Steelers' Farrior playing young

[mesaSteeler]

Steelers' Farrior playing young
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pitt...nt_715649.html
By Scott Brown
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Can someone be an unquestioned leader if there are questions about his play?

Fortunately for the Steelers, the question is moot when it comes to inside linebacker and defensive quarterback James Farrior.

Farrior is second on the team in tackles (134) and has a chance to set a career high in sacks Sunday when the Steelers visit the Cleveland Browns with the AFC North title and No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs on the line.

All of Farrior's six sacks have come in the past seven games, making questions of the oldest player on the Steelers making concessions to age seem so, well, 2009.

Not that criticism of Farrior ever weighed heavily on the 6-foot-2, 243-pounder.

"If I read the newspaper, listened to what everybody says, I would have been out of the league a long time ago," said Farrior, who turns 36 in the next two weeks. "I learned a long time ago in New York that you've got to have a thick skin."

Farrior has been such a steadying influence on the Steelers defense for so long that it is easy to forget he spent his first five NFL seasons in the Big Apple.

The Jets took him with the eighth overall selection of the 1997 draft, and that alone put him in the crosshairs of the New York tabloids.

After five solid seasons with the Jets, the Steelers made perhaps the best free-agent signing in franchise history when they lured Farrior to Pittsburgh. He has started all but four games since joining the Steelers in 2002, and in addition to his durability, he has made two Pro Bowls.

One facet of Farrior is undisputed: This has been his defense since the Steelers released outside linebacker Joey Porter after the 2006 season.

"We have a lot of Alpha males in our locker room," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "He's the unquestioned leader of our football team. I think that's all you need to say about James Farrior."

Indeed, Farrior has been voted a captain seven consecutive seasons by his teammates. He also relays the plays from defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau to his teammates and has the added responsibilities of making sure everyone is in the right position.

"He's the most important guy on our defense to me," outside linebacker LaMarr Woodley said. "He gets me lined up, gets me where I've got to go. He's playing like the youngest guy on our defense with the way he hits."

Age — and countless on-field collisions — looked like it had caught up with Farrior last season when the Steelers couldn't protect fourth-quarter leads in five of seven losses.

But those who concluded that Farrior had lost a step were off base, said his teammates.

"His elbow was messed up," nose tackle Casey Hampton said. "He'd get to the ball and stuff, but it was hard for him to make plays with one arm. We know how good he is, how valuable he is. I think people around the league know it, but he's just overshadowed by other guys."

Those other guys include teammates such as strong safety Troy Polamalu and outside linebacker James Harrison. Also falling into that category is Ray Lewis, who was drafted the year before Farrior and has received more acclaim than his division rival.

Not that Farrior complains about how his career his played out, especially given his hopes when the veteran of 14 years first entered the NFL.

"I felt like if I got to 10 years, that would be the ultimate career," Farrior said.

Maybe, it was suggested to Farrior, that he is feeling strong enough to play 20 years.

"I don't think I want to," said Farrior, whose contract runs through the 2012 season.

But, he added with a smile, "Fifteen is attainable."

Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.


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Reproduction or reuse prohibited without

[pete74]

most people on this forum wrote him off before the season and considered him the weakest link on our defense. he's having a great year and i would of liked to see him in the pro bowl. alot of people are saying Timmons should of made it but i think Farrior had a better year

[DanRooney]

Originally Posted by pete74

most people on this forum wrote him off before the season and considered him the weakest link on our defense. he's having a great year and i would of liked to see him in the pro bowl. alot of people are saying Timmons should of made it but i think Farrior had a better year

Not even close. Timmons has been playing like an absolute monster this entire year. He's covering the best weapons every team has in the flats and is all over the place causing havok. Farrior is playing like the old Farrior after his abysmal year last year, but he doesn't touch Timmons. Don't let the sacks fool you, a handful of them were unblocked (dong) sacks.

