Andrew Harris

[Shi Zi Mi]

Andrew Harris is going into his option year in 2014.......and I'm certain Buono will offer him a contract extension in the coming off season.......but I have the feeling that with the way 2013 has transpired, Harris will refuse an extension until he's certain the Lions are committed to fixing the offensive line and the run game.

In the likely case of Harris refusing an extension, what will Buono do?......keep him for the run to the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver.........OR........trade him to Winnipeg for the 1st overall pick (most likely) in the 2014 draft......then pick the BEST offensive lineman available with that pick?

[Rammer]

Andrew Harris is going into his option year in 2014.......and I'm certain Buono will offer him a contract extension in the coming off season.......but I have the feeling that with the way 2013 has transpired, Harris will refuse an extension until he's certain the Lions are committed to fixing the offensive line and the run game.

In the likely case of Harris refusing an extension, what will Buono do?......keep him for the run to the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver.........OR........trade him to Winnipeg for the 1st overall pick (most likely) in the 2014 draft......then pick the BEST offensive lineman available with that pick?

Hope not, but his body language on that first decent gain late in the fourth quarter tells me that he is a very frustrated young man with the current situation. Besides with the Lions record of drafting NI OL, it would be like giving him away.

[TheLionKing]

No question that Harris is frustrated at the way this season has unfolded but I don't see him going anywhere.

[ducepot]

If Chaps is still around ,I can see Harris asking for a trade,and I wouldn't blame him..

[Blitz]

I had always been a big Andrew Harris supporter coming into this season and for a long time. I had believed Harris deserved an opportunity to start for our Leos well before he was inserted into the starting tailback spot well part way through 2011. I was also a big Nick Moore and Courtney Taylor supporter and believed they deserved their starting opportunities well before they were given their chance to prove themselves.

I continue to appreciate Moore and Taylor but the 2013 season has been a disappointing one for me, in terms of supporting Andrew Harris. Who wouldn't love his story. A Canadian kid who leaves Winnipeg to play junior football in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island and in his first season as a starter, getting his opportunity part way through 2011, he goes on to be the Top Canadian as we win the 2011 Grey Cup. In 2012 he leads the CFL in yards from scrimmage as our Leos go 13-5 have the best regular season record in the CFL and our offence leads the CFL in rushing and average yards per game.

Andrew Harris becomes one of the most popular, if not the most popular Leo player, going into this 2013 season. It has not been a happy one for Harris and he has contributed to his own problems as well.

Those problems include the fact that he started the season uncharacteristically tweeting good riddance to Khalif Mitchell. Not wise to publically denigrate a former teammate. It breaks the code.

Harris shows his frustration on the field with arm waving in the air and gestulations during games that are inappropriate.

Harris publically criticizes his coaching staff after the Montreal game and complains about the amont of times he was asked to block. This was coming from a tailback who is used in the passing game more than any tailback in the league and who is asked to pass block the least (and all tailbacks do have to pass block in all offences). This is not something a player should ever do publically and bigger NFL and CFL stars than Harris know better. This behavior is not the kind of behavior that endears a player to Buono.

Harris continues to express his frustration publically although his words are more measured his negative attitude remains.

Buono, frustrated with our lack of production with our run game (and very likely frustrated with the attitude of Harris this season, signs Stefan Logan. What surprises me is the public positive comments about Logan from Leo players. Normally they would rally around a player like Harris or say little but they are effusive in their praise for Logan.

Logan shows up at practice on Tuesday and is inserted into the starting lineup for Saturday’s game. So what does Harris do? He sleeps in (how does he not set an alarm clock) and misses the team flight. Not a good thing to happen and his timing could not be worse and Wally is pissed. Our Leos use both Logan and Harris in the game but its obvious who are first down back is. Harris gets off a good fourth quarter run and in a game in which we are losing badly he takes that gain and tries to use it to send a message. Wrong time....wrong situation.

So, should Andrew Harris be frustrated and is he being treated unfairly. Lets have a look at some stats to help with the picture. There is a notion that we have not given Andrew Harris the football enough carries in the running attack this season. The numbers indicate something different.

Last season Harris finished third in rushing behind Jon Cornish and Corey Sheets. He carried the football 187 times for 1,112 yards. His longest gain was 60 yards. The key is that Harris had the best rushing average in the league last season. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry while Cornish and Sheets averaged 5.6 yards per carry.

Its been a different story this season. With a less effective offensive line and defenses more focused on shutting down Harris on first down Harris has only averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Cornish has improved his rushing averge this season to a very impressive 7.2 yards per carry while Sheets has the same rushing average as last season at 5.6 yds. per carry.

