OLB Harrison played through injuries in 2009

By Scott Brown, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/
Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Much has been made about how the Steelers' defense would benefit from a return to health by strong safety Troy Polamalu and defensive end Aaron Smith.

The same may also be true when it comes to outside linebacker James Harrison.

The three-time Pro Bowler played the second half of last season with a variety of injuries, including a strained biceps that compromised his strength and, ultimately, his ability to take down opposing quarterbacks.

Healthy again, Harrison is looking to trump what he accomplished in 2008, when he set a Steelers' single-season record in sacks and copped NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors.

"I really want to try to get something like 22 sacks," Harrison said Monday. "I'm going to shoot high. If I come under it, oh well."

Harrison had 10 sacks last season, well under the 16 he totaled in 2008, and only one of those came in the Steelers' final seven games. Not coincidentally, Harrison battled a biceps strain, an MCL problem with his knee and an AC Joint problem with his shoulder during that period.

The 6-foot, 242-pounder was so battered by the end of the season that it's a wonder he managed to play in all 16 of the Steelers' games.

"We didn't think he was going to play against Baltimore (Dec. 27)," Steelers linebackers coach Keith Butler said. "He wanted to play, because he knew that game was important to us."

Said Harrison, "Towards the end of the year, I had situations where I actually had the (quarterback) wrapped up. I just couldn't hold on to him. I'm good now."

Harrison kept the injuries quiet for obvious reasons.

"It would be stupid to tell somebody that," he said. "That's something they could shoot at."

His drop in production last season didn't make Harrison any less of a marked man.

Butler said the Ravens frequently used an unbalanced line against the Steelers, putting an extra offensive tackle on Harrison's side of the ball.

While that helped the Ravens contain Harrison, it freed up outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley to wreck havoc on the left side. Three of Woodley's career-high 13 sacks last season came in two games against the Ravens.

"I think it's pick your poison with those two. Which one are you going to take out of the game?" Butler said.

Butler would like to do that from time to time with arguably the best pair of bookend linebackers in the NFL.

"Both of those guys played a thousand plays last year," Butler said. "That's hard to ask them to do, especially toward the end of the game, because you get tired and most of the games are won at the end, so those guys have to be fresh."

The Steelers don't have much in the way of proven depth behind Harrison and Woodley. That is why Butler is keeping a close eye on rookie outside linebackers Jason Worilds and Thaddeus Gibson, who were taken in the second and fourth rounds, respectively, of the NFL draft in April.

Butler said the Steelers won't rush either player — both are making the transition from defensive end to outside linebacker — and that the importance of their development is not related to the fact that Harrison is 32.

"His (drop in) production wasn't age-related," Butler said of Harrison. "His production was injury-related."

It would be a huge boost for the Steelers' defense if Harrison can stay healthy and make a run at his goal of 22 sacks.

Not that the seventh-year veteran sees it that way.

"I think if Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu stay healthy," Harrison said, "this defense will continue to do what it's done in previous years."

The same can probably be said about him, too.

Photos: Chaz Palla/Tribune-Review