The End May Be Fast Approaching for Marvin Harrison

Regardless of the fact that we’re not Indianapolis Colts fans, that was a pretty difficult headline to write for a few reasons. There aren’t many classier athletes we can remember than Marvin Harrison. He’s the rare quiet wide receiver. He just goes out and does his job, and we appreciate that.

And when paired with Peyton Manning there hasn’t been a much better duo in the NFL. The word is starting to get around, however, that Harrison might be on the verge of becoming a non-factor.

The key quote in the story is telling. It comes from ESPN analyst Merril Hoge, who knows his stuff:

“I don’t know how to say this, but it was almost sad to watch Marvin (against the Minnesota Vikings),” said former running back and current ESPN analyst Merril Hoge, speaking Wednesday on WFNI-1070 AM. “It’s sad to watch him. It’s like he’s a shadow of himself. During the game, I’ve seen Peyton (Manning) throw that comeback to Marvin a hundred times, but this time, Marvin didn’t have that explosiveness coming back to the ball and it got knocked down. And after that (play), he was never a factor in the game.”

Yikes. After that, we’d be interested to see what Jaws has to say.

The story is the age. Harrison is 36 and has had trouble with both knees in the last year. Last week against the Vikings, as Mr. Bob Kravitz points out, he had only one catch for 16 yards.

Harrison is very, very old for a wide receiver. So, if this is indeed the beginning of the end, it’s not that big a deal. Life in the NFL moves on.

That doesn’t make it any easier to watch, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Colts season goes if Harrison is never able to contribute in the way Colts fans have come to expect. Is Harrison nearing the end? We’re not sure. The signs just don’t look good.