits and nine hurries, in addition to that lone sack.
Harrison thinks he has a good chance of adding to his sack total in 2015, a contract year for him. That's because new Jets coach Todd Bowles is asking Harrison to be more aggressive with pass rushing than Rex Ryan did.
Under Ryan, Harrison did a lot of "two-gapping," he said. This means he lined up straight-on with the center was responsible for the gaps on either side of the center — two gaps, even though both gaps are known as the A gap, in football terminology. Lining up straight-on with the center is known as zero technique.
"There was a lot of two-gapping with Rex," Harrison said Thursday at James Caldwell High School, after working out with Parabolic Performance and Rehab's head trainer, Brian Martin. "Here [under Bowles], we're attacking. We were attacking with Rex, too. But for myself, as the nose tackle, I didn't get a chance to get up the field like Muhammad and Sheldon were doing."
Ends Muhammad Wilkerson and Sheldon Richardson certainly get plenty of pass-rushing opportunities. Harrison knows those guys are going to be the Jets' biggest stars. But it bothers him when people diminish his role in the defense.
"I hate when I read that, man," Harrison said. "Mo and Sheldon are good players. They're damn good players. But when people are like, 'Anybody can be good between those two all-star defensive ends,' I still have to do my job. I still have to get off blocks. I don't know if people watch, but I get double teamed a lot. Even if they're double teamed, I still have to get off the block and make a tackle for loss."
But as Harrison explained, when he is in the zero technique, he is solely responsible for the two gaps to either side of the center.
"Those two are my gaps," Harrison said. "I can't just jump out of one gap and go to another one" to rush the passer.
Yet a defensive tackle playing a three technique can do something different than a nose tackle playing a zero technique. A three technique is when a defensive tackle (typically one who plays in a 4-3 scheme) lines up on the guard's outside shoulder and rushes through the B gap, between the guard and tackle.
Those three technique defensive tackles "can go" and rush the quarterback, Harrison said. In a 3-4 scheme, like Ryan and Bowles use, Harrison doesn't always have that luxury. While he surely will be required to play a lot of zero technique under Bowles, Harrison also believes he'll be able to rush the passer more.
"We have a little more freedom to do some stuff," Harrison said.
So that means less two-gapping and more attacking for Harrison?
"A whole lot more," he said with a smile.
He is clearly excited about the opportunity to diversify his game and show he is more than just a run-stopping, space-clogging, gap-filling nose tackle.
"Heck yeah, man," Harrison said. "Rex did an excellent job with the defense. It worked. That's what I was asked to do, so that's what I did to the best of my ability. Now I'm being asked to do something different. I'm going to do that to best of my ability as well."
Improving his pass rushing production is the next step for Harrison, he said.
"People love sacks," he said. "Obviously, I haven't had as much opportunity to get them as many other people. But I've had my opportunities and I haven't been able to capitalize on them."
Harrison clarified that he did some three technique work under Ryan, but he mostly stuck with what he thrived at — the traditional 3-4 nose tackle zero technique duties.
"People think I just played [zero technique] nose tackle with Rex," Harrison said. "No. I was a three technique. I had opportunities to play defensive end, but I didn't want to. It's just that, OK, I'm doing this [nose tackle stuff] really well. Why move from doing that?"
He did it so well that he rates among the NFL's best nose tackles. He said last week that he considers himself the best.
"Who am I to tell myself that I'm not the best?" he said Thursday. "That's not me."
Harrison will earn $2.356 million this year, playing on a one-year restricted free agent tender. After going undrafted in 2012, he made $1.44 million combined in his first three seasons — not a lot by NFL standards.
"Especially with the amount of taxes [in New Jersey], man," he said.
But he said he's not focusing on playing for his next contract this year.
"Everybody wants to have that security," he said. "But I don't think about it. I've just got to go out there and do my job. If I don't, then we're back to square one."
