Percy Harvin during preseason

[HawkDawg]

Preseason is only a week away! Do they play Harvin as much as you would with any 1st stringer during the preseason? Or hold him back and wait for the regular season?

He's the epitome of a wildcard and every touch makes me nervous. Just a thought.

[RiverDog]

He'll see very limited action IMO. 10-12 plays max.

[FolkCrusader]

If it was up to me I wouldn't play him at all in the pre-season, but I'm sure he'll a few plays. One series game one, a little more in game two and three, nothing in four.

[HumanCockroach]

RD has the gist of it. He'll play, but it will be REAL limited throughout the pre season, I doubt he returns many kicks ( if any) and not sure if they have any intention of playing him in punt return either ( kind of doubt they'll use him there to be honest, look for Richardson to get a fair shot at it, and perhaps Baldwin) ....

[HawkDawg]

If it was up to me I wouldn't play him at all in the pre-season, but I'm sure he'll a few plays. One series game one, a little more in game two and three, nothing in four.

Could that possibly hurt him in the long run? He barely saw any playing time last year, aside from his stellar SB performance (and the Vikings game).

Wouldn't preseason be a great way to warm him up again and get him out there? When it comes to regular season, the guy is going to have a bounty on his head. Why not let him take a good dose of preseason hits...before he sees a full on "Welcome back to the NFL".

My lingering question is: Will he be a solid receiver, or just that Ferrari you take out of the garage every now and then and hope it doesn't get wrecked?

Regardless, every hit he takes, I'll be on the edge of my seat. Stay healthy, please stay healthy!

[NorthHawk]

Norwood has had a foot injury.
I haven't heard much more about it - is he back practicing?

[washeska]

...wanted to chime in on this thread..
I think they will play PH. Why not play him? Fear of him getting hurt? The guy is gung ho and would want to play. Plus, I feel like he needs to be out there because he only got to play a couple of games last year. Regardless, they will only play their starters on the 1st and 3rd preseason for the most part...

cheers,

Wash

[NorthHawk]

Welcome washeska.
There are arguments to be made on both sides.
Do you risk injury with a supposedly injury prone player in meaningless games or do you risk it during the season when it counts?
Both have merits as he needs the practice against real opposition.

I'd play him as little as possible - get his work in and get him out of there.

[washeska]

Thanks!! Been reading the site for a while... AWESOME!!
Hats off to the yodmaestro

back to the thread...

well...

I just can't stop thinking that we did what we did last year without him. don't get me wrong, he brings sooo much to the table. Especially for apposing defenses and how they are forced to account for him. However, at the same time, we got to the show pretty much without him. He had... what, two big plays during the Superbowl?! One was that awesome run in the first half (which we only got 3 points from) and of course his kick off return in the second half. We were crushing the Broncos and I don't think if he was there or not would of made a big dent on the final score of the game. In short, we would of still won.

My point is to treat him like any other player and see what he can do. I'm sure the Hawks front office are already thinking about his replacement because of his brittleness. He still has to compete if he wants to play... One thing I've observed with this coaching staff is you can't assume a player is guaranteed a position....

Wash

[HumanCockroach]

I think without Tate to fill in the prudent course is to get his feet wet, but risking losing him for an extended period of time in meaningless games is a bit foolish, and risky.I'm ecstatic about what Richardson has shown, but I'm not of the thought that if you lose Percy for the season that he can replace his and Tates productivity as a rookie receiver. Best IMHO to be careful with Harvin, to make sure he is available for the bulk of the season.

[monkey]

I don't think people realize (fully) just yet, how much of an impact Percy is about to make on this offense.
They will soon though!

[HumanCockroach]

A LOT of us do, a LOT of us do....... the others it will take about 2 series to comprehend, but they will......

[savvyman]

By all accounts Percy has had an outstanding training camp and has been an excellent teammate.

[RiverDog]

I don't think people realize (fully) just yet, how much of an impact Percy is about to make on this offense.
They will soon though!

Let's hope so. The one thing this team has been lacking for over a decade is a home run hitting WR. A healthy, motivated Percy Harvin is exactly that type of player, and can completely change the dynamics of a football game.

I really don't think we'll see a whole heck of a lot of him in the regular season to start out with, either. Our schedule would seem to be a little bit back loaded, with 5 out of our 6 divisional games coming in the last 6 weeks in the season. If we're going to want him fully healthy and onboard, it needs to be for the stretch run.

