WEBVTT - Pats from the Past: Episode 1, Rodney Harrison 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:09.520 Welcome to the Maiden Voyage of Packs from the Past podcast. 0:00:10.000 --> 0:00:12.399 My name is Matt Smith, the senior executive producer for 0:00:12.480 --> 0:00:15.400 Crafts Sports Productions to the Patriots. I'm a fifteen year 0:00:15.480 --> 0:00:17.680 veteran here at the organization and I've had a front 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:20.680 row seat to see not only the greatest run maybe 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:24.400 in franchise history, but perhaps the greatest run in NFL history. 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:27.160 I've had the privilege of overseeing a department that produces 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:30.840 all the video content here for the franchise. Because of that, 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.280 I think I bring a unique perspective to the history 0:00:33.600 --> 0:00:35.280 that has become one of the best in all of 0:00:35.320 --> 0:00:39.600 professional sports. And speaking of history, let me introduce you 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:42.960 to aman who needs no introduction, Thanks Matt. My name's 0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.559 Brian Morey. I'm the executive director of the Patriots Hall 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.360 of Fame, presented by Raytheon. I started with the organization 0:00:48.400 --> 0:00:50.879 back in nineteen ninety seven as the editor of Patriots 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:53.880 Football Weekly, and I now have the opportunity to preserve 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:57.480 the team's history as it's as the history is being made. 0:00:57.480 --> 0:00:59.200 Matt as the director of the Hall of Fame, and 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:00.840 I'm very excited to be involved in this with you 0:01:01.000 --> 0:01:04.080 and so our hope here in our desire, our mission statement, 0:01:04.080 --> 0:01:06.000 however you want to say it, Brian, is we want 0:01:06.000 --> 0:01:08.600 to have a conversation with the people who have made 0:01:08.600 --> 0:01:11.399 this franchise the gold standard that it is today, the 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:13.600 people who have made the history, as you say, for 0:01:13.680 --> 0:01:15.800 the New England Patriots. And Brian, can you think of 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:18.240 a better person to kick this off than the person 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:20.120 we're going to start off with? No way, Man, he 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:23.000 was a personality on the field. He was certainly a 0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.600 personality in the locker room during his time here and 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.200 remains one today. And so, without any further ado, we 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.479 invite you to listen to our Conversation for our Pats 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:36.640 from the Past podcast with Patriots Hall of Famer Rodney Harrison. 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:39.280 All Right, Matt Smith here with Brian Moore and were 0:01:39.280 --> 0:01:42.760 pleased to be joined by Patriot's Hall of Famer Rodney Harrison. Rodney, 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:44.880 how you doing? You know what I'm doing? Well? Man, 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:47.240 just flew in with the wife, kept the kids back 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.600 at home because we didn't want you know, Patriots don't 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:51.520 have to spend all that extra money. But yeah, man, 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.040 I'm just really excited and pumped up about tonight. They 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:57.920 appreciate the savings I can appreciate the savings. We're gonna 0:01:57.960 --> 0:02:00.200 talk some football, Roddy, and probably have a little fine 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:02.760 and hopefully you provide some insight as to your great 0:02:02.760 --> 0:02:05.040 Hall of Fame career here. But we start that with 0:02:05.640 --> 0:02:07.640 the end of one chapter of your football career, and 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:11.640 that was in San Diego. Were you pissed at that 0:02:11.680 --> 0:02:14.440 point in time when it was obvious to you that 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:16.440 the San Diego portion of your career was over. Yeah, 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.440 I was very disappointed, and I was actually heartbroken because 0:02:20.080 --> 0:02:22.320 the trainers looked at me, the coaches looked at me, 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:23.760 and they said, hey, if you go out there and 0:02:23.760 --> 0:02:26.520 you continue to play, we're not gonna hold your injury 0:02:26.560 --> 0:02:29.480 against you. Well, obviously I was limping around, I was 0:02:29.520 --> 0:02:31.720 taking all these pain meds. I was doing all these 