The Case For James Harrison

James Harrison was once again voted to the Pro Bowl. Congratulations, James.

Hopefully, we don’t see you playing in Hawaii.

We’d much rather see you playing the next weekend in Dallas.

Defensively, the Steelers are playing their best football since the 2008 season. Coincidentally, James Harrison won Defensive Player of the Year that year.

Is there a chance he’ll win the award again this year? To be honest, probably not, given that he has been the poster boy for Roger Goodell’s power trip. But the award is given by the AP, not the NFL Front Office.

But let’s be objective about things for a moment and take a look at the stats. How does James Harrison compare with the other contenders for Defensive Player of the Year?

First, let’s figure out who the contenders are.

Since the award was first handed out by the Associated Press in 1971, it has only gone to a player on a team that did not make the playoffs 6 times. 3 of those 6 times were in the last 10 years. Only once in the past 14 years did the award go to a player that was on a defense not ranked in the Top 10 in Total Defense.

The current Top 10 in Total Defense are: San Diego, Pittsburgh, Miami, NY Jets, New Orleans, NY Giants, Minnesota, Baltimore, Green Bay, Chicago

Linebackers

James Harrison

Cameron Wake

Tamba Hali

46 Tackles

12 Sacks (6th in NFL)

0 INT

4 Forced Fumbles

Team Defense Rank: 11th

65 Tackles

11 Sacks (T-8th in NFL)

0 INT

2 Forced Fumbles

Team Defense Rank: 8th

Suggs has been a monster in some games and completely a non-factor in others. His 11 sacks puts him in the “elite” class in the league, but he hasn’t created turnovers like Harrison has.

Jerod Mayo

169 Tackles (1st in NFL)

1 Sack

0 INT

1 Forced Fumble

Team Defense Rank: 27th

Mayo has been a tackling machine, but let’s face it: he hasn’t made the splash plays that you would expect out of a DPOY. Also, New England’s 27th-ranked defense won’t help his chances.

Defensive Ends

John Abraham

38 Tackles

13 Sacks (2nd in NFL)

1 INT

2 Forced Fumbles

Team Defense Rank: 17th

Abraham has been a sack monster, but the Falcons 17th-ranked defense will hurt him. If you’re looking objectively, he has 1/3 of the tackles and forced fumbles James Harrison does.

Robert Mathis

56 Tackles

11 Sacks (T-8th in NFL)

0 INT

1 Forced Fumbles

Team Defense Rank: 20th

The same amount of sacks as Harrison, with half as many tackles, no INTs and only 1 forced fumble. Plus, he plays on the 20th-ranked defense in the league.

Osi Umenyiora

43 Tackles

10 Sacks (T-14th in NFL)

0 INT

8 Forced Fumbles (1st in NFL)

Team Defense Rank: 6th

Umenyiora and Justin Tuck have both had great seasons rushing the passer. Osi has forced more fumbles than any other player and double-digit sacks are nothing to sneeze at. Osi had a huge 3-game streak in the middle of the season where he rung up 7 sacks. The Giants making the playoffs would help Osi’s chances.

Justin Tuck

74 Tackles

11 Sacks

0 INT

6 Forced Fumbles (T-2nd in NFL)

Team Defense Rank: 6th

Tuck has simply been too inconsistent to win the award. He has 3 games with only 1 tackle, but also has 6 games with 7+ tackles. He has 2 games with 3 sacks, but also been shut out in 8 games.

Defensive Backs

Troy Polamalu

Asante Samuel

Ed Reed
35 Tackles
0 Sacks
6 INT (T-2nd in NFL)
1 Forced Fumble
Team Defense Rank: 8th

Reed missed 6 games this year but has been on a tear with 6 picks since he got back. It won’t help his case that he was no where to be found when the Steelers visited town and took control of the division from the Ravens.

With all the evidence in front of you, the choice should really come down to just a few players. Assuming the Dolphins and Giants don’t make the playoffs, that takes Wake, Umenyiora, and Tuck off the board. Hali, Mayo, Abraham, Mathis, and Samuel play on defenses not ranked in the Top 10.

That leaves us with James Harrison, Clay Matthews, Terrell Suggs, Troy Polamalu, and Ed Reed.

Of these 5 players, Harrison has the most tackles (94), most turnovers created (8 – 6 forced fumbles & 2 INT), and plays on the best defense (2nd ranked). Arguably, Polamalu has made more impact plays this season that have directly affected the outcome of games, but he has also missed 2 games due to injury.

Based on all of the above statistical evidence (and not even counting the fact that he gets held on nearly every play), I would say that Harrison should be one of the leading candidates for Defensive Player of the Year.

To be honest, if we were voting we would probably pick Troy as our Defensive Player of the Year because he has made more big plays at key moments in games than any other defensive player this year. But since he’ll likely miss his 3rd game this weekend due to injury, we don’t think the AP voters will have him on their radar.

Therefore, Vote James Harrison for Defensive Player of the Year.