Speaker 1: It's time for another episode of Pats from the Past podcast.
Speaker 1: Matt Smith Paul Frillo joined by number thirty seven on
Speaker 1: your scorecard, but number one in our hearts at least,
Speaker 1: Rodney Harrison.
Speaker 2: Horrod, How you doing, man, man? I am doing great.
Speaker 3: Good to be home, Good to see you guys, and
Speaker 3: looking for a great Patriots game tonight.
Speaker 4: How's it going with NBC?
Speaker 2: Rodney?
Speaker 4: You still love it?
Speaker 2: I do. I'm very passionate about it.
Speaker 3: I spent twelve years in the studio and then the
Speaker 3: last three years I've been out at the field location
Speaker 3: and was just really extremely excited for Devin mccordy getting
Speaker 3: an opportunity that he got. NBC likes Patriot guys, and
Speaker 3: he's smart and he's doing a wonderful job. Really proud
Speaker 3: of him.
Speaker 1: Before we started here, I was actually thinking about this.
Speaker 1: Here comes Rodney Harrison driving into Patriot Place, a drive
Speaker 1: that you are familiar with for many, many times, but
Speaker 1: you're in a different partner of your life.
Speaker 2: I am.
Speaker 4: When you're driving in here, Rodney, what coach through your mind?
Speaker 3: Just so many great memories, just the opportunity to be
Speaker 3: able to come out here and play and coach Bill
Speaker 3: and Robert Kraft giving me the opportunity to come out
Speaker 3: here and really just be part of something special and
Speaker 3: all the great players that I played with. But also,
Speaker 3: you know, just riding over here with Tony Dungee. It
Speaker 3: brought up some great memories of us just kicking the
Speaker 3: coach butt and just bonding together as a team, and
Speaker 3: just all those hard practices in the rain, in the snow,
Speaker 3: and just it gave me a greater appreciation for everything
Speaker 3: that we've accomplished, because it's very difficult to do.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we were joking around just before we started. My
Speaker 5: guess is that Tony's memories on quite as woman fuzzy
Speaker 5: as yours. You know, for September You it couldn't be
Speaker 5: a more perfect night. He was probably wondering why it's
Speaker 5: not snowing as he was as he was driving in.
Speaker 3: But I'll tell you this man, just talking to coach,
Speaker 3: he has a lot of respect for the Patriots organization,
Speaker 3: Coach Bill and everything that we've accomplished. And I mean
Speaker 3: those battles were epic. You know, you're talking going against
Speaker 3: Dungee and how well prepared he had his team, Peyton
Speaker 3: Manning and all the great players that they had. I mean,
Speaker 3: I can't believe I'm fifty years old when I want
Speaker 3: to go here, brother, I was, you know, twenty nine
Speaker 3: years old, and now I'm fifty. And just like you
Speaker 3: talked about a different part with kids, I got a
Speaker 3: sun that plays for the University of Tennessee who got
Speaker 3: their butts kicked yesterday. But it's just really nice to
Speaker 3: be back, and it's nice to see you guys still
Speaker 3: you know, talking football.
Speaker 4: Appreciate that. Appreciate that.
Speaker 1: So I'm gonna put you on the spot a little
Speaker 1: bit here as you're waxing nostalgia and it's amazing what life.
Speaker 4: You know, It's amazing what life is.
Speaker 1: But who would have ever thought fifteen years ago that
Speaker 1: you and Tony Dungee would be together on a broadcast
Speaker 1: and doing that. That's a small world that your lives
Speaker 1: interestct like that. Do you have a favorite memory here
Speaker 1: at this stadium?
Speaker 4: Obviously?
Speaker 1: You want a super Bowl in Houston? Do you want
Speaker 1: a Super Bowl in Jacksonville? And those are things that
Speaker 1: I got a believer at the pinnacle of your professional
Speaker 1: football career, you let Rodney, is there something special that
Speaker 1: you remember that that takes a cake of the ultimate
Speaker 1: memory that you might have.
