Damien Harris: Power & Speed

[TomPatriot]

...and I don't want him to be a "power back". No need.

Stevenson might be able to assume that role.

 

[jimnance]

Led, groomed and coached by the least appreciated coach in the NFL.

Seriously? Hes widely acknowledged as the GOAT HC, all over the country. Lot of em think hes a cheater too, but they do recognize his greatness.
Thats a ridiculous statement.

 

[n6249c]

Led, groomed and coached by the least appreciated coach in the NFL.

Fears? Another one like Dante. Quietly does a superlative job.

 

[TomPatriot]

Seriously? Hes widely acknowledged as the GOAT HC, all over the country. Lot of em think hes a cheater too, but they do recognize his greatness.
Thats a ridiculous statement.

I am talking about Ivan Fears. He’s been the Patriots running backs’ coach for the last twenty years.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I am talking about Ivan Fears. He’s been the Patriots running backs’ coach for the last twenty years.

And if you think about it, if a position coach is GOING to have a name out there, it would be a guy named Fears.

I vote we name this position grouping "The Sum of All Fears". If that takes too long to say we can say Sigma Fears. Or if you don't mind a trip to the character map, Σ Fears.

 

[jimnance]

I am talking about Ivan Fears. He’s been the Patriots running backs’ coach for the last twenty years.

Lol my bad. I agree 100%.

 

[pazrul72]

So I just watched a 20 min highlight reel of Harris runs last year and the thing that jumped out to me is while he is no prime Adrian Peterson ripping off 50, 80 yard runs, he does an OUTSTANDING job of consistently getting what’s there and just a wiggle more. I forgot how many 8-12 yard runs he had but seeing them all it was like yeah this is a potentially devastating ground game. It’s demoralizing to a defense when they get chunk play after chunk play. Harris also owes Jakob Johnson a steak dinner his blocking was excellent and much improved really jumping off the screen on a handful of the bigger runs. The other thing that stood out, more then power, speed, or moves, was his vision and timing which IMO is the most important thing a RB needs. So many times he was hitting the hole at the exact second it was there or reading the blocking and making adjustments for when someone missed a block. A lot of fun to watch and just impressive synergy between the back and blockers. Really excited to see what this kid can do this year though I wouldn’t touch him in fantasy cuz I expect to see a nasty 1-2-3 punch pounding the ball.

 

[TheRainMaker]

So I just watched a 20 min highlight reel of Harris runs last year and the thing that jumped out to me is while he is no prime Adrian Peterson ripping off 50, 80 yard runs, he does an OUTSTANDING job of consistently getting what’s there and just a wiggle more. I forgot how many 8-12 yard runs he had but seeing them all it was like yeah this is a potentially devastating ground game. It’s demoralizing to a defense when they get chunk play after chunk play. Harris also owes Jakob Johnson a steak dinner his blocking was excellent and much improved really jumping off the screen on a handful of the bigger runs. The other thing that stood out, more then power, speed, or moves, was his vision and timing which IMO is the most important thing a RB needs. So many times he was hitting the hole at the exact second it was there or reading the blocking and making adjustments for when someone missed a block. A lot of fun to watch and just impressive synergy between the back and blockers. Really excited to see what this kid can do this year though I wouldn’t touch him in fantasy cuz I expect to see a nasty 1-2-3 punch pounding the ball.

Harris has a lot of talent who has a nice burst when he sees the smallest crack of daylight and looks for contact.

What stuck out to me the most last year was how Harris can get under defenders skin. For example, he was repeatedly running over Patrick Queen and Derek Wolfe who eventually lost his cool. I can’t remember if he got a personal foul penalty, but he let Harris know of his frustration.

He’s had some nice games last season where he’s tough to stop once he gets going.

 

[zydecochris]

I think he runs too upright. There were several times last year he took high shots.

He absolutely is not a power back either.

With those criticisms aside he runs hard with 100% effort.

If he can stay healthy no question he can be a 1000yd RB in this offense.

Huh, interesting. When I watched him at Alabama I actually thought he ran pretty low, I thought of his running style kind of like Emmitt Smith (running style only, not the ability or production), he wasn't the type to constantly leave his feet and hurdle people like Najee Harris or Derrick Henry, he usually managed to fall forward for a bit of extra yardage (unlike Henry) and didn't get stood up at the line like Henry did so often (of course, if Henry broke through the line with a head of steam, either then or now, watch out!!).

Well, you usually have a pretty sharp eye for football, maybe his running style has changed a bit (now that he doesn't have a bunch of future 1st round draft picks blocking for him like at Alabama) or maybe I just saw the wrong thing at Alabama.

 

[zydecochris]

Harris has been a fav of mine for a while now. My eyes would always gravitate towards him watching Tua. Such a smart player. That always stood out. He does everything really well but has great vision. Really good eyes, ability to manipulate the 2nd level. That's his best quality imo.

Agreed, he was a very smart and "polished" player even at Alabama. I think his strength was doing all of the little things well: picked the right hole, great vision, very good blocker, a very reliable receiver in college, and he was great at falling forward for a little extra yardage. It should be noted that Saban gave him way more snaps than the more highly drafted Josh Jacobs in their last year at Alabama, and it is all of the little things just described here. Given how smart and polished he was with all the little things, I thought he would have a big role as a rookie, I guess that shows how much I know.