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:35.160 other things, taking this stuff that's gonna hurt me long term, 0:02:35.240 --> 0:02:37.840 hurt my health long term, just to get that back 0:02:37.840 --> 0:02:40.360 out on the football field. And when it came down 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:42.800 to it, they put out that I couldn't play anymore, 0:02:42.840 --> 0:02:45.160 that I couldn't run, that I wasn't a very good 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:47.920 player anymore, and that hurt me, and that injury, it 0:02:47.960 --> 0:02:50.400 was my growing injury. I had thirty five percent of 0:02:50.440 --> 0:02:53.280 my growing ripped from the bone, and I was hobbling 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:56.279 and my entire leg was as black as my sweatpants 0:02:56.280 --> 0:02:59.000 I have on. And it just hurt me because I'll 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:01.760 do anything for my team, my organization. I'll do whatever 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:03.839 I have to do. But don't sit here and lie 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:05.840 to me, to my face and tell me that it's 0:03:05.840 --> 0:03:07.639 not going to hurt me. And you know, six months 0:03:07.760 --> 0:03:11.720 later you cut me. Now, now I'm curious as a general, 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:16.399 as a generality, when stuff like that happens, and when 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:19.560 players switch teams, it happens all the time, right, How 0:03:19.760 --> 0:03:24.120 how frequently is there bitterness after a player is cut 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.720 by a team and joined the new team. Mines basically 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:32.520 continued throughout my career. That was one of the motivating forces. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:33.880 And I said, you know, I don't want to go 0:03:33.880 --> 0:03:35.920 into FC West because most players want to go in 0:03:35.960 --> 0:03:38.680 to FFC West play that team twice. That's one of 0:03:38.720 --> 0:03:41.520 the reasons why I didn't go to Denver or Oakland. 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:43.560 You know, I know Belichick came in. I had a 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:45.480 chance to meet with him, and he was just terrific. 0:03:45.560 --> 0:03:47.960 Once I met with coach and you know, he started, 0:03:48.040 --> 0:03:50.120 you know, we started sharing stories and he you know. 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:52.400 He started saying, Hey, I remember when you're in warmups 0:03:52.400 --> 0:03:54.200 and you hit that guy and the helmet flew off. 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.080 And I'm like, dude, you actually remember that, Like that 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.720 little fine detail of warmups? I said. I looked at 0:03:59.720 --> 0:04:01.440 my age and say, man, you gotta this is the 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:03.720 place I want to be because this man knows football. 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:07.000 Were you blown away by that? Rodney? Absolutely, because not 0:04:07.040 --> 0:04:10.120 only that he had said something else, but just a small, 0:04:10.160 --> 0:04:13.480 intricate details. And I'm a detailed guy when I'm watching Tate, 0:04:13.520 --> 0:04:15.280 whether I was a football player or even now as 0:04:15.320 --> 0:04:18.159 a broadcaster, little things that I pick up, whether you're hustling, 0:04:18.640 --> 0:04:21.120 you know, are you you know, for effort, all these 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:23.760 different things I pick up. And for him to pick 0:04:23.839 --> 0:04:25.520 that up and to know that, and that was a 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:28.320 special moment for me because when I hit this guy, 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:30.320 I felt good. I'm like, yeah, I'm ready to go. 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:32.839 And he saw that and he remembered that and he 0:04:32.920 --> 0:04:35.640 mentioned it to me. It was just unbelievable. Did he 0:04:35.760 --> 0:04:39.640 have any other sales pitch items that he talked to 0:04:39.640 --> 0:04:42.160 you about, because I imagine when he's talking about that, 0:04:42.640 --> 0:04:45.159 he's just kind of telling you, hey, this is the 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:47.440 reason we want you. Did he did he try to 0:04:47.480 --> 0:04:49.640 sell the Patriots to you in another two He didn't 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:52.480 have to. I mean, Tylawa was here, Lawyer Mallory was here, 0:04:52.480 --> 0:04:55.680 two guys that I really wanted to play with. I 0:04:55.760 --> 0:04:57.880 knew they had success in two thousand and one after 0:04:57.920 --> 0:04:59.840 you know, winning that Super Bowl. But he really didn't 0:04:59.880 --> 0:05:02.159 have have to sell me. Once he said what he said, 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:05.039 and he says, look, he never asked me once how 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:07.520 are you doing body wise? Can you still run? Are 0:05:07.560 --> 0:05:11.000 you injured? Are you healthy? Never asked me anything like that. 