Speaker 3: I think just I don't know, I don't remember the
Speaker 3: exact game, but just when Coach Belichick, I think it
Speaker 3: was when it was an AFC championship game, when he
Speaker 3: gave me a big hug and say I'm glad we
Speaker 3: got you here. That was a very special moment because
Speaker 3: all I ever wanted to do was make him proud
Speaker 3: of me and let him know that the decision that
Speaker 3: he you know, that he made bringing me here, that
Speaker 3: that wasn't a bad decision, and he gave me an
Speaker 3: opportunity when so many around the league kind of frowned
Speaker 3: upon Rodney Harrison.
Speaker 2: He believed in me.
Speaker 3: He gave me a bunch of freedom where I can
Speaker 3: go out there and just play and express myself. And
Speaker 3: I just couldn't love love a coach more than I
Speaker 3: got love for Coach Belichick.
Speaker 5: You talk about that freedom that he gave you, and
Speaker 5: I wanted to ask you about.
Speaker 6: And it was one of the two playoff games.
Speaker 5: I'm not sure if it was three or oh four,
Speaker 5: but when you and Ti sort of it must have
Speaker 5: been a three, because I don't think he had three picks. Yeah,
Speaker 5: and you guys kind of swapped like you were kind
Speaker 5: of up like the corner spot, like popping guys, and
Speaker 5: allowed tie to you know, just that kind of freedom.
Speaker 5: Was that something that you guys had spoken about before.
Speaker 3: That man, and he never really questioned. He said, hey,
Speaker 3: you guys kind of do what you want to do
Speaker 3: as long as you're in a proper spot and you
Speaker 3: guys communicate. And that's the type of freedom that he
Speaker 3: allows veteran players, guys.
Speaker 2: That he trusts.
Speaker 3: We put so much hard work and effort in and preparations,
Speaker 3: so when we did something like that, I know he's
Speaker 3: on the sideline panicking, but you know, ty Law and I.
Speaker 2: I mean to be able to play with a guy
Speaker 2: like Tye, a Hall.
Speaker 3: Of Famer, you know, and Richard Seymour and Vince will
Speaker 3: Fork and those guys, I mean, I had some special
Speaker 3: players out in San Diego. But to be able to
Speaker 3: play with some Hall of famers and some guys like
Speaker 3: Willie McGinn as, Kevin Falk, Troy Brown, I mean, these
Speaker 3: guys are legends. These guys are not only are they
Speaker 3: brilliant football players, they're very smart people. And to be
Speaker 3: able to have that opportunity was just truly a blessing.
Speaker 6: And don't tell yourself short.
Speaker 5: You had the probably the biggest pick of that game
Speaker 5: when they went right down the field the first drive,
Speaker 5: you had the interception in the end zone, right, Is
Speaker 5: that how that all started?
Speaker 6: Well, stepped in front.
Speaker 3: Of We all try to we all try to set
Speaker 3: the tone, and it's not about one player. It's about
Speaker 3: the team. And you know, I can't, you don't know.
Speaker 3: I got to mention my boy Tom Brady. You know,
Speaker 3: just seeing Tom get the love that he got last
Speaker 3: week coming back to the stadium, and just seeing how
Speaker 3: old of a man he was.
Speaker 2: You see how tired that dude was. He was tired,
Speaker 2: breathing hard. I thought, TV.
Speaker 4: Now look at Ruddie. I mean, you're you've got a
Speaker 4: job that takes you to Where were you last Sunday?
Speaker 1: You're in New York right for the Giants Dallas game.
Speaker 2: Kansas City before that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, And I don't know if you saw this. Did
Speaker 1: you see the guys on the sideline that were there.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Kevin Falk earlier, Kevin Fox in the front
Speaker 1: where all the former players were, and he's chanting Brady Brady. Great,
Speaker 1: there's Dan Graham, you know, Kevin Fock, Darrell Reeves came
Speaker 1: back for the game to see that kind of close
Speaker 1: knit rush hokestein, you know, Dan Copen al those guys
Speaker 1: coming back to just want to appreciate Tom. That made
Speaker 1: somebody who's been here for a long time. Made me
Speaker 1: feel good because that means it's important to these people
Speaker 1: to be there.