[wait_a_sec]

I'm excited to see C. Michael and the new receivers do their thing. As deep as the team is they should win all 4 preseason games easily with the hungry youth. But it is just the preseason.

[NorthHawk]

It seems to me this WR corps got a whole lot faster these past 2 years.
It's a real transformation.
Now to see if they can make it work like it should.

[monkey]

It's funny how, during the post-draft talks here and at other sites, people kept (rightly) geeking over just how fast Richardson is, (he really is BLAZING fast) and yet watching him and Percy at the same time, I cannot help but see that Percy is FASTER than Richardson, who is rightly considered a legit deep threat burner.

Just wait until a few weeks into the season when the media starts to realize that, this is NOT the same WR corps they saw (and openly mocked) last season. With Harvin healthy, and the addition of Richardson and a couple others, the difference in speed from last years group to this years group of receivers is monumental. Gone are Tate and Rice, replaced by (in terms of targets and production) by a FINALLY healthy Percy Harvin, Kearse, ( he was really Sidney Rice's replacement last year anyway), and some combination of Richardson and (likely) Bates (possibly) Lockette and (almost certainly) Norwood.

Last year it seemed far too often that receivers needed too much time to get themselves open, because they just didn't have the speed...that won't be a problem this year! At all times we should have at least one legitimate speed threat receiver on the field this year, someone who the defense will HAVE to respect as a deep threat/breakaway threat.
This years receiving corps, which ought to feature Harvin Baldwin and Kearse as the top three WR's, only somewhat resembles last years group led (in targets) by Golden Tate.

[RiverDog]

It's funny how, during the post-draft talks here and at other sites, people kept (rightly) geeking over just how fast Richardson is, (he really is BLAZING fast) and yet watching him and Percy at the same time, I cannot help but see that Percy is FASTER than Richardson, who is rightly considered a legit deep threat burner.

Just wait until a few weeks into the season when the media starts to realize that, this is NOT the same WR corps they saw (and openly mocked) last season. With Harvin healthy, and the addition of Richardson and a couple others, the difference in speed from last years group to this years group of receivers is monumental. Gone are Tate and Rice, replaced by (in terms of targets and production) by a FINALLY healthy Percy Harvin, Kearse, ( he was really Sidney Rice's replacement last year anyway), and some combination of Richardson and (likely) Bates (possibly) Lockette and (almost certainly) Norwood.

Last year it seemed far too often that receivers needed too much time to get themselves open, because they just didn't have the speed...that won't be a problem this year! At all times we should have at least one legitimate speed threat receiver on the field this year, someone who the defense will HAVE to respect as a deep threat/breakaway threat.
This years receiving corps, which ought to feature Harvin Baldwin and Kearse as the top three WR's, only somewhat resembles last years group led (in targets) by Golden Tate.

The sleeper in that group is Norwood. I'm willing to bet a tall cold one that he gets more receptions than Richardson.

[HumanCockroach]

It's funny how, during the post-draft talks here and at other sites, people kept (rightly) geeking over just how fast Richardson is, (he really is BLAZING fast) and yet watching him and Percy at the same time, I cannot help but see that Percy is FASTER than Richardson, who is rightly considered a legit deep threat burner.

Just wait until a few weeks into the season when the media starts to realize that, this is NOT the same WR corps they saw (and openly mocked) last season. With Harvin healthy, and the addition of Richardson and a couple others, the difference in speed from last years group to this years group of receivers is monumental. Gone are Tate and Rice, replaced by (in terms of targets and production) by a FINALLY healthy Percy Harvin, Kearse, ( he was really Sidney Rice's replacement last year anyway), and some combination of Richardson and (likely) Bates (possibly) Lockette and (almost certainly) Norwood.

Last year it seemed far too often that receivers needed too much time to get themselves open, because they just didn't have the speed...that won't be a problem this year! At all times we should have at least one legitimate speed threat receiver on the field this year, someone who the defense will HAVE to respect as a deep threat/breakaway threat.
This years receiving corps, which ought to feature Harvin Baldwin and Kearse as the top three WR's, only somewhat resembles last years group led (in targets) by Golden Tate.

The sleeper in that group is Norwood. I'm willing to bet a tall cold one that he gets more receptions than Richardson.

I would expect that the possession receiver would get more receptions than the burner. Just different skill sets, though I'm not sure Norwood consistently see's the field baring a Baldwin injury. He'll find playing time I would think, but my guess is his reception numbers will be muted and held down by chances, not nenecessarily ability.