The Detroit Lions and nose tackle Damon Harrison mutually parted ways this offseason and now it appears his exit was centered around his fit within their scheme.
The Detroit Lions and nose tackle Damon Harrison mutually parted ways this offseason and now it appears his exit was centered around his fit within their scheme.
Harrison recently joined Chris Long, former defensive end, on his the Green Light Podcast — as first reported by 97.1 the ticket — and discussed his time in Detroit.
The Lions originally traded for Harrison because of his stout run defense but Harrison said his trepidation to join the team was there from the beginning, noting, among other things, he had concerns about fitting into the Lions defense.
“When I got there I didn’t know anything about the scheme. I was a nose tackle my entire career, 1-technique, shade, zero, some 2-wide. I get there and it’s 2-, 3- techniques. Now for me, in my career, the most frightening thing was playing 3-technique because of how far back the guards would sit.”
In the Lions multiple scheme, the defensive linemen are asked to be able to operate at several spots along the line. Trey Flowers has to be comfortable lining up anywhere from the 3- to the 7-technique, Da’Shawn Hand 1- to 7-technique, while nose tackles are often asked to line up at the 0-, 1-, 2-, and 3-techniques.
“We had some conversations about not doing it anymore, and they kind of incorporated some of that zero nose, shade to kind of fit my play style. But it was something that I wasn’t comfortable with. I had some success doing it, but this past year I think it kind of came back to bite me in the (expletive).”
As our friend Jeremy Reisman at Pride of Detroit pointed out, “In his time in Detroit, his (Harrison’s) split between three-tech and the nose was almost 50/50. Per PFF, he played 426 snaps around the three-tech and 454 at the nose.”
The proximity between the 1- and 3-techniques may not seem like a big difference in positioning on the field, but it is actually a pretty big adjustment for a defender to make in terms of adjusting to the blocker in front of them.
The 1-technique lines up between the center and the guard, forcing the offensive lineman to make their initial move laterally towards Harrison. But when at the 3-technique — lines up in between the guard and tackle — the offensive linemen are set back a bit further and can make their initial move forward, creating a different angle of attack for the defender.
“I’ve been taught to attack who’s trying to block me. Fight pressure with pressure. If the center’s going away and the guard’s coming, I’m going to attack the guard. That’s just the way I was taught and that wasn’t the way that we played it in Coach (Matt) Patricia’s defense.”
These can be difficult adjustments for players to make. Some players who have experience operating between positions will feel comfortable in the Lions scheme, while others will never settle in. This is a big reason why the Lions have added multiple players who have previous experience in this particular scheme — like Lions new nose tackle Danny Shelton — as they have proven they are comfortable with what is being asked of them.
The Lions believed Harrison could make the adjustment, and to his credit, Harrison tried to make it work, but he never felt comfortable. This is why the two sides both “mutually agreed” to part ways in February.
It’s worth noting, that while several players who have left the organization recently have addressed their poor relationship with Patricia, Harrison made it clear that was not the case with him and the Lions organization.
“Matt Patricia’s a great coach, a great guy. I have a lot of respect for Matt Patricia. It had nothing to do with him personally.”