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.360 So it was really what he didn't ask me. That 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.680 was the selling point, you know what I mean? Yeah, 0:05:16.720 --> 0:05:19.160 like he didn't. He didn't. He wasn't tripping. He was like, look, 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:20.680 I want you to be a leader. I want you 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:22.640 to do your thing. I'm gonna give you freedom. I'm 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:24.400 gonna let you go out there and play. And once 0:05:24.440 --> 0:05:26.640 he said that let's go ball. Well, so, Brian, I 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:29.240 think the cynics around here in New England would say okay. 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:32.000 So he didn't say anything to you then. But when 0:05:32.000 --> 0:05:35.000 training camp started, did he say anything to you about, Hey, 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:36.640 it's okay if you want to mix things up, we 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:39.240 could use a little fixing up. He didn't have to 0:05:39.240 --> 0:05:41.000 tell me anything like that. You did that on your own. 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:43.800 That's right. I'm a football player. I don't need coach belach, Hey, 0:05:43.880 --> 0:05:45.839 you can play a little bit more aggressive. No coach 0:05:45.880 --> 0:05:47.960 has ever told me to play more aggressive. If anything, 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.360 he said back it down a little bit, And he 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:52.600 never told me to back it down. Do you think 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:55.240 that they needed that? Mean? Did you think that that 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.039 team needed that edge that you brought coming off a 0:05:58.080 --> 0:06:01.920 non playoff here? Well, Eddie Bruski, I've heard him say, 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:03.960 that's exactly what we needed. We needed a guy like 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.320 hot Rods. So I'll go back to Teddy Bruski's um quote. 0:06:08.080 --> 0:06:11.200 I just I was ready, man, You know my intensity 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.640 I came in it was up to hear because I 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:17.599 was so bitter at the Chargers, but I was so 0:06:17.720 --> 0:06:20.760 excited about my new opportunity here and I and I 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.760 heard the rumblings, and I heard all of Rodney's why 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.200 would you go out and get a safety? This, this age, 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.800 this that and the other. He's not the same. You know, 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:30.920 where's he gonna fit in on the defense? So I 0:06:31.000 --> 0:06:32.800 love that. So I love when I heard a lot 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.480 of the Patriots fans asking those questions because I told 0:06:35.680 --> 0:06:38.039 I told my wife, I said, they have no idea 0:06:38.080 --> 0:06:40.280 what they're in for. I'm gonna come out here and 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.479 ball out. So when I when I'm covering training camp, 0:06:43.839 --> 0:06:45.760 I hear the coaches all the time, y'all, and hey, 0:06:45.920 --> 0:06:48.960 stay off the ground. You were knocking guys on the ground. 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:52.240 They didn't tell you to tell that. It really didn't matter. 0:06:52.440 --> 0:06:55.080 I mean, it's football. Man, come across the middle, you 0:06:55.120 --> 0:06:57.719 catch the ball around me, I'm gonna hit you, and 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:00.000 you're my teammate. I love you, I'm gonna pick you up. 0:07:00.360 --> 0:07:01.920 But at the end of the day, you know we're 0:07:01.960 --> 0:07:05.080 gonna be a physical, fast defense that plays well under pressure, 0:07:05.240 --> 0:07:06.919 that's going to knock your head off every time we 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:09.640 get and that's what I wanted to bring to this team. 0:07:09.720 --> 0:07:13.160 You mentioned defensive fit. Okay, so you know the offseason 0:07:13.200 --> 0:07:15.680 you signed in March off season program. I don't know 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:17.280 if you came here in April or anything like that, 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:19.920 but camp starts in July. Did you sense it you 0:07:19.920 --> 0:07:21.280 were going to be able to fit with my lawyer 0:07:21.320 --> 0:07:22.840 or did you know right away? I don't know if 0:07:22.840 --> 0:07:25.120 this is gonna work. I don't I didn't overthink it. 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.800 I'm a football player. My job was to go out 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:31.040 there and play football, and whether that meant playing with Lawyer, 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:33.400 playing with Tie, playing with somebody else, it didn't matter. 