Harrison upset by rule's impact on image

PITTSBURGH - Two seasons ago, Pittsburgh outside linebacker James Harrison was known as NFL defensive player of the year, a remarkable achievement for an undersized player who entered the league as an undrafted free agent, was cut four times and survived two years on the practice squad. He became a four-time Pro Bowler because of his willingness to sell out on every hit.

Now the very set of skills that brought him fame and unimagined fortune as the youngest of 14 kids has been called into question. When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell began more strict enforcement of existing rules against helmet-to-helmet contact early this season, Harrison found himself identified as one of the NFL's "bad boys.''

After a season in which he recorded 100 tackles and a team-high 101/2 sacks, the focus has been on the four fines he has accumulated totaling $145,000. Even more than the money, Harrison is upset by the impact on his image.

"If I said no, I'd be lying,'' Harrison said. "Yeah, it bothers me. But I think, for the most part, more people see and feel that I'm not a dirty player as compared to those that think I am.''

That might be true in Pittsburgh, where management, teammates and fans have rallied to support him. But nationally, there he is on all the ESPN highlights, with replays of his most crushing hits every time the subject of excessive violence in the NFL is raised.

"When it comes down to it, it wasn't like those were fineable hits,'' Harrison said. "I don't care what they say. They may have $100,000 of fines on me, but when it comes down to it, I think they just decided they wanted to make me the poster boy for the new rule that they were trying to get going.''

The experience has diminished Harrison's enjoyment of a season in which he and the Steelers are set to face the Jets in Sunday's AFC Championship Game at Heinz Field for the chance to make a third trip to the Super Bowl in six years. If the Steelers reach Dallas, the hardest part of that week for him might be Media Day and the renewed scrutiny it is sure to bring.

Harrison doesn't deny the need for rules to protect players from helmet hits, but it's the application that most concerns him. "You can't go in there and hit someone in the head like you're trying to injure someone,'' Harrison said. "The rules they made are good, but you have to be able to interpret what is actually happening.

"When a guy is going in to make a hit and he's lowered his aiming point and, at the last second, the receiver lowers himself and you hit helmet to helmet, that's something he can no longer control. It's not like he was out there head-hunting. He was out there trying to make a tackle . . . I mean, you've got to be able to look at that and interpret it, because it's not real cut and dried.''

Without question, Harrison is defensive about his playing style, but he explains his approach this way: "That's how you play defense. You hit, OK? The team that hits the hardest and longest is going to win.''

In other words, Harrison is going to be himself - and give the Jets all he's got every time he hits them.