James Harrison not slowing down as Steelers approach playoffs
PITTSBURGH 鈥� James Harrison isn鈥檛 showing any signs of slowing down, even as a 38 year-old in the latter stretch of his 14th NFL season.
As seen in Sunday night鈥檚 win over the Ravens, Harrison鈥檚 age is really just a number at this point. With a playoff berth on the line, the veteran OLB led the Steelers with 11 tackles, nine of which were solo.
Harrison鈥檚 play of late has his teammates questioning if he will actually hang up the spikes any time soon. Just 12 hours after playing 74 of 75 total defensive snaps against the Ravens, Harrison was at the UPMC Rooney 缅北禁地 Complex doing static belt squats.
鈥淲ith how he鈥檚 playing now, we don鈥檛 even know if he鈥檚 going to retire next year or not,鈥� Bud Dupree said. 鈥淭he way he works and the way he carries himself with the things he does, he probably could play another three years if he really wanted to.鈥�
Harrison ranks sixth on the team with 53 tackles, albeit he was only averaging roughly 50 percent of the defensive snaps for the first half of the season while in a four-man rotation. That could have been a blessing in disguise. OLB coach Joey Porter did a good job of limiting Harrison鈥檚 workload in September and October in order to get the best of him in November and December. He鈥檚 first on the team with five sacks, and tied for second with two forced fumbles.
Harrison鈥檚 20 tackles in the last two games is tied for the most he鈥檚 ever had over a two-game span, with the previous mark coming in 2008.
While playing alongside Dupree, Harrison has helped the 2015 first-round pick鈥檚 development. Dupree has 17 tackles and 3.5 sacks in five games since his return from injured reserve as a key piece in the Steelers鈥� front seven. Often, he鈥檚 communicating with Harrison in between plays in regards to what鈥檚 going on at the line of scrimmage.
鈥淲e鈥檒l ask each other what we鈥檙e getting since we rush on both sides,鈥� Dupree said. 鈥淎nd just other things, like the run plays. It鈥檚 always good to know what he saw and what I saw, and communicate it to each other.
鈥淗e knows a lot more than I do. Just simple stuff. He can be looking at the line of scrimmage and already see that it鈥檚 a run, where I鈥檓 focused on just getting off the ball and beating my man. He slows it down. He sees the game a lot slower than me.鈥�
In a defense with five starters age 23 or younger, three of which are rookies, Harrison鈥檚 veteran presence during the Steelers鈥� upcoming playoff run can鈥檛 be taken for granted.
鈥淗e keeps us grinding,鈥� Dupree said. 鈥淪ometimes we鈥檒l be too hype or overexcited, and he鈥檒l come out and say things like, 鈥榃e don鈥檛 need no pep rally.鈥� He keeps us grounded and on the right track.鈥