Joey Harrington: exactly what the Atlanta Falcons need right now

KATU provides a balanced review of the history and prospects of quarterbacks for the Atlanta Falcons going into tomorrow night’s preseason game with Cincinnati, in the Georgia Dome. The game will be broadcast on Monday Night Football, 5 p.m. on ESPN.

I think Joey Harrington is just right for the Atlanta Falcons right now. Players don’t come much more wholesome and upstanding in character than Joey. He maintained his dignity and public composure throughout the disappointments of his years with the Detroit Lions, who never seemed to understand the importance of drafting some good offensive linemen to give their star quarterback a chance to throw to their talented receivers. Likewise with the Miami Dolphins – I never heard Joey complain or place blame on others. It was coincidence, but the week the Michael Vick dog-fighting story broke, Joey was at the Humane Society adopting a kitten with his wife Emily. Aww. The Atlanta fans need a quarterback who can be a good team leader and uplifter, perhaps even more than one who can scramble on the field.

Of course, Joey also needs to play the way he did at Oregon, completing his passes and making wise choices in the pocket, as well as inspiring each member of the team to perform at the top of their capacity. The rest of the team is going to have to adapt from relying on Michael Vick’s rushing abilities, providing better pass protection and efficiency in making catches when the ball is on target. Joey completed 57.5% of his passes last year, while Michael Vick completed only 52.6% of his and his best mark in the NFL was 56.4% in 2004.

Joey wrote a guest column published in the Oregonian after the loss to Stanford at Autzen Stadium that cost the Ducks the chance at a National Championship in his senior year. I wish I could find it on line – I thought I’d saved a copy, but it must be on an old computer. The gist of it was that he felt awful for having failed, and realized that being out there and going for it is sometimes the best one can do. And if you’re the best or only person for the job, and you give it all you have and come up short, it’s still worth doing even if you end up short of your goal. That’s like life.

It may turn out Joey Harrington’s game is best suited to college football. In the meantime, I’ll be rooting for him and the Atlanta Falcons to play well all season. I think he’s been a great ambassador for Oregon regardless.

Why am I posting on football when I haven’t even done Next Up at City Council yet? Well, one of the reasons I love football is that anyone can have an opinion, and nobody can say for sure it’s wrong until the season’s over. I try to put adequate thought and research into each current events post, even when I’m slapping out a couple daily, because civic matters are important to me and hopefully to others. With football, my opinion most certainly doesn’t matter. It’s relaxing after the past few days of frenzied activity here at our home, to take a few minutes to think about the upcoming high school, college, and pro football seasons. I’m looking forward to each.