Joey Harrington's mother should be proud.

      Her son isn't the flashiest quarterback in the NFL, or the most talented, and according to Tony Siragusa he isn't the manliest either- but at least Harrington is the poster child for manners.

      Unfortunately for Harrington, manners don't get you anywhere in the busy world of the NFL. In four seasons with the Lions, Harrington compiled an 18-37 record and threw 62 interceptions, but none of his short comings are the reason for his recent departure from Detroit.

 The Games Don't Lie.

     It has no doubt been a difficult four years in Detroit for Harrington, but when all is said and done he won't be remembered for not singling out teammates or letting up while on the field. When fans got down on him Harrington played through. When things got really bad, that's when he heated up.

      Fighting criticism and a 100 degree temperature two years ago in Minnesota, Harrington led Detroit back from 14 points down. Just when the Lions looked like a real team again, rookie center Don Muhlback fumbled a snap, and the Lions were sent home with a loss. When the losing continued, it wasn't Muhlback who was critcized, it was Harrington.

            Already shouldering the blame of two losing seasons which was arguably more Matt Millen's fault than anyone else, Joey did what most people in his position wouldn't do. I kept quit, kept playing and kept trying to turn things around.

            And that's the way things continued for Joey until the 2004 season.

            By week three, Joey had already thumped Green Bay, and taken his lumps from a stifling Chicago defense, after a bye week, it was time for Joey to show the NFL if he was real or not.

            Down one with under a minute two go, Harrington led the Lions on another offensive drive reminiscent to his 2005 campaign versus the Vikings. After reaching the red zone on second down, Harrington zinged a pass to an open receiver who dropped the ball blowing a chance at a touchdown and a potential game winning touchdown. On third down he threw a bullet to Marcus Pollard who was called out of bounds on a controversial play. On fourth down Joey Harrington overshot his target. And although two for three isn't bad..... he still got blamed for the loss, and Jeff Garcia still cut into him on the radio the next day.

            Let's also not forget about vocal defensive leader Dre' Bly who is quick to point out the mishaps of his offensive teammates without realizing the faults on his own side of the ball.

            Two weeks after Tampa Bay debacle, Harrington led the Lions back against the Panthers giving them a six point lead with less than two minutes to go. The end result? Lax defense by Dre' Bly and the rest of the Lions secondary allowed Jake Delhomme to march down the field for a touchdown, and an ensuing Panthers victory.

            When all was said and done the Lions were 2-3 and only one of those losses was Harrington's fault.

            Regardless, Garcia got the nod for the next two games, and ended up throwing one game away to the Bears on a "moon ball" in overtime. So in essence Garcia, and Harrington were equal. Equally mediocre. And Harrington will be the first person to tell you that, (although don't expect Garcia to admit it).

The Real Problem

     After an illustrious college career where Harrington only lost three games, he was thrust into an organization run by the Isaiah Thomas of football. He played his first season when he probably should have learned the ropes like Steve Mcnair, Donovan Mcnabb, and other seasoned veterans did, but he didn't. In doing so, Harrington wasted precious time, and wore out his welcome with fans at points, so when things started to get better, it was too late. But then again, you'd have to consider 5-11 to be better in the first place.

     Five and eleven being a worse record than the year before the initial rebuilding phase which brought in Marty Morninghwheg.

            Don't get me wrong, Harrington was no savior, he didn't play good football at points but neither did his offensive or defensive counterparts. The real problem for Harrington was he got stuck in a rebuilding phase got wrong. Once it seemed like things should go right, players used him as a scapegoat for the whole team's collective problem.

What He Did Right.

     In four years in a Detroit uniform Harrington never sat out because of an injury or illness. He never called out a teammate or tore down a coach in a press conference. As a rookie, when he tried to put a positive spin on a loss, the media slammed him for being a "selfish me first player", but that wasn't how it was with him. Harrington just wanted to work hard, in a city known for hard work. It just didn't work out because there was no team cohesion. Players were turning their backs on each other and on coaches; the fans were turning on management, injuries rose to an all time high and star offensive components were getting suspended for substance abuse violations. The NFL life didn't give Harrington lemons, but he tried to make lemonade anyway.

The Bottom Line Is Respect.

     If it were up to Harrington, he'd still be practicing with the Lions, learning another new offense, under his third head coach, in just five short years in the NFL. He'd be throwing passes to another group of players who don't respect him, behind a line that won't block for him opposite the ball of players like Dre' Bly who don't respect him.

            Harrington admitted in an interview with Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom that even his former coach, Steve Mariucci gave up on him during the beginning of last season. But what really got to Harrington more than his coach not supporting him, was his teammates not supporting him. Mid-way through last season, Dre Bly called out Harrington in front of the whole Detroit locker room. Meanwhile, Jeff Garcia, who had already gotten a chance to start for the Honolulu blue and silver, was doing Monday morning rounds for local radio stations cutting into his teammate like he was Terrell Owens.

            Despite all the negativity from "Mooch", Garcia and his loud mouth girlfriend (who also frequented the Detroit talk show scene) and Dre Bly, Harrington kept quit and kept it respectable. That can't be said about a lot of player but it can be said about him. Even though things didn't end up being sunshine lollipops and rainbow everything in the Motor City for Joey Ball Game when all is said and done, Harrington will be known for taking shots down field, not at his teammates.

Jon Gunnells is journalism senior at Michigan State University who can't wait for the Lions-Dolphins game on Thanksgiving Day. He can be reached at gunnell2@msu.edu

For a complete transcript of Harrington's amazing interview with Mitch Albom visit freep.com.