0:07:33.480 --> 0:07:35.040 I just knew that I had to get on that 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:37.640 field and I was going to be a starter at 0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:40.400 one of those safety positions, no matter what, no matter what, 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:42.520 who was gonna beat me. I was too determined, I 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.120 was too motivated, I was too focused. Nobody was gonna 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.880 beat me out. And that's the way it was my 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:53.400 entire career. I felt like I always had something to prove. Now, obviously, 0:07:53.440 --> 0:07:56.080 then you didn't get to play with Lawyer, and that 0:07:56.200 --> 0:07:59.360 was a pretty controversial thing around here. When Lawyer was 0:07:59.400 --> 0:08:02.480 released five days before the start of the two thousand 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.480 and three season. Can you take us back into the 0:08:05.520 --> 0:08:10.160 locker room at that time, and you hadn't played with Lawyer, 0:08:10.280 --> 0:08:12.640 but you knew of Lawyer. You mentioned that, you know, 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:14.520 what was that like in the locker room? I mean 0:08:14.560 --> 0:08:16.720 that happens because man got blown out in week one. 0:08:16.760 --> 0:08:18.800 It's a business man, I mean, it's a business. Think 0:08:18.840 --> 0:08:21.640 about it. You don't need two strong safeties, And then 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.960 think think about Eugene Wilson when he came and he 0:08:25.000 --> 0:08:28.360 got inserted. It gave us a level of athleticism that 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:31.440 we didn't have. You know, he was a cornerback basically 0:08:31.520 --> 0:08:35.040 playing free safety. Then we could play with our base defense. 0:08:35.120 --> 0:08:37.680 He could go down and take the third wide receiver. 0:08:38.000 --> 0:08:39.520 If he didn't want to take him, then I could 0:08:39.520 --> 0:08:42.600 take him. So Lawyer wasn't a great cover guy. Lawyer 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:44.320 played with a lot of emotional a lot of energy. 0:08:44.320 --> 0:08:47.160 He was great physical to fans love them, but he 0:08:47.240 --> 0:08:49.800 wasn't a cover guy where he could cover one on one. 0:08:50.040 --> 0:08:52.480 And I think that's where we were really upgraded as 0:08:52.480 --> 0:08:57.000 far as athleticism, speed, and coverage ability because Eugene Wilson 0:08:57.040 --> 0:08:59.040 was so good at that. You mentioned business though, and 0:08:59.360 --> 0:09:02.520 the Patriots, and so I mean the Patriot fans Lawyer 0:09:02.600 --> 0:09:05.080 was one of their own one Super Bowl thirty six. 0:09:05.160 --> 0:09:08.000 Did you feel any trepidation, like, oh, I'm the new 0:09:08.040 --> 0:09:10.319 guy here. It just happened to me. Yeah, okay, I 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:12.720 understood it, got it. Heck, I just got shipped out 0:09:12.720 --> 0:09:14.440 of the place that I was there for nine years. 0:09:14.720 --> 0:09:17.599 A guy that was involved in the community sacrifice his 0:09:17.720 --> 0:09:19.680 career millions of dollars on the line. I could have 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:22.400 set back and collected my money and not played a dime. 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:24.920 I went out there and played and risked my career 0:09:25.200 --> 0:09:27.280 to go out there and play to help that team win. 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.720 So yeah, I knew what Laurier was going through. But 0:09:29.760 --> 0:09:31.600 I also knew that Lawyer I think was Lawyer was 0:09:31.600 --> 0:09:34.800 the first round draft choice. Right, Laurier had made some 0:09:34.840 --> 0:09:39.520 good money second, second, first or second. It was better 0:09:39.520 --> 0:09:41.480 than me. In the fifth I got forty grand a sign. 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:43.839 I'm sure he got a lot more than that, right, 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.720 So okay. So wait, So in other words, my you know, 0:09:47.800 --> 0:09:50.160 I felt bad for a lawyer, but I knew Lawyer 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:52.640 would be okay. There's gonna be ten teams that need 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:54.679 a guy like like lawyers, so I knew he was 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:56.880 gonna be okay. I wasn't worried about Lawyer. I was 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.560 worried about our team. So you go out and lose 0:09:59.600 --> 0:10:02.319 thirty one nothing to Lawyer and the Bills. In week one, 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.840 Week two, we're in Philadelphia, and I remember in my 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.000 hotel room because we had a four o'clock game. I 0:10:08.040 --> 0:10:12.160 believe I'm watching Prime Time on ESPN when they do 0:10:12.280 --> 0:10:14.960 this whole hatchet job feature about the Patriots. The interview 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.079 Drew and Sam Gash and Lawyer about what a family 0:10:18.120 --> 0:10:20.440 it is in Buffalo and how awful the Patriots are. 