[Rick5895]

Originally Posted by pete74

most people on this forum wrote him off before the season and considered him the weakest link on our defense. he's having a great year and i would of liked to see him in the pro bowl. alot of people are saying Timmons should of made it but i think Farrior had a better year

As great as Timmons has been, I agree with you, Potsie has been better. He makes all the defensive call, and is never out of position. Take Timmons off the D we struggle, take Farrior off the D and we lose our defensive "QB" Then you wil see how much we depend on James.
That all being said both are great players and both should be in the pro bowl.

[biggtee]

farrior from the neck up is more valuable hes a very good player for such a long time and still is going strong but timmons is such a ****ing beast hes everywhere and he is the best ATHLETE by far on the steelers D beside TROY!!!

[tony hipchest]

farriot leads all ILB with 6 sacks (last year timmons led this stat with 7).

unfortunately the league doesnt recognize his 134 tackles as they are a team kept stat. they have him listed with 107.

however j. mayo has 169 *snicker* and ray lewis has 128 (we all know team stat keepers have been padding his stats for years).

oh and i get a kick out of steelerfans who think he is washed up simply because he is older than 33 years. it seems like some fans hate anyone starting on defense who is above the age of 30.

[steeltheone]

Originally Posted by pete74

most people on this forum wrote him off before the season and considered him the weakest link on our defense. he's having a great year and i would of liked to see him in the pro bowl. alot of people are saying Timmons should of made it but i think Farrior had a better year

Pro Bowl? He can't cover anybody. By far the weakest link. Tom Brady just loves playing against him.

[lionslicer]

Originally Posted by steeltheone

Pro Bowl? He can't cover anybody. By far the weakest link. Tom Brady just loves playing against him.

Ray Lewis can't cover either, hasn't been able to for years, he's gotten interceptions from lamebutt quarterbacks like Batch.

Farrior watches as much film, if not more than Troy, he's prepared every week, and he makes that defense play well. He's the one that told LeBeau to blitz more, the team might be 9-6 or 8-7 if it wasn't for him. When he blitzes, he jumps the snap count as well as anyone and he hasn't lost that much speed, he never was fast in the first place. But he isn't the weakest link in the defense...

Clark is by no means the best cover saftey, we've all seen what McFadden and Gay have done. Woodley has some key sacks 2nd half of the season, but at the begining of the year he was unnoticed.

Be thankful we have Farrior and will for a couple more years, he's falling apart, and there hasn't been abackup that proved themselves to LeBeau yet. Just because Timmons is good doesn't mean he's a leader or a good playcaller.

[steeltheone]

Originally Posted by lionslicer

Ray Lewis can't cover either, hasn't been able to for years, he's gotten interceptions from lamebutt quarterbacks like Batch.

Farrior watches as much film, if not more than Troy, he's prepared every week, and he makes that defense play well. He's the one that told LeBeau to blitz more, the team might be 9-6 or 8-7 if it wasn't for him. When he blitzes, he jumps the snap count as well as anyone and he hasn't lost that much speed, he never was fast in the first place. But he isn't the weakest link in the defense...

Clark is by no means the best cover saftey, we've all seen what McFadden and Gay have done. Woodley has some key sacks 2nd half of the season, but at the begining of the year he was unnoticed.

Be thankful we have Farrior and will for a couple more years, he's falling apart, and there hasn't been abackup that proved themselves to LeBeau yet. Just because Timmons is good doesn't mean he's a leader or a good playcaller.

I meant weak LB...Our DBs are a whole different story. I was really hoping Fox would get some time this year.

[lionslicer]

Originally Posted by steeltheone

I meant weak LB...Our DBs are a whole different story. I was really hoping Fox would get some time this year.

Fox has all the athetic ability in the word, but I've seen him make some really bad wiffs on special teams, and he's not even the 2nd team backup, some other middle linebacker is behind Farrior, so this perseason LeBeau must have seen something he didn't like in him, maybe he'll work harder this offseason.