Everybody's talkin' at me.
Forgive Marvin Harrison Jr. if he tries not to hear the incessant noise emanating from all forms of social media (whoever called it social to begin with is a mystery) and commentary, much of which is devoid of the reality that is pro football.
Yes, Harrison admits you can’t help but hear it because it’s inescapable, but as Arizona Cardinals head coach Mike LaFleur aptly noted, it’s not about ignoring the noise but rather being above it.
Quarterback Jacoby Brissett said after Harrison had no receptions and only one target in last week’s loss to the Seahawks, “Is some of the noise justified? I don't think so, personally. We just signed Mike (Wilson) for 25 (million) and nobody said anything about him having two catches.
I think people try to find somewhere to make something out of nothing.”
He’s not wrong. Wilson’s two receptions on seven targets were good for only 18 yards after having 5-56 in Week 1. Tight end Trey McBride had eight receptions, but totaled only 41 yards after a 9-95 day against the Chargers. Kendrick Bourne was 2-11 against Seattle after going 8-75 in Week 1. The longest pass play in the game was nine yards.
Brissett passed for a mere 95 yards (5.6 yards per completion) while the Cardinals offense managed 44 yards in the second half and only 20 yards on 12 plays prior to the final two plays of the game that gained 24 yards.
As LaFleur said emphatically when asked about Harrison, “I wouldn't look into too much of anything right now. Because we didn't throw the ball for crap anyway. Schematically, it wasn't good.”
Truth be told, scheme likely didn’t matter much against the Seahawks.
Added Brissett, “They stay in the structure of staying two-high. It's kind of hard to push the ball. It was hard to find completions today.”
It was a total team fail from no running game to protection issues against one of the best, if not the best, defense in the NFL that played lots of shell coverage to try and take Harrison out of the game.
But all that wasn’t talked about, only the goose egg in Harrison’s receptions column or Brissett being a career backup, which, of course, wasn’t the narrative after Week 1.
The savvy Harrison noted, “For my route tree getting down the field, you need a lot of things to go right. You need the right coverage, you need protection to hold up, you need me to run a great route, you need Jacoby to make the right pass and make the right read. So, it's never one person's fault for anybody's success or lack thereof.”
Tell that to the masses that see only low-hanging fruit and try to devour it while ignoring the better fruit that can only be reached with a more effort.
He couldn’t get open, critics roar, not listening or caring to acknowledge the evidence of plays where he was open, but the protection broke down.
Surely, Harrison would have liked to have some plays back, but that’s the case for most everyone when the team is outscored 24 to zip in the second half.
It’s easy to harangue the fourth overall choice in the 2024 draft, whose pedigree demanded he be great from Day 1.
As for the geniuses that say Brissett should just force the ball to Harrison, they’d be the first ones throwing chairs at the quarterback for throwing into double coverage.
As for altering the plan and getting some easy completions, LaFleur said, “That’s fine. (But) you also have Trey McBride who’s one of the best underneath guys in the world and there are only about 60 to 65 plays a game. (There were only 47 against Seattle). You have to run the ball, and you have Kendrick who works underneath pretty well too, so everyone kind of has their role right there. Doesn’t mean that we won’t this week if we think that’s what’s best in terms of working him underneath, but that’s not what we thought was best through the first two weeks.”
Harrison faced the media professionally this week and is maintaining his work ethic despite the amateur psychologists from thousands of miles away that are saying he’s mentally gone and has “checked out.”
As Brissett said Wednesday, “I saw him today and he's on the jugs (machine) and I'm like, 'Oh, so you still are with your process. The foundation that you're laying for yourself is not changing based on the external gratification or whatever the noise is from the outside.' That's what you want to see.
“When you talk about his work ethic, you talk about him showing up, being engaged in the meetings and then going out on the field, giving 110 percent and being the Marv that we all know he is; that hasn't changed."
Wilson said, “No one sees the work that he puts in. He's one of the first ones here catching jugs every single morning. He cares a lot about ball and he's a genuinely good person for someone that's had as much success as he's had. He's never come in with an ego or try to make other people around him feel less than (him). He's worked like he's been someone that was undrafted and carries himself from a humility standpoint, someone that wasn't a Heisman finalist or a fourth overall pick. Just an A-plus character guy.
“I promise you I'll be more happy for him than if I went for 100 yards myself.”
When asked if his confidence emanates from results or his process, Harrison said, “It comes from my process. My process isn’t going to change whether I get zero catches or 10 catches. I'm going to still do the same thing week in and week out, Monday through Saturday to prepare myself for the game. So I think that's where I have a lot of my confidence come from.
“Obviously you want to have more of an impact on the game, but confidence really has to come from preparation more than anything.”
The $64-million question is where it goes from here. Already there are those crowning Harrison a bust and inventing trade scenarios. After two games.
Linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. chimed in, saying, “Marv works hard. He's in here early every day. He's the last one off the field, first one on the field. We see the work that he puts in and all we can do is just be there for him as a brother and just let him know this is going to pass and you will get your chance to shine.”
Or as Brissett said, “At some point the tide will change. When? We don't know yet, but hopefully soon.”
For Harrison, the Cardinals and the noise-makers, it obviously can’t come soon enough.
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This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Marvin Harrison just keeps working to silence the negative noise