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:23.800 They come back from that, Tom Jackson says they hate 0:10:23.800 --> 0:10:28.199 their coach, and I went, WHOA did someone tell him that? Like, 0:10:28.480 --> 0:10:31.880 my first thought was somebody in our locker room must 0:10:31.880 --> 0:10:35.800 have told Tom Jackson that How did you guys respond 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:38.080 to that? You went out and hammered the Eagles that day, 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:43.480 but how did you guys react to that whole controversy? Well, 0:10:43.520 --> 0:10:46.520 to us, it wasn't controversy because it was someone saying 0:10:46.640 --> 0:10:50.000 something outside of our locker room. And although it was 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:53.240 early in the season, it really was just what we 0:10:53.320 --> 0:10:56.280 needed to come together. It was that little spark that 0:10:56.360 --> 0:10:58.719 we needed just to be able to come together and 0:10:58.800 --> 0:11:01.760 really buying as a team. And that's what we did. 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:04.440 We said, Man, I hate coach Belichick. We're the ones 0:11:04.440 --> 0:11:07.000 out there plan. Yeah, the coaches could have probably done 0:11:07.040 --> 0:11:09.360 a better job of preparing us for that game, but 0:11:09.559 --> 0:11:12.160 ultimately we're the ones out there plan. So it was 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:14.480 it's like we kind of laughed at it and was like, Okay, 0:11:14.480 --> 0:11:17.040 if this is what they think we are, we're gonna 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:18.640 buy together and we're gonna go on a run. And 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:20.920 that's exactly what we did. We went on a run. Brian. 0:11:20.960 --> 0:11:24.839 You remember in the speech when Roddy was inducted back 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:28.400 in August and Robert Craft is talking about the original 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:30.960 no respect guy. Rody did that kind of start there. 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.320 Maybe after that they hate their coach Philadelphia, where whatever 0:11:34.440 --> 0:11:36.640 chip you already had on your shoulder, it was like, 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:38.520 hey know what they're against us, man, They're trying to 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:40.960 pull us apart. They're not going to do that. Yeah, 0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:43.120 they're not going to do that. And that it got 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.160 bigger and bigger. The cults. You can't beat the cults. 0:11:46.240 --> 0:11:48.560 You can't beat this team. You carried that chip on 0:11:48.559 --> 0:11:51.200 your shoulder throughout. It was just what we needed too, 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.400 you know, I mean, just for people to doubt us, 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:56.480 to second guesses. And yeah, that was me because that 0:11:56.559 --> 0:12:00.800 was me My entire life always looked overlooked. Ass he's 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:03.079 too small, he's this, he's that. So I've always had 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:06.960 to grind and get into somebody's face to make it happen. 0:12:07.520 --> 0:12:09.520 But all in all, man, you know what, we just 0:12:09.760 --> 0:12:12.679 use it as motivation. We said, as a group, we're 0:12:12.720 --> 0:12:14.720 not going to worry about what Tom Jackson and what 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:17.760 all these other pundits will say, it's all about what 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.040 we feel and how we prepare and how we work 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:22.400 and the things that we do. And that's what we did. Man. 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.800 We went on a great run and it was fantastic. 0:12:25.000 --> 0:12:27.480 And the cool part about it is we set back 0:12:27.559 --> 0:12:31.040 and you know, it was like more people like Tom 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:33.720 Jackson and all of a sudden and everybody started flipping 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:35.640 all the Patriots are so great and we're like, no, 0:12:35.840 --> 0:12:38.080 don't come on our bandwagon. Now. You know what I'm saying. 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.240 You didn't listen to any of that. Every week you said, 0:12:40.280 --> 0:12:42.720 the only one who believes in our side. That's right. 