Getty NKeal Harry
The New England Patriots have struggled to move the ball through the air most of the season. Much of the blame has been given to Cam Newton. A good percentage of the people who aren’t blaming Newton–and even some who are–also point the finger at the underachieving second-year wide receiver, N’Keal Harry.
However, over the past two games, Harry has shown a glimmer of hope. Two weeks ago, Hall-of-Famer and former Dallas Cowboys great Michael Irvin had some advice and an offer to work with Harry in the offseason. After watching some of Harry’s improvements, in which it appears the young receiver might have taken some of Irvin’s advice, the Playmaker now has some suggestions for the Patriots and their offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.
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Irvin: “Give Him 3 or 4 of Those a Game”
Irvin was back on the Dale and Keefe Show on WEEI, and he was, of course, discussing Harry again. Harry led the Patriots with a modest 49 yards receiving, but the catches were of the aggressive variety, which is a good sign.
Irvin told the show’s hosts the following:
“He snatched that ball! If I’m the Patriots, I’m giving him three or four of those a game…what do we got to lose?!?!…”
When Irvin says “those,” he is referring to the jump-ball style plays that Harry excelled at bringing down at Arizona State.
He simply used his size and physicality to go up over his defender and to bring down receptions. At 6’4″ 230 pounds, it’s a luxury that few receivers in the NFL can provide their offenses.
Harry Has to Use His Physicality
Irvin said last week, Harry needs to start to run through his defenders at or near the line of scrimmage. Based on his size and power, it should be very difficult to jam him. Once he gets into his route, the back-shoulder or jump-ball throws should be in play. The idea is to get Harry in one-on-one situations or to force defenses to send a safety to help over the top.
If a safety is providing help, then it should open up another aspect of the field for Newton to throw to, which still indirectly helps the offense move the ball through the air, and on the ground. If Harry can consistently mandate safety help, the extra attention could prevent defenses from bringing the extra defender into the box to load up for the run.
Of course, all of this is a moot point if McDaniels is going to continue to call the sort of rudimentary offense he’s been leaning on all season. As long as he continues to be overly restrictive of Newton’s opportunities to throw, we’ll never see what Harry or anyone else in the offense is capable of accomplishing in the passing game.
That said, Irvin is on the right track and hopefully, we’ll see Harry getting those looks from Newton in next week’s game against the Miami Dolphins.