In the past, Steelers linebacker James Harrison has complained that not enough holding penalties are called against the blockers who try to keep him away from their quarterbacks.
Now, Harrison is being accused of doing too much to influence the throwing of flags.
Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer recently reported that Browns left tackle Joe Thomas believes Harrison “flopped” to draw a holding call in each of the two games that Cleveland played against Pittsburgh.
“It’s something James Harrison has been doing,” Thomas told Grossi. “It
seems like he didn’t do it last year. Now he’s kind of perfected it.
When you push him by the quarterback, if he doesn’t think he can get to
the quarterback anymore, he thinks the best thing for him to do is kind
of flop as dramatically as possible and hope it baits the ref into
throwing the flag.
“Basically as you push him by, he’ll just throw his arms up in the
air and his feet and try to make it look like you threw him down. It’s
kind of like taking a charge in the NBA.”
But now that the word is out, it remains to be seen whether the move continues to work for Harrison.
“It was my mistake for not talking to the refs before the game because
it shows up on tape over and over again,” Thomas said. “I don’t know if he
has a reputation yet, but I know after this year he will.”
Maybe next year Harrison’s new move will be stopping short.
He must be learning how to flop around to draw calls from Sindy Crosby.
If by “Flop” you mean “smacks around the mother of his child until she gets scared enough to call 911 then he breaks a cell phone during the call” then yes. He flops.
Everybody knows that stopping short is MY move !!!!!
“everybody knows… *hand in front* I stop short”
Again it shows the football acumen of the clowns media, thomas, and anyone posting this story. Every game, every announcer, makes comments on Harrison being held.
“But now that the word is out, it remains to be seen whether the move continues to work for Harrison.” Have you even reviewed any tape to see if anything Thomas said was true?
We need more Joe Thomases in the NFL and way less James Harrisons.
maybe he will demand a return to the festivus feats of strength instead,
i keep challenging my kids to them.
If it works for ya, do it.
I cannot stand Harrison but if he can get the flag then more power to him.
THAT’S MY MOVE
He’s a Steeler, what do you expect?
Now you are digging anything up on the Browns Florio? This article is two days old and the Thomas quote is 3/4′s of the way down the page. Just ’cause the Browns dominated the Steelers you now try to find anything about them. Why don’t you say anything about this article from the Pissburgh Post Gazette?
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09351/1021591-66.stm
It’s from the same day. You know about Ryan Clark crying about the fans in Pissburgh? I’ve never seen a sight so biased, it is truly unproffesional.
harrison, in fact, does something much better. he tricks everyone into being a great linebacker when in fact he is severly overrated. good trick.
really nothing to complain about, thomas is a good player, but if the refs called it every time the oline was holding the game would be 5 hours long and the scores would be in sinle digits. Its not uncommon for dline to try and draw a flag.
When PFT does a story that the Plain Dealer hasn’t rewritten 3 times, you KNOW times are rough.
Awe you sissy ass steelers fans can not take anything negative said about your team. Jesus take your skirts off. You would think your team always get screwed on calls or is a call or 2 away from winning it all, but nope you get all the calls and win about every year. Shut up already and realize your team unleashed hell on no one this year. Welcome to our world!!!!!!!!!!
All Squealers cheat. And they get the flags because the refs kiss that fraud Rooney’s butt. Rooney is a jerk.
roe said it best.
More Joe Thomas’, Less James Harrisons’
Harrison will get his world rocked tomorow.
Hey, when Harrison is out of missels – he switches to guns…no problem there.
He might as well flop. They don’t call holding when he stays on his feet. He and Freeny have been held more than anyone I’ve ever seen.
keep it coming steeler haters! truly sad you spend so much time hating on the steelers…pile on while we’re down, we wont be there long, so enjoy!! and hooby, i guess he just tripped and fell on the defensive mvp award last year for lack of other candidates huh? if you’re gonna make a comment like that, how bout some evidence or at least an alternative candidate and the stats to prove his worth over harrison…step your game up buddy
Joe Thomas? That the Wendy’s guy?
He came outta nowhere, undrafted and practice squads and what-not, and he’ll disappear just as quickly. Thomas will be going to Pro Bowls long after Harrison is out of the league.
harrison is on dope.
steelerdynasty6 says:
December 19, 2009 10:41 PM
keep it coming steeler haters! truly sad you spend so much time hating on the steelers…pile on while we’re down, we wont be there long, so enjoy!! and hooby, i guess he just tripped and fell on the defensive mvp award last year for lack of other candidates huh? if you’re gonna make a comment like that, how bout some evidence or at least an alternative candidate and the stats to prove his worth over harrison…step your game up buddy
**********************************
Maybe your overrated team should step up IT’S game.
We pile on cause you guys are so bad a taking it. Truly sad you still have to defend everytime someone blasts on them. Why dont you just let it go and let us HATERS pile on. If you truly believe tomlin will have you back on track soon, you have had too much kool aid. Hey your team has what we all want and 6 of em at that, but that equals the total amount of wins you have this year.
Your teams fans are like the bully on christmas story, pick on everyone til they step up and whoop your ass and you guys start crying.