Prior to Saturday’s game in Regina Harris had carried the football 167 times, only 20 times less than last season and with 3 games to go. Harris was on track to have a similar number of carries as last season. Its not as if we have run Harris less than last season and done so even with his reduced rushing average.

Our offence also benefited last season with Lulay running with the football more often. This season Lulay was on track to run with the football 25 times less than last season. Lulay’s run average was the same as last season at 7.2 yards per carry but he had been able to escape less often and take off less often than last season. The combination of the reduced run average by Harris and less running opportunities for Lulay, who has been blitzed and spied more often, reduced our rushing yards from last season, in which we led the league in rushing yards.

Harris has also had reduced numbers in the passing attack. Last season he was our leading receiver in terms of receptions with 75 receptions. Harris was often wide open in the flat. Lulay/Reilley also threw to Harris more often because their options were more limited. Shawn Gore was our leading receiver in yardage in 2012 and he was 16th in the league. Lulay/DeMarco have had Nick Moore (2nd), Arsenault (13th) and Arsenault (16th) to throw to. Harris had 54 reception this season and he has been thrown to a little less due to having improved options at receiver as well as the fact that Harris has received more attention from defenses as a receiver.

Harris also made more plays as a receiver last season. His yards per catch is down from 9.6 yards per catch to 8.2 yards per catch this season.

However, when you look at the stats the main factor in Harris dropping to 4th this season in yards from scrimmage fromn 1st last season has not been that he has been used less often but that that his average yards per rush and his average yards per catch are reduced from last year.

There seems to be no question that our offensive line has not been as good as last season. Nor has our quarterbacking, which has also been impacted. For example Lulay had the second best quarterback efficiency average in the CFL last season while this season his quarterback efficiency average had dropped to 6th in the CFL at the time of his injury.

However this topic is not focused on the reasons that our offence has had more difficulty this season. Its focused on Andrew Harris. He has experienced more adversity than he experienced in his first two seasons as a starter. I don’t think he has handled it well and I am disappointed that he has not.

The stats show that Harris has been treated as an integral and key part of our offence in the similar fashion that he was in 2011 and 2012. His rushing attempts aresimilar even with reduced yardage and we have continued to use him out of the backfield in the passing game more than any other tailback in the CFL.

I have no idea whether Wally will want to sign Harris for an extension or not. Stefan Logan is not a long term answer. Harris brought a number of advantages. His non-import status positively impacts the ratio. His receiving skills added to his diversity. However the position of tailback is probably the easiest position to fill, at least with an import.

I believe that Harris can still really help us in the future and would be playing better with an improved offensive line. I also believe that he might be wiser to drop a few pounds next season because he is not quite as quick as he was last year and that has been most obvious in the open field in his pass receiving.

But I believe that Harris is a quality tailback. What he needs is an attitude adjustment. He needs to control his emotions. He needs to deal with frustration and adversity better. He needs to see the bigger picture. Tough times say a lot about a player and how he handles them.

I’m hoping that we can get back to the Andrew Harris that excited us with his play and his attitude. His enthusiasm was impressive and he was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to play professionally for our Leos. He needs to get back to being that Andrew Harris again.

[DanoT]

I have a feeling/prediction that if for 2014 the O is the same old, same old, then Harris will decide to play out his option and become a free agent in 2015. If it was me, that is what i would do.

[Hambone]

So, should Andrew Harris be frustrated and is he being treated unfairly. Lets have a look at some stats to help with the picture. There is a notion that we have not given Andrew Harris the football enough carries in the running attack this season. The numbers indicate something different.

Last season Harris finished third in rushing behind Jon Cornish and Corey Sheets. He carried the football 187 times for 1,112 yards. His longest gain was 60 yards. The key is that Harris had the best rushing average in the league last season. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry while Cornish and Sheets averaged 5.6 yards per carry.

Its been a different story this season. With a less effective offensive line and defenses more focused on shutting down Harris on first down Harris has only averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Cornish has improved his rushing averge this season to a very impressive 7.2 yards per carry while Sheets has the same rushing average as last season at 5.6 yds. per carry.

Prior to Saturday’s game in Regina Harris had carried the football 167 times, only 20 times less than last season and with 3 games to go. Harris was on track to have a similar number of carries as last season. Its not as if we have run Harris less than last season and done so even with his reduced rushing average.

