Does any one else wonder what the defensive transition will do to the two CB’s. They won’t be playing on the line, but 5 yards back or so and more zone. Does this impact the playing styles of the players too much. Besides, Harris has never been known for his speed.

  Really? You guys think Al Harris, a perennial pro bowler who still covers the number 1 receivers even though we have Charles freakin Woodson on the other side will struggle with zone coverage? It’s not like he’s never played zone coverage, or the packers only play press man coverage. There’s no way Harris is going to have any problems with zone coverage. C’mon, zone is the “easy” coverage out there. Man is the “tough” one that everyone always gets burned on. You don’t get the recognition and respect he gets if you’re a slow idiot who has no football instincts. Just because he’s been burned by some of the best young new talent in the game doesn’t mean he’s off his rocker. He normally plays against the best receiver they have with absolutely no help. Problems with zone coverage?… you guys are nuts.

Alright Strohman. Lets start off where I agree with you. Yes, Al Harris is a brute, a strong guy who can throw a guy off his route on the offset. Yes, he’s made a carrier out of being a press man guy and has spent years doing it.

That’s about it.

Where I disagree; Many corner backs in the league are good at playing zone. All I heard about was how hard it was to find a corner back who was good at playing man to man and we had two of the best in the league. If there is a large portion of the leagues corner backs that are average to great playing zone and there is only a very small portion of the leagues corner backs that could be considered average playing man, let alone great, then I would classify zone as the “easy” one (because lots of people can do it) and man to man as “hard” one (because not many can).

I completely disagree that Al Harris rarely played zone coverage. 98% press man coverage last year? Wow, that’s a pretty precise number, quite a statistic. A shame it’s complete bull. Unless you can document to me where you got that, I simply cannot believe that the packers are that predictable. Realistically, they most likely go about 60% man 40% zone. I’d even go as far as 70/30, but that’s pushing it. To many third and longs, to many end zone instances. If the packers only ran man, then all the other team would have to do is run crossing routes or drags every time and someone would end up open.

Where did you get your information about Al Harris being unable to read a quarterback? I suppose 137 pass deflections and 19 interceptions happened by luck then. To actually suggest that he’s blind (can’t see the quarterbacks eyes), slow (can’t react to a wide receiver) and stupid(Can’t learn new plays) is amazing to me. I’m sorry, but I simply disagree. I re-state; He’s a perennial pro bowler who consistently keeps up with #1 receivers. He is not a one dimensional player.

To suggest I don’t understand why we pick up certain players is just calling me stupid. I gave pretty good reasons the first time around that you did nothing to address. Instead you made up statistics and started calling me names without supporting your arguments with any sense of logic or reason. Bravo. We’re all a little bit tepid about that old dog learning new tricks, but I think you’re blowing his shortcomings way out of proportion.

Strohman: Putting a “probably” next to your 98% doesn’t make it more convincing. A better answer would be to pick a game, count the times Harris played press and how many times off man and zone and report back.

What I remember is that most of the long pass plays last year were completed against the zone. And so I suspect you’re right. However, that is just my failing memory.

I remember your posts on the GBPG site. I left that site because I got tired of the rudeness. I’ve really enjoyed Acme because most posters can keep a sense of perspective about their opinions. While defending the truth can result in offending others, no one’s opinion about Harris’s ability to play zone rises to the level of truth. So, please respect the culture of this site. Real data will be greatly appreciated. Excessive use of the ! will only force the rest of us to ask that you be removed.

It’s obvious not to get excited about the upsides and downsides of changes in scheme until you get evidence during seasonal games. It’s also obvious that you can’t look at one position and become irrate when there are eleven men on the field.

I do agree with the above statement that it’s more difficult on an individual to play man than zone. Not because of the work involved, because that can be disputed, but on the responsibility it bears. A busted man coverage is more damaging to someones psych than a hole in zone that should’ve been tighter.

Press coverage is easily manipulated by putting a receiver in motion. In conjunction with the timing of the snap, this forces off man. If Harris couldn’t play in this situation, he wouldn’t have a job (much less starting or #1 guy). By this idea, 98% press man is either rediculous, or the NFL has some of the dumbest people on earth running their offences.

Physical play is desired whether it’s at the line or off it, it’s football. Lots of times in zone coverage corners play a role similar to safeties in a Tampa 2 system. You need that hit ability anywhere in the secondary. This also allows creativity in zone schemes because the players can shift and change assignments to confuse an offense. I can’t fathom that throughout their career a player has not had extensive work in all situations, even though the coordinator doesn’t allow the change based on what the other 10 guys are doing.

I’ve seen no reason from games that Al can’t play zone. Anyone is going to get better with repetition no matter what they’re asked to do. Sanders did not require much zone preparation because he didn’t run it during games often.

Woodson was a great deal, and I think he should be higher than #3 on this list. I wouldn’t knock on Harris until February.

A very reasonable analysis joe. This is what I love about this site.

Thanks