Harrison out to hurt, not injure opponents
-
James Harrison upends the Browns' Benjamin Watson Sunday at Heinz Field.
Share with others:
You're damn right Steelers linebacker James Harrison tried to hurt Cleveland's Joshua Cribbs Sunday.
Mohamed Massaquoi, too.
Just as he'll try to hurt quarterback Chad Henne and running backs Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams when the Steelers play the Dolphins in Miami Sunday.
"I don't want to see anyone injured," Harrison said, "but I'm not opposed to hurting anyone."
Say what?
"There's a difference," Harrison said. "When you're injured, you can't play. But when you're hurt, you can shake it off and come back. I try to hurt people."
I decided right then that made perfect sense.
I mean, really, would you argue with Harrison?
On a day when he knocked out the two Browns and generally was "a beast" -- teammate Hines Ward's words -- in the Steelers' 28-10 win?
"You get hit by James, you feel it. It's over," Steelers safety Ryan Clark said. "There's no bouncing back up after he hits you. He's not playing around out there. It's no joke to him."
It's hard to say Cribbs felt anything on the play he was injured ... excuse me, hurt. He appeared to be knocked out cold. It happened early in the second quarter when Cribbs lined up at quarterback in the Browns' wildcat formation. He rolled to his right, looked to pass, then decided to run. Just as he started to cut back across the field, he was drilled by Harrison, who caught him helmet-to-helmet in a violent collision. No penalty was called because Cribbs was a fair target as a ball carrier.
Many of the Cleveland players huddled around Cribbs and prayed as he received attention from the Browns' medical staff. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger also was there, a concerned observer.
"You hate to see anyone down like that, but then you realize he just went to sleep for a little bit and he came out of it and he's going to be OK," Harrison said.
Apparently, no one sent Harrison the memo from the NFL office expressing more concern than ever about concussions and the long-term effects they might have on players, including brain disease and dementia.
"That's football," Harrison said, shrugging.
Another realization hit Harrison when Cribbs walked slowly to the Browns' sideline, then to their locker room, done for the afternoon.
"That ends the wildcat, It's out the window," Harrison said.
The Browns had hoped to use Cribbs -- their best offensive player -- often in that role to take pressure off rookie quarterback Colt McCoy, who was making his first NFL start. Cribbs had hurt the Steelers in that formation when the Browns beat the Steelers, 13-6, in December. He ran eight times for 87 yards.
First Published October 18, 2010 12:00 am