0:12:42.840 --> 0:12:45.560 Do you think though, that that worked that nobody respects us? 0:12:45.600 --> 0:12:47.400 Do you think that worked for that team? Oh, it 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.040 worked for that team, no question. Because I used to 0:12:50.040 --> 0:12:52.280 say it a lot. And then you get guys like 0:12:52.320 --> 0:12:54.520 Willie and all the rest of the guys jumping in 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:56.920 and it just motivates you. Then you see guys in 0:12:56.920 --> 0:12:58.880 a weight room at six o'clock in the morning watching 0:12:58.960 --> 0:13:02.520 extra film, doing extra gassers. I mean, that team was 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.480 a really, really good team, and it had so many 0:13:05.520 --> 0:13:08.280 great pros on it, so many really good young players, 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:10.760 that were open to listening and to receive in the 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:13.120 information that the veteran players were giving them. So that 0:13:13.440 --> 0:13:16.160 it's the most disrespected thirty four and four group over 0:13:16.240 --> 0:13:19.120 two years in history, the most disrespected back to back 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:24.360 cupball champions and over two years. Oh that was pretty sweet. 0:13:24.440 --> 0:13:27.000 So you talk about another guy who carried the disrespect label, 0:13:27.040 --> 0:13:29.280 picked number one ninety nine in the sixth round, has 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:32.440 probably never shed that. You know, I was overlood. I 0:13:32.480 --> 0:13:35.840 was overlooked. Um. When you first got here and saw him, 0:13:35.920 --> 0:13:39.000 he was Tom Brady, not Tom Brady. What was your 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:42.520 thoughts to him when you saw him for the first time, Rodney. Um, 0:13:42.559 --> 0:13:44.240 When I got a chance to sit down and talk 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:47.679 to Tom, we talked about family. Um. You know, we 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:50.000 just talked about normal things. We didn't talk a lot 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:54.520 about football. Um at first, because I'm one of those guys, 0:13:54.559 --> 0:13:56.960 I'm gonna ask you about your family, your kids, your 0:13:56.960 --> 0:13:59.319 you know, relationships, you know, just to try to get 0:13:59.360 --> 0:14:02.920 to know you. And then as we practice and things 0:14:02.920 --> 0:14:06.840 like that, we got into some very competitive battles the 0:14:06.920 --> 0:14:11.000 offense versus the defense. And man, I tell you, that's 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:13.240 where I really got to know Tom. That's when I 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.760 got a chance to really see how competitive and how 0:14:15.840 --> 0:14:19.200 fiery is. Because as nice as he is off the 0:14:20.000 --> 0:14:23.440 he was he was a jerk on the field. Like 0:14:23.640 --> 0:14:26.840 he was yelling and cussing and mad because we're jamming 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:29.800 his receivers in the red zone, MF and us. And 0:14:30.160 --> 0:14:33.080 he was just a competitive son of a gun, you know. 0:14:33.120 --> 0:14:35.040 And I loved it. I was like, Wow, this is 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:38.000 our quarterback. That's awesome. He's yelling and cussing at us, 0:14:38.000 --> 0:14:41.200 That's great. So I'm you remember, I came from the 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:44.880 Charges where we had Ryan Leaf and some other bad quarterbacks. 0:14:44.920 --> 0:14:47.440 I played with Drew Brees over there, but he wasn't 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:49.800 the Drew Brees that we know now. But yeah, man, 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:54.920 it was It was really Tom's competitiveness every single day. 0:14:55.320 --> 0:14:57.160 You know, you look at this guy. He wasn't built 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.840 up any special way, like what is so special about him? 0:14:59.840 --> 0:15:02.280 And you know it was his work ethic and just 0:15:02.360 --> 0:15:04.960 the relationship that he had with his teammates. If Tom 0:15:04.960 --> 0:15:07.920 Brady was sitting right here, he might say that Rodney 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:10.040 Harrison was the jerk on the practice field. What were 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:12.960 you getting back to him? The same thing, you know. 0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:15.560 And I prided myself on being a jerk. But that's 0:15:15.640 --> 0:15:17.960 that's okay because my teammates love me, and I don't 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:20.640 worry about what other people think about me and anything. 0:15:20.840 --> 0:15:23.240 I just spent on the practice field, like because Brady 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.680 was obviously talking trash to you and and Crow and 0:15:26.760 --> 0:15:28.760 I'm sure you were giving it right back. Oh yeah, man, 0:15:28.800 --> 0:15:30.880 that's that's all part of it. That's the fun. I mean, 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:33.560 those are really the things that you miss. You don't miss, 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.480 like I don't miss plan on Thursday night out here 0:15:36.520 --> 0:15:39.080 in the cold, fridgid cold, but you do miss those 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.880 times where you're at lunch, you're eating and Tom sits 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:44.600 next to you and you're having a conversation about things 0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:48.880 and you know, just things outside of football. If