Marvin Harrison

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Marvin Harrison
Date of birth	August 25, 1972
Place of birth	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Position(s)	WR
College	Syracuse
NFL Draft	1996 / Round 1 / 19th Overall
Pro Bowls	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
Records	Holds several NFL records
Team(s)
1996–present	Indianapolis Colts

Marvin Daniel Harrison (born August 25, 1972, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American football player who played for Syracuse University and is currently playing in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts. Harrison has placed among the top wide receivers statistically since entering the league.

1 Career
2 NFL records
3 NFL year-by-year statistics
4 External links

[edit] Career

Throughout his career, Harrison has been respected as one of the premier NFL wide recievers. Widely recognized for having the "softest hands" in the NFL which enables him to snag any pass he can get a hand on and making dropped passes a very rare spectacle for the Colt's fans and the TV audience. Along with his sure-hands, Marvin Harrison has been viewed as having a very cerebral approach to the game, running perfect routes with as perfect timing. He also possesses top-end speed, agility in his cuts, ability to "run after the catch", and determination to beat his cornerback week in and week out.

He is most recognized for his stunning accomplishment in the 2002 NFL season, where he shattered Herman Moore's single season reception record by a whopping 20 receptions. He finished with 143 catches, and he also had over 1700 yards receiving. He was the only unanimous decision for the All-NFL team in 2002. Marvin Harrison tied with Carolina's Steve Smith for the most receiving touchdowns in 2005, with 12, marking the first time he has ever led the league in receiving touchdowns in his career.

Even with all of his success, Harrison has not yet won a championship. Harrison, however, was involved in one of the most infamous blunders in the history of the NFL playoffs. In the 2003 NFL playoffs, Harrison, against the Denver Broncos, caught a 20 yard pass from Peyton Manning across the middle. Then, Deltha O'Neal, the Broncos cornerback, had forgot to touch Harrison to down him, Harrison stood up and continued running, eventually scoring on a fifty-yard touchdown play. Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan was infuriated with O'Neal and the rest of the Bronco defenders that were around Harrison, who helped clinch victory as the Colts went up 28-3. Indianapolis would eventually win 41-10 in a total blowout.

Harrison would finish that game against Denver with 7 receptions for 133 yards and 2 touchdowns, in his finest post-season performance to date. It is currently his only 100 yard performance in a postseason game and the only time he ever scored a touchdown. He then followed that performence up with another solid post-season game against the Chiefs, gaining 98 yards on 6 catches. Just when Harrison looked like he had rid himself of his post-season jitters, he was played aggressively by one of the best corners in the game; The New England Patriots' Ty Law in the 2004 AFC Title game, who limited him to just 3 catches for 19 yards. This game, however, was debated by many fans, who claimed that there had been an excessive amount of pass interference that was not called. The NFL reviewed this game and agreed that the game had been officiated poorly. This led to stricter enforcement of penalties that had not been enforced as much in the past, limiting cornerbacks actions against receivers. The Colts lost to the Patriots in a divisional playoff game the following year, in which Harrison had 5 receptions for 44 yards (Ty Law was injured for the rest of the season prior to this game, and competent Asante Samuel was covering Harrison in the Colts' defeat).

While his post-season performances have not been stellar, no one can overlook Harrison's regular season career, where his statistics are clearly capable of securing his entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In a recent episode of "The Top Five Reasons You Can't Blame" on ESPN Classic concerning the excessive celebrations of wide receiver Terrell Owens, former Buffalo Bills coach Marv Levy said this about Harrison: "Terrell Owens is a guy that has to go out there and get recognized for his antics and celebrations, while a guy like Marvin Harrison wants to be recognized for his play on the field, not his antics or celebrations. That's the kind of receiver you want on your team".

Harrison is also known for his great character and sportsmanship on the field. He has not, for the most part of his career, celebrated or spiked the ball after a touchdown, and he believes it is meaningless (except during a 2006 victory over the New England Patriots, where he drew a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Harrison spiked the ball in the area of Patriot players after making a tremendous catch for a touchdown)[1]. In this sense he is very similar to NFL legend Barry Sanders; both are considered by many to be role models to children.

Harrison now owns and lives in his house in Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania, a suburb right outside of Philadelphia, his native city.

[edit] NFL records

Currently Harrison is averaging 93 receptions per season (92.7 rounded), which is an all time record. He is still well ahead of second place Sterling Sharpe who averaged 85 receptions per season (and should be noted Sterling played fewer seasons, which would only help his average).
Holds the record for most Receptions in a single season with 143, obliterating the previous record of 123 set by Herman Moore.
Only player to have four consecutive 100 or more reception seasons in NFL history.
Became the only player ever in the history of the NFL to have six double digit reception games in one single season in the 2002 regular season.
Became the only player in NFL history to have 12 games with 8 or more receptions in a single season in 2002.
Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning hold the record for most receptions between a QB and a WR with 723 receptions.
Harrison trails only Jerry Rice in 1500 or more receiving yard seasons. He has 3 such seasons, Rice had 4.
Marvin Harrison averages approximately 6 receptions per regular season game--an NFL record.
Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning currently hold the NFL record in receiving touchdowns between a QB and WR with 100 as of December 3, 2006.
With 55 career 100 yard receiving games, Marvin Harrison now ranks #2 all time behind Jerry Rice and his 76 career 100 yard receiving games.
With 7 straight seasons of 1000 yards or more and 10 or more receiving TD's, Marvin Harrison has now set an NFL record passing Jerry Rice.
Second-fastest player to achieve 100 receiving touchdowns.
As of December 10, 2006, Marvin Harrison has caught a pass in every game in his career (167), a record for any player to start his career.
On December 10, 2006, Harrison made his 1000^th reception against the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is among only 4 other players in NFL history to have over 1000 receptions, and is the fastest player to do so reaching the mark in just 167 career games.

[edit] NFL year-by-year statistics

Year	Team	G	GS	Rec	Yards	AVG	LG	TD
1996	IND	16	15	64	836	13.1	41	8
1997	IND	16	15	73	866	11.9	56	6
1998	IND	12	12	59	776	13.2	61	7
1999	IND	16	16	115	1663	14.5	57	12
2000	IND	16	16	102	1413	13.9	78	14
2001	IND	16	16	109	1524	14.0	68	15
2002	IND	16	16	143	1722	12.0	69	11
2003	IND	15	15	94	1272	13.5	79	10
2004	IND	16	16	86	1113	12.9	59	15
2005	IND	15	15	82	1146	14.0	80	12
2006	IND	13	13	74	1094	14.8	68	6
Tot.	N/A	167	165	1001	13425	13.4	80	116

Pro Bowl selections: 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004 · 2005
All-AFC Pro Selections: 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004
All-NFL Pro Selections: 1999 · 2000 · 2001 · 2002 · 2003 · 2004
Has 100 TD's career catches with Peyton Manning.