Carolina Panthers safety Roman Harper, right, celebrates intercepting Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and returning the ball for a touchdown, with Frank Alexander, left, during the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 28, 2014, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Atlanta Journal Constitution, Curtis Compton)
If living well is the best revenge, then vengeance is Roman Harper’s.
Since the Saints released him in February, Harper has intercepted a career-high four passes with the Carolina Panthers; scored his second NFL touchdown; formed part of the first team to ever win back-to-back NFC South titles; and won a Defensive Player of the Week award.
That last laurel came Wednesday, two days after Harper picked off Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and ran the ball back 31 yards for a TD in Carolina’s 34-3 victory at Atlanta (6-10) on Sunday. Harper’s only other touchdown was as a member of the Saints in 2007.
Division champion Carolina (7-8-1) will now host wild-card Arizona (11-5) in a playoff game on Saturday as a result of their triumph over Atlanta.
Harper, who helped New Orleans win Super Bowl XLIV in February 2010, hasn’t had a perfect season after the Saints let him go during a purge of veteran salaries earlier this calendar year. He’s taken poor angles on long ground plays the Panthers have surrendered, such as a season-long, 89-yard touchdown run in a tie at Cincinnati in Week 6. He was beaten in coverage on a touchdown throw in a Week 16 game against Cleveland.
But the fact of the matter is Harper’s NFC Defensive Player of the Week Award on Wednesday is the third of a career many assumed could’ve been over when the Saints cut him.
He’s intercepted one more pass this year than he did in any of the eight he spent with the Saints, who chose him in the second round of the 2006 draft out of Alabama.
He’s now scored as many touchdowns for the Panthers as he did for the Saints, who won’t be going to the playoffs this season after finishing 7-9. And, fewer than five years after helping the Saints capture their lone Super Bowl title, he assisted the Panthers’ successful efforts to become the first franchise to win the NFC South in consecutive years since its creation in 2002.
The Saints came in second in the race for the NFC South this year. Atlanta was third, and Tampa Bay (2-14) was last.
It will never be known how much of a difference Harper would’ve made for a Saints defense that in 2014 allowed the second-most yards in the NFL. But there can be no doubt that a player often derisively referred to as an “old man” partially because his hair has grayed over the years still had a little something left in the tank.
For the record, at least in his public statements, Harper has never claimed to be overly motivated by the Saints’ releasing him. He said he was thirsting for new scenery after spending eight years in the same program in New Orleans regardless.
Harper memorably described his arrival in Carolina in this manner: “It’s all fresh. You’re a new face. You’re not like the old girlfriend — you’re the good-looking girl you see walking across the street.”
If nothing else, Harper is the girl going to the playoffs. And the boy who thought the girl’s best years were behind her isn’t.
Lagniappe
Ex-LSU/Giants receiver Odell Beckham Jr. was the NFL’s best rookie in December, the league announced Wednesday. It’s hard to argue with the choice given his insane production: he caught 43 passes for 606 yards and seven touchdowns to help New York (6-10) go 3-1.
Beckham also won rookie of the month for November. He’s the first receiver to win that award in consecutive months. He’s also the first receiver since Anquan Boldin (2003) to win the award multiple times.