Joey Harrington

Going into this season, the Detroit Lions needed Joey Harrington(their starting quarterback) to step it up if they wanted to have a successful season. Harrington is having a great year and has become the leader of the Lions.

The Lions drafted Harrington third overall in the 2002 NFL Draft with very high expectations. In just his first season, Harrington became the starter for the Lions. He started in 12 games and threw 12 touchdowns along with a high 16 interceptions. He completed just 50.1 percent of his passes and had a very low 59.9 passer rating. In 2003 Harrington became the full time starter and improved but not by a lot. He started in all 16 games and threw just 17 touchdown passes. He also threw a very high 22 interceptions. He completed 55.8 percent of his passes and had one of the lowest passer ratings in the entire NFL(63.9). Through those two seasons the Lions were a dismal 8-24 with zero road wins.

This season Harrington looks a lot better. He has throw 10 touchdown passes and only 3 interceptions. His completion percentage is at 62.7%. The stat that jumps out the most is his 94.9 passer rating. That about 30 points higher then the previous two seasons.

With Harrington leading the helm; the Lions have done awesome. Detroit is 4-2 with a shocking 3-0 road record. They have beat some good teams and they are finally starting to learn how to win close games on the road. If Harrington plays like he has been for the rest of the season; the Lions will have a chance to make it into the playoffs.

This is the year that Harrington has to show the Lions if he is for real or not. So far, it looks like he is going to be the Lions' starting quarterback for years to come.