if 0:15:48.920 --> 0:15:51.800 fans could have bought a ticket to those practices, Rodney, 0:15:51.880 --> 0:15:53.520 would they have been blown up? I mean, we saw 0:15:53.560 --> 0:15:56.040 a great team be born there, back to back Super 0:15:56.040 --> 0:15:58.680 Bowl champions. You talk about the practices. If people could 0:15:58.680 --> 0:16:01.120 see how competitive practice, would they be able to believe it? 0:16:01.320 --> 0:16:05.600 You know, um practice was really really special. But also 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:09.320 our preparation in the weight room and film room was 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.080 very special because our coaches were constantly quizzing us. You 0:16:13.160 --> 0:16:16.160 had veteran players like we had coaches walked right past 0:16:16.200 --> 0:16:17.840 you all of a sudden, they will stop and look 0:16:17.840 --> 0:16:20.960 at you and ask you a question. They like quiz you. 0:16:21.000 --> 0:16:23.960 So you always have to be on guard. So yeah, man, 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.080 it was it was. It was fun. Man, it was 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.680 a really special time in my career. Man. I tell 0:16:28.720 --> 0:16:30.680 you it was the best decision. I don't care if 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.440 someone to offer me ten million dollars more, twenty million 0:16:33.480 --> 0:16:36.400 dollars more. It was the best football experience because I 0:16:36.440 --> 0:16:38.960 gained so much knowledge. And I tell you this, guys, 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:41.400 I would not be on NBC if I didn't learn 0:16:41.440 --> 0:16:43.880 from Bill Belichick. If I didn't learn the exes and 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:47.000 those and things, the big picture things and the little 0:16:47.040 --> 0:16:49.880 things that that matters when it comes to football, would 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:52.280 not be on the show. So what what things did 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:54.880 you learn that we might not think of or know them? 0:16:54.920 --> 0:16:57.320 All you have to do is watch the show. You know, 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.640 just insights and just keys and you know, just different 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:03.880 things that you you kind of look at. But you 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:06.960 know you're talking about learning the game and think about 0:17:06.960 --> 0:17:09.840 it too. I mean, there's no coins Like Rob Gronkowski 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:12.720 just got a job on Fox. Willie McGinnis is on 0:17:12.880 --> 0:17:15.679 NFL Network Teddy Bruski is doing a great job. You know, 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:18.560 we've had so many guys in the media, and those 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:20.919 guys probably wouldn't be in the media if they wouldn't 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:25.080 have learned things from Coach Belichick, because you just become 0:17:25.119 --> 0:17:28.400 a smarter person, you know once once you leave here. 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:31.959 How is the irony in that the team that doesn't 0:17:32.000 --> 0:17:34.439 say anything, the team that doesn't want to give away 0:17:34.480 --> 0:17:38.680 anything right now populates whatever broadcast network is out there 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:41.560 with ex players because they want those people to talk 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.479 about the game. That's irony, isn't it? Yeah, it is, 0:17:44.680 --> 0:17:48.160 it is. It's amazing, man. What's your perspective on that? Then? 0:17:48.240 --> 0:17:51.560 How is your perspective changed from being in the locker 0:17:51.640 --> 0:17:54.960 room as a player and now being a member of 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:57.520 the media that walked in that locker room every day. Well, 0:17:57.520 --> 0:18:00.920 I got to realize that, you know, people young players 0:18:00.960 --> 0:18:03.720 look at me. They respect me from from things that 0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:07.600 I've accomplished, but I'm not a player. So there's there's 0:18:07.680 --> 0:18:12.639 definitely um a separation that you have to have. You know, 0:18:12.720 --> 0:18:15.879 when I'm when I'm doing my job, and sometimes I 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:19.800 may criticize somebody. Heck, I criticize um a coach that 0:18:19.880 --> 0:18:23.080 I know real well, and he wasn't happy, you know, 0:18:23.160 --> 0:18:24.959 just a couple of weeks ago. He wasn't happy. But 0:18:25.000 --> 0:18:28.200 I but I said this, I say this. He's never 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.360 called me to complain about any compliments I've given him. 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:34.000 You know what I mean. It's like people, people hear 0:18:34.040 --> 0:18:36.680 that one little If I don't believe in your team, 0:18:36.680 --> 0:18:38.399 I don't believe in your team, I'm gonna say it. 0:18:38.440 --> 0:18:40.800 But it's not personal against you. You still my boy. 0:18:41.040 --> 0:18:43.320