He is so full of roids and hgh just like all steelers are he cant stay up long
Steelers unleashed hell and no one noticed go Kc OAK and Cleve and green bay next
This is the most hysterical post on the Steelers I’ve seen yet! So the Plain Dealer–the Browns’ hometown paper–prints a story in which a Browns’ player calls out Harrison for trying to draw flags. PFT reprints it as gospel without bothering to check any film. And the anti-Steeler groupies show up in their Krishna robes to bang their tamborines and chant the same old same old.
Well … so what? Every player tries to draw flags. If Harrison has “perfected” a way to do it, no wonder he was defensive MVP. Of course, most people can see he’s being held and not getting flagged more often than not–but if the act helps him get noticed, more power to him. Awww, too bad Thomas didn’t talk to the refs before the game. At least he’s put them wise now. But … isn’t that a little like trying to get the refs to rule in your favor? And wouldn’t that be what he’s accusing Harrison of doing? Maybe he’s just whining because he’s not as good at it. Uh-huh. I get it.
As for the Krishna crowd … well, their motives were spelled out by some poor schmuck with the really classy username “Mikebrown_suckit” who says we get all the calls and win Super Bowls “about every year.” So in his mind the Steelers have won around 43 Super Bowls? LOL No wonder everyone’s so jealous!
Go Steelers!!!
The announcers pointed this out during the game Thursday too. It’s pretty blatent when you see the film. Also, another awesome Seinfeld reference Florio!
They do the same thing to Jared Allen. They hold him at will on the road.
James Harrison’s mother would never stoop that low.
Harrison > Thomas (every day of the week and TWICE on Sunday’s)
joe thomas=franchise left tackle
harrison= an over rated old linebacker with some false sense of worth. dude thinks he is the shit
keep moaning Thomas, you’re stuck there till free agency. how unfair it is to be on such a crappy team. Hey Brownies. You did win the championship a couple of times. When the footballs where white, before the games were on tv! Before tv! Before Jim Brown was playing La Cross at Syracuse. When all the great players were fighting in Korea! What a bunch of losers! You Brown fans actually pay to see that crap! No wonder you put on those dog masks. How appropriate….I just heard Randy Lerner plans on keeping the team till he croaks like his old man, then leave it to Randy Jr. to screw with Cleve Land fans for another 60 years…. It’s ok, you have the rock an roll HOF…. where no one in it will even come to your stinking town to see it…
Oh yeah, and Le Bron’s gone next…, here’s some great cleve land sucks video’s it’s the funniest damn thing I’ve ever seen, except for your football team that is!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-4xvO1z58o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysmLA5TqbIY
haha hey-seuss you are a joke you have obviously never watched a Browns-Steelers game there is not a defensive player in the league that matches with Joe Thomas, especially an overrated roided out freak…not to mention James Harrison has one sack against the Browns since Joe Thomas has been drafted…you can also refer to the box score week one in which Jared Allen had one solo tackle against Joe…say the Browns suck all you want but clearly your ignorance has gotten the best of you here….
Who is Joe Thomas? Never heard of him. What’s his beef?
It’s no secret Harrison is held on every play. Dude is a beast, and he is unblockable one on one. Week in and week out, we always see some helpless O-Lineman holding Harrison in a headlock, with a dumbfounded official standing right there choking on his whistle.
We’re used to it.
hey jonesy…
in the words of the jets coach before mangina..
“we play to win the game”… last thursday just made it more fun to jag you guys again.. it was getting boring after 12 in a row…
just keep messaging little adam jones with your stats… loser..
I love watching as big ben turns into paul blart, troy turns into a cripple and harrison becomes a has been right before our eyes.
It’s great to watch the bandwagons empty.
it’s true,there always holding him every game because he is so good
Yep Deb I said you win the super bowl ever year, thanks for clearing everything up on my post for me. Thats what I really meant to say. I cant count too well 43 really means 6 but thank you I can rest easier now.
That Seinfeld clip is hilarious. Ben Stiller is my favorite character in Seinfeld and King of Queens. The guy is just too funny.
I love how some of the responses from Steeler fans here basically amount to “Sure he flops, but he gets held too, so it’s justified. And a lot of people do it- it’s football.”
The difference is that yes- everyone holds in the NFL- but not everyone tries to do an ACTING JOB to fool referees.
Typical Steeler fan mentality: “We’ve seen other people cheat, so it’s perfectly fine if we do it, too. How else do you expect us to get to, and win, Super Bowls?
What this all translates to is that the Steelers and their fans both admit that their team doesn’t have “the edge” without resorting to bullshit tactics during games. Therefore, they have no choice but to find that kind of thing “acceptable” if they want to win.
Personally, I’m loving sitting back and watching the franchise crumble.
Aw, BunnyHop, back to the same old tricks … and just when you were starting to grow on me LOL
I can just picture you in your Nero toga, sitting back, fiddle in hand. But I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. ‘Tis true we’re having an off year. When I was a wee Steeler lass, we took off an entire decade. And long before I was born, the Steelers took off–gasp!–four long decades. But the franchise never crumbled. Not in the 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s, and not in the 80s. It won’t crumble now.
Can’t speak for the other members of Steeler Nation, but my “good on ya, Harrison” was facetious. I don’t happen to believe that just because a Brownie said it, that makes it so. I do believe Florio loves stirring the pot with these stories though. And I know all you also-rans eat them up with a spoon.
@Mikebrown_suckit … Hon, you’re the one who, in all your Steeler-envy, threw out the wild exaggeration that we win championships “about every year.” You can’t blame me for having some fun with it.