Rodney Harrison

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After the season, worn parts of the Patriots machine were replaced: LB Tedy Bruschi and Rodney Harrison retired; LB Mike Vrabel and DE Richard Seymour were traded for draft picks. 

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 1"

In a surprise, Adalius Thomas named himself captain of the revolution. 

Omitting the capital “r” was intentional, as the veteran linebacker won’t be joining the New England soccer team. 

Continue reading "Thomas vs. Belichick"

To make up for lost time I’m going to cover a few subjects in one post: 

On the day Rodney Harrison retired, two ESPN analysts were asked if Harrison is a future Hall of Famer. The ex-coach didn’t hesitate to say yes, pointing to Rodney’s record of being the only defensive back with at least 30 interceptions and 30 sacks. The former receiver compared Harrison to today’s best safetys, Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu and Baltimore’s Ed Reed, and said no. 

Continue reading "Closing Speed"

burned, but grease burns are especially painful. 

If the team doesn’t re-sign safety Rodney Harrison, the Pats could hire South Carolina’s Emmanuel Cook. Somebody has to make sure all the ingredients are in place for the defense. 

Continue reading "Cooking up a Patriots Mock Draft"

And earlier this week, Pro Football Weekly said S Rodney Harrison's recovery from a torn quadricepts is going so well he wants to come back in '09 as well.

I'd welcome both back with open arms. The experience they provide would benefit to the defense. But do I want them back as starters?

Continue reading "One More, Bruschi, Harrison?"

g the Patriots to 11 wins with 14 players on injured reserve, including key players QB Tom Brady, S Rodney Harrison, and LB Adalius Thomas.

The journalist who made the statement was NBC's Bob Costas. His explanation, as printed in The Boston Globe:

Continue reading "Stray Votes"

Rosie was joined by S Rodney Harrison, CB Tyrone Poole, G/C Russ Hochstein, and valuable special teamer LB Don Davis.

If this is a Patriots spending year, despite the struggling economy, who should they go after? I'm in favor of a trade for RB Larry Johnson. He's costly, but his price might be down a little since he publicly declared he wants out of Kansas City.

Continue reading "The Bi-annual Free Agency Splash"

But they will have to make tough decisions on players like QB Matt Cassel, S Rodney Harrison, and LBs Junior Seau, Rosevelt Colvin, Tedy Bruschi well before the draft.

It's a long off-season.

Continue reading "The Drive in '09"

ason and should be rewarded for it.

S Brandon Merriweather

Thrust into full-time duty following Rodney Harrison's injury, Merriweather has made Harrison proud. He hasn't earned the respect

Continue reading "Pro Bowl Pats"

show: Meet the Patri-ouchs!

So let's see here, That makes Tom Brady, Laurence Maroney, Rodney Harrison, Shawn Crable, and now Thomas on injured reserve. Among those five there might be more Pro Bowl selections missing the season than active players with the honor, and Crable hasn't even reached the playing field, let alone Hawaii.

Continue reading "Patriots Mounting Injuries Aren't Funny"

taken advantage of:

Buffalo

S Donte Whitner -He's the leader of the Bills secondary, just like Rodney Harrison was for the Patriots. Whitner isn't the biggest, but he's gets around the field, is a good hitter and playmaker. Buffalo has a young secondary and could miss his direction.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 10"

We already know Rodney Harrison is done for the year.

The sight of CB Ellis Hobbs walking off the field with his left arm dangling after defensing a deep pass late against St. Louis still haunts me. You hate seeing a gutsy player unable to will himself through another play. Even scarier was the fact that Deltha O'Neal, who suffered a concussion earlier in the game, had to come back in for the ailing Hobbs. It's great that O'Neal was heady enough to make the game-sealing interception, but O'Neal might not of had the sense to know his own name at the time. Hobbs didn't practice this week, and neither did reserve DB Lewis Sanders. The Colts on the other hand exchange corners, as Marlin Jackson was placed on IR while Kelvin Hayden appears ready to return to action.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 9"

And the Patriots will be one of the teams under the spotlight.

It doesn't matter that S Rodney Harrison, the consensus dirtiest player in the league, is on injured reserve. Seymour has been accused of being a dirty player already. And Wilfork was fined a total of $35,000 last year for four infractions, including a low hit on Buffalo passer J.P. Losman and the Three Stooges-like finger through the facemask of Giants running back Brandon Jacobs.

Continue reading "Vince Will Fork Over the Dough"

St. Louis has a respectable 14 sacks.

Safetys Lack Numbers -No more Rodney Harrison. Brandon Merriweather is expected to start at free safety while James Sanders slides over to strong. They lose a lot of experience without the leader, but there's no time to feel sorry for themselves with the pass happy Rams in town.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 8"

Without S Rodney Harrison's 35-year-old ass patrolling the secondary, is it fair to say the defense is no longer old?

