DETROIT -- Two games, that's all it is so far. Two starts for rookie Joey Harrington -- a loss to Green Bay and a win against New Orleans.

But already the former Oregon star -- the third player taken in the NFL draft last April -- has the Lions, their fans and the media in a state of excitement, wondering if the 24-year-old quarterback might be the real thing, and hoping their long-suffering hearts out that he is.

After so many false alarms -- Chuck Long in 1986, Andre Ware in 1990 and Charlie Batch in 1998 -- could the Lions finally have landed a quarterback capable of eventually getting them to a Super Bowl?

Or capable of getting them their first NFL title since 1957?

	Harrington has breathed life back into the Lions.

For right now, the Lions might settle for a quarterback to get them back to respectability. After winning just two of the first 20 games under president Matt Millen and coach Marty Mornhinweg, even a .500 season would look good. And in his first two NFL starts, Harrington is giving every impression that he is the man for the job.

Mornhinweg, who in previous NFL stops has worked with Brett Favre, Steve Young and Jeff Garcia, has done all he could to keep a lid on the expectations for Harrington.

He has warned that rookie quarterbacks need time, that the West Coast offense doesn't fall into place overnight. He even offered a subtle reminder that Ryan Leaf had a couple of early successes before becoming one of the NFL's colossal quarterback busts in recent years.

Yet Harrington seems to have a knack for doing all the right things. He has amazing poise for a rookie, he handles himself well with teammates and the media, and he has shown a professionalism beyond his years.

"I expect I'm going to have ups and downs," he said. "I don't know how to explain it because I haven't been through it yet. I expect there are going to be good times, like (Week 4), and there are going to be bad times, like the Sunday before that when we came up just a little bit short."

Even though he struggled in his first start -- completing just 15-of-35 passes for 182 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions -- he came within a fingertips catch by tight end Mikhael Ricks of upsetting the Packers in the closing seconds of the game.

In his second start, he completed 20-of-35 for 267 yards and a touchdown -- with zero interceptions -- and the Lions handed the Saints their first loss of the season.

Before halftime of the Saints game, the hometown fans in new Ford Field in downtown Detroit were chanting his name: "Jo-eee, Jo-eee." But none of that flusters him. He's aware of it, smiles and thanks the fans for the energy they bring to the team.

"It's one game," he said. "I'm flattered they would have that feeling about me after one game, but I'm still learning and I did make some mistakes. There were some balls I could have thrown better, and there were some balls where people put me in a good position and I didn't come through.

"So I've got a lot of learning to do, but it makes me feel very good to know that the crowd is behind me and the fans have that enthusiasm to really build that energy."

With that, he and the Lions went into the bye week with a 1-3 record. They still have a long way to go to compete for anything meaningful in the NFC North, but Harrington seems to have breathed fresh life into a team that was playing absolutely awful football in losing the first two games of the season 49-21 at Miami and 31-7 at Carolina.

Even the defense seems to be playing better since Harrington was promoted to the starting quarterback job, and Mornhinweg -- for all of his warnings -- says he expects Harrington to play at a very high level as he progresses in his learning experience.

"I expect him to play like he played (against New Orleans)," Mornhinweg said. "I expect Joey to play like that every game. But, yet, if you step back and look at it, he's going to have some ups and downs. We know that.

"But going into every game, we expect him to play very well, at a high level."

In the next breath, however, Mornhinweg reminds fans and the media not to expect too much.

"Joey, I think, will put himself above that just a little bit. I think he has the maturity to do that, but it's very, very difficult because Joey will get a bunch of national exposure and local exposure, there will be a lot of No. 3 jerseys around. There already are.

"We've seen quarterbacks start out well and then have a little dip there, but I wouldn't expect that. I would expect him to keep himself above that."

Curt Sylvester covers the Lions for the Detroit Free Press.

Material from Pro Football Weekly.
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