You are going to hear this phrase from me frequently until September 8th, It’s Preseason. All of the preseason clichés apply. It can be difficult to get a beat on who can be a real option to contribute and who may be cut. Charles Harris has already garnered the bust label; and his first two seasons can be related to Barney; You know the purple dinosaur who is neither here or there and not doing very much at all. The Charles Harris I seen on Friday night against the Bucs? That is the kid I’m comfortable with rushing the Quarterback.
Preseason or not, Charles Harris got a total of a sack and a half against Tampa Bay on Friday. That equals half of his career total. Two years of being nonexistent in our defense after being given every opportunity to earn his first-round grade. I believe half of the blame is his. He should have been an excellent addition to the Defensive line, with Cameron Wake on the other side. Cam is gone, and so Is Robert Quinn, who also fizzled. Now it’s up to him to stand out and make a difference.
The Dolphins Front 7 through two preseason games has been a pleasant surprise. Hopefully Charles Harris carries the positive momentum into the regular season.
— DolphinsTalk.com (@DolphinsTalk) August 19, 2019
I believe the other half of the issue is scheme. The Dolphins defense as a whole, looked terrible under Coach Adam Gase, and especially putrid under Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke, who was out-schemed fairly often in both pass and run defense. We know that scheme is going to be incredibly important in how we pressure Offensive Backfield, and it looks like Harris and Linebacker Jerome Baker are stepping up as candidates who can have big seasons in that department.
It’s more than just x’s and o’s. It’s almost as if he sat down and read every “Charles Harris is a bust” tweet that emanated from Dolphins Twitter. He played with aggression, and with passion. It almost seemed like he swapped his 90 jersey for the number 91. Whatever it is that set him off in that game, we need him to bring that every down, and every game. Maybe the scheme and the opportunity to make his mark on the defense set him off. Maybe it’s the whispers about him not being an NFL ready talent. Whatever it is, I want the man on fire I seen in Tampa to show up again and again. So, What if it’s preseason? I can get a little excited to see this kid grow and finally produce.