 

[zydecochris]

my concern about Harris has nothing to do about his abilities, but rather his durability.

I love the fact that he runs with such reckless abandon BUT the fact is he's NOT a 220+ guy and has shown that he breaks down at some point each season. That being said with Sony, White, and Stephenson, to take snaps, Harris won't take the wear and tear he'd get if he had to take 250+ carries a season.

The Pats are likely going to run the ball 30+ times a game this season. If Harris Sony and Stephenson each get around 7 and White takes 3 we can reach that number and keep the "committee" healthy and the run game at its most efficient.

At any rate it will be very interesting to see how they dole out the carries this season

Good points Ken. The funny thing about Harris's durability is that he really didn't miss many games at Alabama due to injury. At the time, I attributed his durability to what-I-thought-was his "don't lose yardage, don't leave your feet, take what you can get and fall forward" running style at Alabama. But as you say with the Patriots his durability has been a real problem, so I guess you never really know how a player transitions to the pros.

In his last year at Alabama he got the majority of snaps with a talented committee of running backs like Josh Jacobs and a younger Najee Harris, and he was both super productive and relatively injury free. Let's hope that, as you say, he can share snaps with Sony and Stephenson to have a three headed monster at RB that wears defenses down.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Agreed, he was a very smart and "polished" player even at Alabama. I think his strength was doing all of the little things well: picked the right hole, great vision, very good blocker, a very reliable receiver in college, and he was great at falling forward for a little extra yardage. It should be noted that Saban gave him way more snaps than the more highly drafted Josh Jacobs in their last year at Alabama, and it is all of the little things just described here. Given how smart and polished he was with all the little things, I thought he would have a big role as a rookie, I guess that shows how much I know.

He was Saban's favorite back out of all the recent ones. Saban preferred Harris > Jacobs.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Huh, interesting. When I watched him at Alabama I actually thought he ran pretty low, I thought of his running style kind of like Emmitt Smith (running style only, not the ability or production), he wasn't the type to constantly leave his feet and hurdle people like Najee Harris or Derrick Henry, he usually managed to fall forward for a bit of extra yardage (unlike Henry) and didn't get stood up at the line like Henry did so often (of course, if Henry broke through the line with a head of steam, either then or now, watch out!!).

Well, you usually have a pretty sharp eye for football, maybe his running style has changed a bit (now that he doesn't have a bunch of future 1st round draft picks blocking for him like at Alabama) or maybe I just saw the wrong thing at Alabama.

Here is an example. IIRC he got hit high a couple more times last year as well. Took hits right on the front of his shoulder.



Just needs to get his pad level lower. That's all. Very correctable.

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Here is an example. IIRC he got hit high a couple more times last year as well. Took hits right on the front of his shoulder.



Just needs to get his pad level lower. That's all. Very correctable.

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

This is true. He does run a lil high/upright.

 

[zydecochris]

Here is an example. IIRC he got hit high a couple more times last year as well. Took hits right on the front of his shoulder.



Just needs to get his pad level lower. That's all. Very correctable.

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

Well, he certainly looks like he is running a bit high there.

IMHO at Alabama his running style was more to take what the defense was giving, make the smart cut, and not make a big mistake. He had plenty of big runs, but really Josh Jacobs and a younger Najee Harris were more of a "home run" type of runner. However, at Alabama he was part of an electric offense led by Tua plus a top offensive line and an embarrassment of riches at WR: DeVonta Smith, Jaylen Waddle, Jerry Jeudy, and Henry Ruggs (!!). Saban preferred Harris's near-mistake-free running to the "home run" alternatives more often than not, perhaps because they had plenty of other ways to generate points.

In contrast, it isn't like the Patriots were setting any passing records last year, maybe he felt more pressure to generate big gains that led to a less conservative type of running.

Or, maybe I'm just not that good at seeing how upright the RB runs, I'm willing to accept that possibility.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

He had the worst vision I’ve ever seen out of a RB always looking for a pile to run into. He had his moments, but when you can’t even muster 1,000 yards with all the attention on the passing attack in 2007, it’s time to look in the mirror. The injury in 2008 K’O’ his career.

 

[masterbouncer]

Here is an example. IIRC he got hit high a couple more times last year as well. Took hits right on the front of his shoulder.



Just needs to get his pad level lower. That's all. Very correctable.

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

what I noticed in the video is:

Ref: "Holding! Offense #16..."
Harry: "Whaaaaaattttt?"

 

[RobertWeathers]

He had the worst vision I’ve ever seen out of a RB always looking for a pile to run into. He had his moments, but when you can’t even muster 1,000 yards with all the attention on the passing attack in 2007, it’s time to look in the mirror. The injury in 2008 K’O’ his career.

Horrible vision. Horrible fundamentals.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Eric ****erson ran upright (he said hopefully...)

 

[Mike the Brit]

Here is an example. IIRC he got hit high a couple more times last year as well. Took hits right on the front of his shoulder.



Just needs to get his pad level lower. That's all. Very correctable.

Maroney ran upright often. Could never break the habit.

And what I noticed is that the hit on Harris was with the helmet. If the refs are going to call "lowering the head to initiate contact" at all, that should have been it.