Thoughts on the Bell/Harrison trade
What does the Eagles' trade of Mike Bell for Jerome Harrison mean for the running back situation? Here's my take.
Thoughts on the Bell/Harrison trade
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
The Eagles announced this afternoon that they've traded running back Mike Bell to the Browns for running back Jerome Harrison.
The Birds signed Bell in the offseason as a restricted free agent, but he was never able to get things going. Bell was hampered by injuries during training camp. In five games, he carried 16 times for 28 yards. The Eagles' coaching staff clearly did not trust him to fill in for LeSean McCoy. Bell averaged 8.8 plays per game in the first five weeks of the season.
Last week, with McCoy playing with a fractured rib, Bell was only on the field for seven of 60 offensive snaps (11.7 percent). McCoy, meanwhile, was on the field for over 83 percent of the snaps.
Which brings us to Harrison. The Eagles desperately need someone to fill two roles at running back:
1. Complement McCoy.
2. Fill in for McCoy if he is injured.
That's the role Bell was supposed to fill. And that's the role the Eagles expect Harrison to fill.
McCoy has played over 81 percent of the snaps in each of the Eagles' five games. Last year, he averaged 12.2 touches per game. This year, he's averaging 19.2 touches per game. Last year, McCoy averaged 9.7 carries; this year, 13.6.
Harrison, 27, was a fifth-round pick by the Browns out of Washington State in 2006. Last year, he carried 194 times for 862 yards, averaging 4.4 yards per carry. He scored five times and fumbled twice. Harrison also caught 34 balls for 220 yards and had a pair of receiving touchdowns.
During his career, Harrison has carried 302 times for 1,401 yards, while averaging 4.6 yards per carry. He also has 61 receptions for 444 yards.
Last year, Harrison had 23 carries of 10 yards or more, tied for 18th-most in the NFL. Interesting stat that I'm not sure what to make of: Harrison averaged 5.1 yards per carry in the second halves of games. That was eighth-best in the league.
Almost all of his success came in the final three games. Harrison carried 34 times for 286 yards against the Chiefs in Week 15; 39 times for 148 yards in Week 16 against the Raiders; and 33 times for 127 yards against the Jaguars in Week 17.
This year, though, he's seen limited action, carrying 31 times for 91 yards, while fumbling once.
It's difficult to be critical of the Eagles for the trade, although it's fair to be critical of the signing in the first place.
If Harrison can play, the Eagles get a guy who can fill the two roles mentioned above. If he can't, they have to hope McCoy stays healthy and doesn't wear down. Then the Eagles will have to target a second running back in the offseason. The others currently on the roster are: Eldra Buckley and Joique Bell.
Earlier today, I posted the weekly What about Kolb? analysis.
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thoughts on the trade? i thought we were done signing castoffs from crappy teams and hoping they can fill a void on the cheap- Thought on the trade: can Jerome Harrison possibly play wore than Mike Bell was playing?! The Mike Bell that we received only excelled at falling down. It was as if some time last season Mike Bell stopped being a decent running back and started just falling down. I would not be the slightest bit surprised to find out that Bell has developed a balance disorder.— knighn
- Why would Cleveland make this deal? What's wrong with Harrison?— davimcg
- I think Banner made this trade to save $12— ArtieLange
- Bell was certainly not living up to expectations, this even-up trade can't really hurt us. If he produces better than Bell did for the rest of the season then it was certainly a good move.
- Great trade this guy is a good hard runner.— Murrayag11
- In the SI agent article, Josh Luchs says he was still representing two "loyal" clients. Is Mike Bell one of them? If he is, isn't that convenient that the Eagles are moving that potential controversy?— mifunk
- Bell showed nothing with the Eagles. I'm glad he's gone! The Eagles should have gone after LT.— Norm3
- Don't expect much of an improvement. And I guess they don't have ANY faith in Eldra Buckley. I thought he ran hard, found cracks and exploited them well, and caught the ball decently, and also picked up the blitz like a back should. So what's wrong with him Andy?— TBear
- There is actually no possibility that Harrison could do worse. Even if he didn't play, it would be an improvement over Bell. What troubles me is that when talented running backs like Marshawn Lynch were available, the Birds only gave a passing glance. Why did they think they didn't need him? Someone like Lynch could have been an actual compliment to McCoy in running styles and could have been the answer to the ever illusive Eagle 3rd and 1.— etrigbro
- Re ArtieLange: Great comment. Joey Nickles is alwaysquick to pinch that corparate penny. I wonder why it is the Eagles have one of the lowest payrolls, but sell out every game, and have a fan base more loyal than Dallas and New York combined. Only team that stands in it's own way more is San Diego.— papabear702
- Excuse me; corporate. My apology for the grammatical error.— papabear702
- More on point; I don't expect this trade to do anything to change where this team is going. Defence needs to correct all the mental mistakes, o-line needs to retire now, Kolb needs to find DJax, and Andy Reid needs to put down the cheesesteak. Look how much weight Rex Ryan has lost since becoming coach of the Jets, why can't the big guy do the same.— papabear702
- Can't argue with the trade, but if Cleveland let Harrison go it means they don't expect him to shine, there or here. Hope he can repeat what he did at the end of 2009.— tacklinjoe
- @papabear702 - I'm sick of the "Eagles don't pay their team" nonsense. Do you know what team has the highest salary in the NFL? Oakland! As a matter of fact, a lot of pretty bad teams are paying more this year, including the Cowboys, Browns, and 49's. And New England is second from the bottom (and KC is the lowest)! So, I'm not sure your argument holds much water. Do you seriously want an owner like Daniel Snyder or Jerry Jones that throw money around with no results? I don't!
