Why the narratives about James Harrison mean very little

“A picture is worth a thousand words”. It’s a quote that has been thrown about, in one form or another, since the early 20th century. Long before that, a Chinese proverb stated, “Hearing something a hundred times isn’t better than seeing it once.”

Steelers fans have been fed the image of James Harrison and his exit stage left to the New England Patriots all week. The picture that has been painted of Harrison ranges from one of traitor to turncoat, to hero (mainly to Patriots fans and those upset with the NFL for various reasons) and strategist; to selfish, terrible teammate and nearly every color of gray in between. And the fiery narrative is being fueled even more by the media; the ones who came up with the slogan that pictures are worth more than words to begin with. The biggest issue, however, is that the chronicle of Harrison’s departure from Pittsburgh means very little in the bigger scheme of what the Steelers, or even the Patriots, do in the near future.

Let’s look at the image from a Steelers fan perspective. Without going full yinzer, although some have gone there, many fans of the team are upset to furious that Harrison would dare to besmirch or dishonor the team that brought him back from the dregs of Cincinnati and gave him a shot to be a hero in Pittsburgh once again. The reason it angers fans? It stinks of deceit. It looks like a player that they elevated to the status of greatness has thumbed his nose yet again at a fanbase that supported his efforts on and off the field.

No one enjoys being disrespected and Steelers fans, even though they’re just as guilty of being this way as any other loyal base of a professional or even college team, really get outraged when someone tosses the honor they give out back in their faces. It’s why even thinking about treating the ‘Terrible Towel’ as anything but a symbol of ultimate football holiness and sacredness has become a “curse” tossed on the defiler. It’s like a version of Pennsylvania voodoo with a lump of coal thrown in even if it isn’t Christmas.

Sports personalities are loving this. Doug Gottlieb, a frequent commentator on Colin Cowherd’s show, did a whole schpeel about why Harrison should be ashamed of what he’s done. Will Cain on ESPN’s First Take says Steelers fans should have a “huge” problem with the Patriots grabbing Harrison and paying him to play for them. Visit those links to watch their rants if you will, but know that they have no interest in really appeasing fans beyond what it does to make them, and their business, prosper via ‘likes’, ‘views’, ratings and the revenue it draws by keeping things stirred up. Even if it is false outrage on their part, they’re painting a picture that they know matches what many feel inside. They are feeding the wolf that is already primed to go for the throat and the kill.

From the player perspective, it was no secret that Harrison was unhappy with his role in Pittsburgh. He produced how-to videos on using NFL-legal supplements to bulk up like a prized gladiator all offseason, promoting his workout regimen to millions, and showing that at 39 years of age you can still capture your dreams. Assuming Deebo’s dream was to continue playing in the NFL, he accomplished that. Assuming he wanted to continue to earn money for doing something he loved to do, he accomplished that as well.

Yet, at 39, Harrison – regardless of how great his body looked without a shirt on – was no longer the guy that the Steelers could drop into coverage against bigger, faster tight ends the NFL has been utilizing (especially in New England) or slot receivers built like gold medal Olympic track stars. He was a pass-rusher, a true outside linebacker molded in the old fashion. In other words, like so many other NFL players and stars have learned, he was an outdated version of what an NFL OLB or ‘edge’ player was evolving into.

Whether he will adapt in the Patriots’ system of defense, against other teams that are evolving and morphing, just the same as the Steelers are, is completely uncertain. There is no way to know if he’ll be able to get past offensive linemen just because he’s wearing red, white, blue and silver instead of black and gold. In fact, it’s highly likely (like 99.9 percent) that a change of location will not suddenly convert him into the new model of outside linebacker.

Yes, his Steelers teammates have given interviews and spoken out on social media about how they see Harrison’s departure. They want the message to be clear and not misconstrued by the media – Harrison wanted out; he wasn’t satisfied and he had done very little to help guys on the team learn from him or be open to mentoring younger players. The players currently on the Steelers roster who’ve been vocal have done so because they too feel the vacuum of a guy that many looked up to only to discover Harrison was no longer ‘that guy’. They can’t change his mind. They’ve got games ahead of them and there have been enough distractions in the league and in the Steelers locker room this year as it is.

This all boils down to the narrative that does matter. Harrison is not going to have the magic playbook to hand over to Bill Belichick and the Patriots. In fact, Belichick said this when asked about Harrison, “Yeah, we signed him yesterday.” And Belichick’s big statement on the impact Harrison will have and how he’ll make the Steelers pay for releasing his new linebacker (even though Harrison was begging for an exit?) was as follows:

I don’t know. We haven’t practiced with him yet. We’ll get out there this week and see how it goes. I’m not really sure how it’s going to go.

In other words, Harrison may not even work in the Patriots’ scheme. He may or may not be able to give them information, but the Patriots already know what the Steelers bring because they’ve played them once already this season. Harrison’s move isn’t going to be what dooms Pittsburgh – they determine their own fate when it comes to facing New England again.

Does that paint a different picture? If not, you had enough words to start looking at the whole carnival sideshow that is one player’s departure from a team (something that happens all the time in the NFL) in at least a different light and perspective. Be fired up, if you want to be. Be angry, or resentful. Be joyously happy. Whatever your emotion may be, just because you are hearing the myriad of stories does not mean that you can’t make your own determination on how effective or disruptive or ‘out to get Pittsburgh’ Harrison is come game day. Just open your eyes and watch.