Using the averages is a bit misleading. I took a different look at his numbers. The biggest difference I see is the lack of big play runs this year.
What I did was take a simplistic approach to the numbers. I separated the game high run from each game and came up with the following:
2012:
Total running numbers: 187 carries for 1112 yards 5.95 ave
Less game high numbers: 18 carries for 407 yards 22.61 ave
The rest of the carries: 169 carries for 705 yards 4.17 ave

2013 after 16 games:
Total running numbers: 171 carries for 820 yards 4.79 ave (prorates to 192 carries for 922 yards)
Less game high numbers: 16 carries for 218 yards 13.625 ave (prorates to 18 carries for 245 yards)
The rest of the carries: 155 carries for 602 yards 3.88 ave (prorates to 174 carries for 677 yards)

When you take out the big plays there isn't much difference in this year's numbers vs last.

While all the hand-wringing is going on here re: the Lions running attack I also noticed they aren't alone. When one looks across the league it's really only Calgary and Saskatchewan, or should that read Cornish and Sheets, that are operating with any semblance of a consistent running attack. The rest of the league is sputtering along just as anemically.

[JohnHenry]

It boils down to Harris being a malcontent who's comments and actions are unacceptable in a team game. The Lions cut him some slack because he was an exceptional talent, but that was last year. It is hopeless for the Lions to try and change him back into being a "team guy" now. Andrew has Messam'ed up and needs a serious attitude adjustment that can only come by changing his area code.

The important thing is for the Lions to acquire a starting tailback who's committed to the team and will do anything in his power to help the team win including pass blocking...and keeping his tweeter shut.

[TJ103]

If Chaps is still around ,I can see Harris asking for a trade,and I wouldn't blame him..

Agreed

[Blue In BC]

Andrew Harris is going into his option year in 2014.......and I'm certain Buono will offer him a contract extension in the coming off season.......but I have the feeling that with the way 2013 has transpired, Harris will refuse an extension until he's certain the Lions are committed to fixing the offensive line and the run game.

In the likely case of Harris refusing an extension, what will Buono do?......keep him for the run to the 2014 Grey Cup in Vancouver.........OR........trade him to Winnipeg for the 1st overall pick (most likely) in the 2014 draft......then pick the BEST offensive lineman available with that pick?

I think Winnipeg would be happy to make that trade.

[Toppy Vann]

Harris came into this year telling the media he wanted to be a leader. It is always those without leadership qualities in their DNA who announce things like this. He should just play,

[David]

If the Argos offered up Zac Collaros (and perhaps a 2nd or 3rd round pick), I would seriously consider this if I'm Wally. They're likely to lose him to Ottawa and we have no guarantee of keeping Harris beyond next year. If I was somewhat concerned about Travis's shoulder before, I sure as heck am now. Is DeMarco the future? Hard to say. He has shown flashes, but Collaros looks like he could be a star in this league, and Toronto will of course, be protecting Ricky.

[David]

Those problems include the fact that he started the season uncharacteristically tweeting good riddance to Khalif Mitchell. Not wise to publically denigrate a former teammate. It breaks the code.

And don't forget the "bulletin board" material that got the Stamps/Cornish all fired up to destroy us Week One, when Andrew emphatically stated to the media that we were the better team and shouldn't have lost the 2012 West Final to those guys.

I like Andrew, don't get me wrong. I even own his jersey. But I am not happy with the way he contiually sounds off in the media.


DH

[South Pender]

Harris came into this year telling the media he wanted to be a leader. It is always those without leadership qualities in their DNA who announce things like this. He should just play,

Totally agree. Andrew has developed a big head far too early in his career (he's just not as good as he seems to think he is), and now just seems like a spoiled child in many ways. He's a pretty good, but definitely not great, tailback. He's not in the same class as Cornish and Sheets. As I've mentioned before, if he stays with the Lions, I'd rather see him moved to a slot position (with some running plays developed for him there), and see the team bring in a really dominating--big, nasty, and fast--import tailback, of which there are many available every year.

[Rammer]

If the Argos offered up Zac Collaros (and perhaps a 2nd or 3rd round pick), I would seriously consider this if I'm Wally. They're likely to lose him to Ottawa and we have no guarantee of keeping Harris beyond next year. If I was somewhat concerned about Travis's shoulder before, I sure as heck am now. Is DeMarco the future? Hard to say. He has shown flashes, but Collaros looks like he could be a star in this league, and Toronto will of course, be protecting Ricky.

That is an interesting scenario for the Argos on who to protect at the QB position. Collaros is young, has lots of variety to his game, whereas Ray is relatively young, but has a huge contract strapped to him. If the Argos expose Ray do you think that Ottawa selects him? I guess they might hoping that another team looks to trade some younger talent back. Plus if they do select Ray that means that they waive off on one of the Stamps QB's, Tate may be what the doctor ordered for them. I think that Lions are going to be safe in regards to the QB position, smart planner that Wally is.