Leave the player scouting to the pro's and just watch the game like the rest of us, or move to DC!— gdibig - more garbage for garbage. glad to see we're becoming the cleveland farm team. again, nice off-season roseman. how much are we under the cap now?— snakeplissken
- GDIBIG - Get a clue. The Eagles have ranked from 14th to 21st in the league over the past 6 seasons in salary. There's a reason they haven't been back to the SB - they refuse to spend the extra money to get them over the top. Jeff Lurie runs his team like a business. The Rooneys, Jerry Jones, and Kraft run their team...like a profitable NFL franchise that is both trying to make money and to win...their ultimate goal is not to squeeze every dime out of the team unlike Jeff Lurie.— Dean1
- Nice trade...now if only the Browns will give us a 3rd rounder for Kolb before the draft...
- Jerome Harrison can play football. He's alot like Ray Rice of Baltimore who I wanted the Eagles to draft to back up Westbrook.Very good trade.I guess Tom Heckert is running Cleveland like Andy Reid's farm team or something..— MJPD345
- First... the "Thoughts On" titles of these articles sound too much like a Barbara Walters or Larry King type of thing... or even a Mike Myers playing a female host of a talk show right before moving his hands and saying, "Discuss."
Next, Heckert did this so that when we trade Michael Vick to Cleveland, the Browns won't have to pay as much. We got more here, they'll get more there.— landt 
gdibig- I agree. I think every team has that certain dumb, ignornant fanbase that screams that their respective team doesn't spend enough money on players. Unfortunately, most bad teams are bad because they overspend on bad players. If a team has a void, the usual response is to break the bank on some overrated has-been. Eagles FA aren't perfect, but I think it's unfair to call them cheap. This may surprise some, but the Eagles would like to win a championship too. They just prefere to do it through the draft.— phillychaos- Personally, I think it's a great trade. I can't see how anyone could be down on Harrison. He shown he could be an elite back at the end of last season. And that's playing for the lowely Browns. It's no risk, with a possible big reward. Seriously, would anyone actually prefere unproductive, always banged-up Bell? Thought so.— phillychaos
- He'll spell McCoy in max protection. Just as long as he can pick up blitzers, Chub's ok w/him. If he can't, he'll be gone next week.— mccloudmj
- so is this like the whole astros phillies thing?— sasquatches
- I think they should have worked with Martell Mallett more. Younger and more dynamic than both Harrison and Bell. I don't really see the benefit here.— PhillyFanSouth
- Harrison is a sensational pickup for you guys here is some bio
HOW DID HARRISON DO IN COLLEGE:
Senior year: Averaged 172 Rushing yards PER GAME...ALL-Conference and Consensus ALL-AMERICAN ....HOLDS THE PAC 10 Record for Consecutive Games over 100 yards (16) ...5 of those games were over 200 yards....Heisman Finalist....In a conference with Reggie Bush, Maurice Jones Drew, Lendell White, and Marshawn Lynch
----------------------------------------------------------------------WHAT HAS HARRISON DONE AS A PRO:
With limited Carries....Broke the Browns 40 year old record for Rushing yards in a single Game (his friend Jim Browns record) Has the 3rd Best Rushing Game in the HISTORY of the NFL, 286 Yards...Has two Rushing TDs over 70 Yards...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCbtxeJzP-k
— Bigmike 34 - You will find Harrison is a really good guy...Keeps his mouth shut...He teammates really like him...Will never say a bad word about a teammate, the Coaches, anything...He is just not a complainer. He works hard...Is Always in great shape, Never in trouble, No Dui no Drugs no booze...
His problem in Cleveland...They like Big Backs, Always have and Always will.
Bell graduated the same year as Harrison Both in the Pac 10...Playing the same teams...Harrison out-rushed him by over a 1000 yards.
He never got a chance in Cleveland until the end of last year in 4 years he was the featured back in only 4 games all last year and went over 120 yards in all 4...(He played behind Jamal Lewis for 3 years)
His comments in the Cleveland Press is that he is Thrilled to be coming to Philly...and will be grateful to play whatever role he is given..— Bigmike 34 
Some idiots on this board will never change their tunes...The Eagles are cheap...Andy is an idiot...they don't run the ball enough...Reid has an excellent career record and if somebody would have stood up and made a few plays when it really mattered (like McNabb, Westbrook, or Dawkins) they might have already won a title or two. The coach has put the team in positions to make something happen and they have not so far. I like a lot of the young talent on the roster right now. Jackson, Maclin, McCoy, Celek are very talented young playmakers. The defense is improving, Allen and Graham both look like good picks. I think these guys give the team a really good shot at going all the way before they are done. Like the Phillies when they starting getting it together with Hamels, Howard, Utley and Chooch, I think the Eagles are on the verge of becoming a very dangerous team, and I think they will drop 40 on the Falcons.- this is not signing a cast-off from a lousy team, this is trading a proven journeyman with a slight injury history for an up-and-comer who has shown signs of shining in the spot light when given a chance;.....if Harrison understands his role as a backup and flourishes without complaining, Reid will probably reward him with more PT cause this kid has definitely got some talent,....this is a steal for the Birds, the kind more like Belichek makes i'm surprised Reid was able to pull this off— SyddBarrett
- someone please explain why anyone would sign bell after his performance so far this yr. man, that guy is a turd.— djack10
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