Percy Harvin

[chasespace]

With him announcing his retirement it got me thinking about how we would be remembered. I am a Gator fan so I'm biased but I've always thought of him as being supremely talented but injuries and off field issues held him back.

Even in the NFL it was the same story, put up great numbers and put in a Super Bowl MVP-caliber performance but still was held back because of injuries and his off field attitude.

How do you guys see him? Are my glasses too rosy?

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[Quid Pro Clowe]

Elite returner and big play guy, but injuries did him in. He also wasn't good enough at wr.

 

[Bonzai12]

Little guy short career

 

[Stammer Time*]

Oh Mercy it's Percy. One of my favorite college receivers ever.

 

[Avs_19]

Loved having him on the Vikings. He was a legit game changer and one of my favourite players to watch.

His reckless style of play caught up to him pretty quickly though, which is too bad but also not very surprising.

 

[542365]

I loved watching him play, but unfortunately he just wasn't a very good receiver. Great return man, but not someone you could count on every down. Injuries certainly didn't help, but I don't think he would've ever been anything more than the occasional big play threat and return man without the injuries.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Guy once threw a dumbbell at Brad Childress so he's cool with me.


He'll be remembered as an extremely talented injury prone headcase.

The Vikings got rid of him at the perfect time and got Xavier Rhodes and Jerick McKinnon out of it.

 

[Trap Jesus]

Incredibly talented, but lacking in almost every else. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a player appear so frequently on the injury report. While it's very difficult to call a player a team cancer from an outsider's perspective, some of the stories you hear about the guy are pretty alarming.

In terms of his play on the football field, he was a really good receiver, and not just a gimmick that you had to design plays for. Sure, there was a lot of that as well, but he still had solid receiving skills, especially his hands. He could be both a home-run threat and a consistent move-the-chains option.

 

[TNT87]

A headcase.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Enigmatic russian.

 

[Mad Brills*]

legit mvp candidate in 2012 for 10 games

 

[JCD]

A lot of nostalgia in this thread.

Harvin was the definitive gadget player. A great weapon to have, but your passing game is going to suck if he is starting for you. As a depth player and return man, he was a game changer.

ego and injuries brought his career to a quick end.

Thought the Vikings got away with robbery when they traded him away, but also thought Seattle was a far better fit because they could use him as that gadget player. Sad to see how his career went south due, seemingly due to attitude. He could have carved out a long and productive career returning kicks and playing sub packages. Wanted the big pay day and didn't have the skills to back it up.

 

[JCD]

legit mvp candidate in 2012 for 10 games

You seem to have him confused with Adrian Peterson.

 

[What the Faulk]

Well there's a name I haven't seen in forever.

 

[Trap Jesus]

You seem to have him confused with Adrian Peterson.

Nah, I remember a lot of hype for Harvin as well. I didn't think it was warranted, but it was definitely there. Peterson only took off in the last half of that season, whereas Harvin came out flying to coincide with the Vikings hot start. In the first 6 weeks when Peterson had only topped 100 yards once (102 yards), and got at least 1 TD in only 1 game (2 TDs week 1), Harvin had between 84 and 133 receiving yards every game but 1, and the game that he had pedestrian receiving numbers, he returned a 105 yard kickoff return. He had TDs receiving, rushing and return at that point. Another couple strong games to reach the midseason point and I remember some people looking at him as a possible MVP threat before he went down for the year. Peterson completely took off starting in week 7 though.

 

[JCD]

Nah, I remember a lot of hype for Harvin as well. I didn't think it was warranted, but it was definitely there. Peterson only took off in the last half of that season, whereas Harvin came out flying to coincide with the Vikings hot start. In the first 6 weeks when Peterson had only topped 100 yards once (102 yards), and got at least 1 TD in only 1 game (2 TDs week 1), Harvin had between 84 and 133 receiving yards every game but 1, and the game that he had pedestrian receiving numbers, he returned a 105 yard kickoff return. He had TDs receiving, rushing and return at that point. Another couple strong games to reach the midseason point and I remember some people looking at him as a possible MVP threat before he went down for the year. Peterson completely took off starting in week 7 though.

I remember that as well. Thought it was bunk the , still think it now. It was a statistical mirage propagated by people reading the box score/fantasy football points Monday morning rather than watching the game on Sunday. Peterson was an animal beginning to end that year. Harvin played the part of being the team's next best weapon, but no doubt on who was carrying the team that season. Once teams started catching on to Harvins trick plays, his production tapered off.

To be clear, not trying to be harsh on Harvin. At his best, he was arguably the most dominant 3rd wr in the game who had a ton of ways to make plays. But he was a luxury item and came up short when cast as a traditional wr. If he was your best weapon, you were in trouble. Put him in somebody else's shadow, he could really do damage.

 

[Bonzai12]

Harvin was the definitive gadget player.

sums up thread.

And Devin Hester was a better gadget player. I'd be shocked if Hester made the HOF, but Percy will never get even close to consideration.

 

[Avs_19]

He wasn't a great WR or route runner but I do think he was more than just a third WR. IMO, he was a very good #2 when he was at his best and a game changer when he got the ball in his hands, whether that was from traditional WR sets, gadget plays, or special teams.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

He was one of the few positionless players that actually had an impact for a short while.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Harvin was at his best rookie year when he had all talented players around him and was the 2nd or 3rd option. You had Favre and Rice tearing up the league, Shiancoe down the middle and hell even Bernard Berrian was somewhat useful then.

Then when the QB play went from the 09 version of Favre to trash and the talent around him became the likes of Michael Jenkins and Devin Aromashodu he became miscast as a #1 go to WR instead of the slot guy/gadget player he was so great at.

He was still amazing though in the 1st half of 2012, when the entire offense was just him and Peterson, but then in typical Harvin fashion he got hurt.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

sums up thread.

And Devin Hester was a better gadget player. I'd be shocked if Hester made the HOF, but Percy will never get even close to consideration.

You're the first person to even mention the HoF in this thread and IDK why. It's pretty obvious Percy Harvin isn't anywhere close to a HoFer. lol.

Not sure why you're mentioning Hester either. They're not really the same. The only similarities between the two is that they return kickoffs.

Hester is probably the best return man ever but that was bascially it, whereas Harvin was you're prototypical gadget player who was actually useful on offense when he was actually on the field.

 

[Sports Enthusiast]

If they eliminated kicks in football I'm not sure he'd have any place on an NFL field. I don't think anybody would sign him just to run 5 gadget plays. For speed he was a weak WR.