Joey

Harrington

What’s new? Coach Steve Mariucci appears unlikely to make the move this week, but he admitted Harrington’s status as the QB of the future is in doubt. Could Mooch reuinite with Jeff Garcia next season?

Joey Harrington was miserable, but he was missing key receivers and they were dropping passes. After nine games, the Lions offense has made only incremental improvement.

Coach Steve Mariucci only seems willing to go to Mike McMahon if Detroit is trailing by a large margin. That’s quite possible this week versus the Colts.

The team owes him a $3 million roster bonus by then. While the decision has not yet been made, MLive.com is reporting that the Lions coaches want to get rid of Harrington, while team president Matt Millen, who drafted him, wants to keep Joey. Deposed offensive coordinator Sherm Lewis, in a letter to Lions brass after the season, said the Lions would never win with Harrington playing QB. We tend to agree. Stay tuned.

This could be damage control, but both GM Matt Millen and coach Steve Mariucci personally called Harrington before the news hit to tell Harrington is wasn’t true. “I don’t know of any scenario that would cause us to do that. He’s with us,” Mariucci said. Mooch did say the Lions will look for a backup to help and push Harrington.

Detroit will look for a backup or two, but it’s still Harrington’s job. His numbers steadily progressed this year, but we still don’t see him as more than an average QB2 for fantasy leagues.

New coordinator Ted Tollner will call the plays, a change from how things ran in Detroit in the past. The team may try to work some longer throws into the offense, good news for Roy Williams and Charles Rodgers.

Kurt Warner and Jeff Garcia are the most prominent names mentioned. ''You’re always trying to have the best players you can at every position, and if there’s a guy that’s good enough to compete with Joey, or beat Joey out or be his backup, that’ll all sort out,’' Steve Mariucci said Friday. Garcia is the best fit and would be a major threat.

Harrington is growing in confidence and understands the offsense better. With Roy Williams, Charles Rogers, and Kevin Jones in the mix, Harrington is heading up fantasy draft charts.

The Lions offense looked smooth. Harrington hooked up with Charles Rogers on a couple of first downs and hit Casey Fitzsimmons with a one-yard TD grab. Harrington is one of the many young QBs that make a decent No. 2 QB this season.