They at least got a little younger. Before Harrison's injury, the defense's average age is 29. Substitute S Brandon Merriweather for Harrison and it drops to 28.

Continue reading "Youth Serving"

irst said, "Love to play with him, hate to play against him," must had been talking about Rodney Harrison.

There is not another player in the NFL who is a better example of that saying. Find a teammate from his nine years with the San Diego Chargers and they completely appreciate Rodney's play to the whistle intensity, often-times beyond. They recognized the difference he made as an enforcer in the secondary. He was respected for giving it his all every play.

Continue reading "End of the Road for Rodney?"

For making such a generalization about Patriots fans, I hope S Rodney Harrison hits Graham so hard that half of Graham's beard falls off.

Not that leveling Graham should be Harrison's first priority. Rodney and the secondary have a tough task ahead of them. With no pass rush to speak of by the Patriots, the pressure will be squarely on the DBs to contain the Broncos receivers. They will have their work cut out for them.

Continue reading "Hours Before Kickoff: Week 7"

Of course S Rodney Harrison was an unquestionable success, as was CB Tyrone Poole when he was opposite Ty Law. When Belichick hit on a free agent, it was a huge benefit to the team.

But signings like the ones above were huge risks. Keep in mind Harrison was considered finished by San Diego when Belichick picked Rodney out of the trash. It was the same story with Poole, who had his best season his first year with the Patriots after bouncing around from Carolina, to Indianapolis, then Denver for a year before his three year stint in New England. 21 passes defensed with six interceptions are Pro Bowl-caliber numbers, and that's what Poole did with the Pats in 2003.

Continue reading "Is O'Neal for real?"

The linebackers are much better than what they have shown, and John Lynch will help out Rodney Harrison and the corner backs to make the secondary a little bit stronger.

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Continue reading "Pre Season Problems For The Pats"

isfy the retired players who feel neglected.

Maybe the Patriots wouldn't have Mike Vrabel or Rodney Harrison if free agency didn't exist. We know LB Rosevelt Colvin wouldn't had been able to leave Chicago in 2003. Upshaw's work benefited all the players without undermining the league.

Continue reading "Union Needs a new Upshaw"

years past he signed DTs Ted Washington and Keith Traylor, DE Bobby Hamilton, LB Junior Seau, and S Rodney Harrison. The Lynch addition falls in line with the pattern already set. Belichick has done well finding guys that still had something left in the tank. Maybe Lynch will fall in that category.

Continue reading "Lynch in, Easy on the Mayo"

The D-line and line backer core still seems very solid, and Rodney Harrison still has some left in the tank at saftey. However the corners really need to put in alot of work this pre-season. I know Tom Brady and the offense can score tons of points so the defense will get alot of breaks, but I don't want the offense to have to score every time they have the ball just to keep the score even. Opossing teams Quarterbacks are going to target the Patriots secondary and they should. It's a young core with not much experience, and that's why this pre-season is a great test for the Patriots.

Continue reading "Important Pre-Season For The Patriots"

rs younger than Bruschi.

The same can be said for SS Tank Williams as he plays behind 35-year old Rodney Harrison, but I won't go into detail of why I love the Patriots signing Tank and Hobson. I'll save that for another day.

Continue reading "Room for improvement"

n
OLB Adalius Thomas
CB Ellis Hobbs
CB Fernando Bryant
FS James Sanders
SS Rodney Harrison

The only name absent from last year's offense is Nick Kaczur. I'm having doubts about whether he will remain with the team. It's not just about his off-field issue, though that does play a role. More than anything else, it's his ability to pass protect. I believe Kaczur has problems with speed rushers. Besides New York Giants' defensive end Michael Strahan beating Kaczur for two sacks in Super Bowl 42, I remember Baltimore used special teams LB Antwan Barnes to rush the passer and he beat Kaczur for a sack. The recent signing of Anthony Clement doesn't bode well for Kaczur.

Continue reading "Looking too far ahead"

VrabelLB Bo RuudWR Wes WelkerC Ryan WendelDL Mike WrightRB BenJarvis Green-Ellis

Later on, safety Rodney Harrison was added to the list.

Everyone say it with me: Ow!

The good news is anyone on this list can be activated at any time. So it could be a case of someone not being in shape or has a minor injury. But the inverse could be true as well. It's no secret that Hobbs had surgery to repair a torn labrum and a hernia. He might not hit the field anytime soon.

Continue reading "A dozen PUP-ies"

He already suspended safety Rodney Harrison for purchasing steroids. Add two marijuana arrests and Kaczur, it might be enough to make Goodell take action against the Patriots organization. It could be fines or even draft picks or more.

Continue reading "Not sure about Kaczur"