Every day, Charles Harris stares at his goals for this season. They're written on a wall inside the Lions facility. At this time last season, Harris just wanted to make the team. Then he led the team in sacks and tackles for loss. Then he landed a two-year, $13 million contract. Now he's back for more -- and more is being asked of him in Detroit's new defense.
"There are some things being asked of me that are going to get done. That’s all it really is," Harris said Thursday after the Lions' second practice of training camp. "More coverage responsibilities, some checks and adjustments. It’s nothing I can’t handle."
Not long ago, it looked like Harris couldn't handle the NFL. The former first-round pick fizzled out with the Dolphins and the Falcons. He caught on with the Lions last season and found new life under defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn. The Lions put him in better positions to attack and Harris didn't stop until he had racked up 7.5 sacks, more than he had in his first four seasons combined.
This season, Glenn and Dan Campbell want to attack even more. They are shifting to a four-man front on defense to take advantage of their personnel. They plan to win with speed, up the middle and off the edge. And Harris plans to keep proving his worth, like last year never happened, like he's still repping with the second- and third-team defense in training camp.
"It’s still a prove-it mentality, without a doubt. Show it ain’t no fluke, no one-hitter quitter, nothing like that," he said. "It’s no change in mentality. Approach every day and practice like it’s my last and play my heart out every game."
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For all the attention paid to the Lions' new defense -- and changes were in order after they allowed the second most points in the NFL -- Harris says it's not "totally different." He might adopt some new techniques in his new role, but he said the basic concepts are mostly the same. In any defense, Harris' job is rather simple: harass the quarterback.
"He’s the one who dictates the tempo of the game. We speed him up, get him off his routes, get him distorted, it changes the flow of the game and it puts the cookie in our side of the basket," said Harris. "That’s what the game is all about, get to the quarterback."
Harris got to him often last season. He racked up 34 QB pressures, tied with Pro Bowl defensive ends Robert Quinn and Cam Jordan. He was consistently Detroit's most disruptive player. After a career day in the Lions' December upset of the Cardinals, Campbell called Harris "a nuisance to quarterbacks." Now, can he become a nightmare? Both Quinn and Jordan finished among the top 10 players in sacks last season.
Harris was tied for 39th.
His goals will be bigger this season. His responsibilities will expand. Back in May, he earned a shout-out from Glenn as a candidate for a(nother) breakout year. These days, Harris practices with the 1's. He's an NFL starter, hungry to prove he's no one-hit wonder.
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