Somewhere in Cincinnati on Sunday, Carson Palmer must have had a smile on his face.
The first-year pro, for one, was on the sidelines as the Bengals defeated Baltimore, 34-26, for their second win of the season.
He didn’t see any playing time in the win, but by just staying on the sidelines he was gaining more of a future than Joey Harrington did in Detroit’s 38-7 blowout loss to Dallas.
The former Oregon hero was just 5 of 13 against the Cowboys for 30 yards and two interceptions. He was pulled in favor of backup Mike McMahon in the first half.
As Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press pointed out in a column Monday, Harrington’s quarterback rating against the Cowboys was a paltry 7.1.
“But on the Lions’ scale it is but another all too familiar rumbling, a groundswell of questioning the quarterback’s competence,” Sharp wrote. “Harrington’s pathetic individual effort in the most horrid collective exhibition of Lions football in the last three years will set the tone of public outrage in the aftermath of Sunday’s 38-7 loss to Dallas.
“Screaming for the quarterback’s head in this town has become reflexive, but creating a quarterback controversy is a foolish waste of emotion because for there to be a ‘controversy’ there must first be a ‘quarterback.’”
Where Palmer is being given a chance to compete in the future, Harrington has been set up to fail by the mere fact he has stepped on the field every game in just his second professional season.
The Lions are 1-5 this season. They haven’t had a winning season since 2000 when Detroit went 9-7.
The specter of a winning season has shrunk quickly this year, and the title wave that engulfed Ford Field has washed away Harrington’s early potential. Detroit is a sinking ship, even with head coach Steve Mariucci, and the Detroit brass has done nothing but hurt the Portland native’s ability to get tried and true experience.
Throwing Harrington in games, as the Lions did last season, was unfair. He
is getting experience, but it isn’t of a quality nature.
Harrington doesn’t have receivers that can make or break a game. His top go-to guy, Charles Rogers, broke his collarbone in early October and may not see the field for at least a few more weeks.
When Harrington was with Oregon, he had a cast of offensive players that was well suited to his ability. Granted, Detroit can’t base it’s offense on his talents, but there needs to be an adjustment.
Before all the blame is placed on Detroit itself, Harrington must be tossed some of the criticism himself. Sharp may have been a bit harsh to criticize the former Duck so bluntly. Still, a passer rating of 7.1 is downright nasty to look at.
You’d have to figure that Harrington’s rating would’ve been higher for simply stepping on the field with his uniform up to league standards.
On the season, his passer rating is a somewhat — remember the key word, “somewhat” — respectable 56.8, which is actually better than Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb.
However, that figure doesn’t even place Harrington in the top-25 quarterbacks of the NFL. Likewise, it puts him at 14th on the NFC list — out of 16 quarterbacks.
Meanwhile, Palmer has yet to step on the field for the Bengals. He has, however, been given an opportunity by Cincinnati management to learn the system and stay away from the bumps and bruises that Jon Kitna will absorb as the team’s starter.
Harrington isn’t so lucky. He’s being blamed for what ails the Detroit offense, the Detroit media is coming down hard on him and the optimism he has shown throughout the season has got to be waning.
Harrington and the Lions visit Chicago next week at Soldier Field.
Will it be 1-6, or 2-5?