Under former coach Rex Ryan, Damon "Snacks" Harrison operated as a space-eating, zero-technique nose tackle charged with lining up over center and swallowing runners at the point of attack.
New coach Todd Bowles, though, plans to use the 6-foot-4, 350-pound behemoth in more of a heat-seeking role that allows him to get after the quarterback.
"There was a lot of two-gapping with Rex," Harrison said last week, per NJ.com. "Here (under Bowles), we're attacking. We were attacking with Rex, too. But for myself, as the nose tackle, I didn't get a chance to get up the field like Muhammad (Wilkerson) and Sheldon (Richardson) were doing."
Snacks has one sack to go with three hits and 16 hurries over three seasons, per Pro Football Focus. That lack of highlight-reel fodder tends to shift the spotlight to Wilkerson and Richardson, which gets under Harrison's skin.
"I hate when I read that, man," Harrison said. "Mo and Sheldon are good players. They're damn good players. But when people are like, 'Anybody can be good between those two all-star defensive ends,' I still have to do my job. I still have to get off blocks. I don't know if people watch, but I get double-teamed a lot. Even if they're double-teamed, I still have to get off the block and make a tackle for loss."
Harrison, now, is ready to hear his name more, saying: "We have a little more freedom to do some stuff -- a whole lot more."
More sacks from Snacks couldn't come at a better time for the Jets: With Richardson facing a four-game suspension to start the year, Gang Green needs all hands on deck to help get the Bowles era off to a solid start.
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