Speaker 3: And it also shows you how much of an impact
Speaker 3: Tom has had, not only just on the guys that
Speaker 3: he works with, you know, as far as the offense,
Speaker 3: but everybody. I mean, Tom has made such an impact.
Speaker 3: When I came here, we used to have lunch together.
Speaker 3: We used to sit down and have conversations and just
Speaker 3: talk about life, talk about perspective, and I just see,
Speaker 3: you know, Tom, twenty years later, he's you can see
Speaker 3: his personality. You see him smiling, laughing and being the
Speaker 3: genuine funny guy that we saw everybody else. Man, is
Speaker 3: this guy a robot? Does he ever smile? Does he
Speaker 3: have any emotion? But now since he's retired, he could
Speaker 3: take a deep breath. He's gone through a lot and
Speaker 3: now you know, he's just living his best life.
Speaker 5: What has it been like working with with Devin? You
Speaker 5: know you have mentioned that you have all the former
Speaker 5: Patriots coming back. What's it like been a teammate with
Speaker 5: him now and it's.
Speaker 3: Just a very humble young man, a guy that has
Speaker 3: such a beautiful future. I mean, he was a heck
Speaker 3: of a football player, great free safety. I think he
Speaker 3: was the best free safety that played under Belichick in
Speaker 3: the Patriots uniform. A guy that it matters to him
Speaker 3: and you can tell with his preparation the conversations that
Speaker 3: we've had. I try to offer him a little bit
Speaker 3: of advice, but just a family man, great husband.
Speaker 2: I'm just extremely proud.
Speaker 3: I never thought that NBC would give another Patriots safety
Speaker 3: and opportunity, So I felt really proud of that because
Speaker 3: I take pride in my job. I take pride in
Speaker 3: trying to do the right thing, being consistent. It's been
Speaker 3: fifteen years and people, look, oh, what happened to You're
Speaker 3: not in the studio. Well, God had something different from me.
Speaker 3: I went from the studio to being on the field
Speaker 3: where I can interact with players, coaches, general managers and
Speaker 3: just being so close to the game. And Devin's doing
Speaker 3: such a wonderful job in the studio. Come on, man,
Speaker 3: two Patriots doing Sunday night football.
Speaker 5: Yeah, maybe NBC knew what a tandem that would have been.
Speaker 5: Oh my god, with the free safety like Devi and
Speaker 5: Thenool definite.
Speaker 2: I definitely wanted his contract, but.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, it's not a big sample size. Rodney
Speaker 1: and your student. You're so you're watching everything. How have
Speaker 1: they done? And you don't replace Devin mccordy. You don't
Speaker 1: replace Rodney Hasson, So how what have you seen that
Speaker 1: they're trying to do? Because he was such an integral
Speaker 1: part of the communication, making sure that everybody's in the
Speaker 1: right spot and everything like that. What have you seen
Speaker 1: as they're trying to.
Speaker 3: Replace, Well, I think the players that they get. Obviously,
Speaker 3: you can't just learn one position. You have to be
Speaker 3: able to learn multiple positions. And if you can't communicate,
Speaker 3: you can't play with the Patriots.
Speaker 2: I don't care if.
Speaker 3: You're a corner, because at times, even if you're a corner,
Speaker 3: Marcus Jones, he's playing safety. Sometimes you know Kyle Dugart,
Speaker 3: he's playing deep middle part of the field, but he's
Speaker 3: also playing linebacker, but he's also playing strong safety in
Speaker 3: the box. So you have to be able to know
Speaker 3: and be able to communicate multiple positions. And when I
Speaker 3: come off the field. I have to be able to say, Okay, guys,
Speaker 3: this is what happened at the linebacker position, but also
Speaker 3: be able to switch my mindset to this is what
Speaker 3: happened at the nickel spot. So these guys are smart.
Speaker 3: They all communicate and they know that they have to
Speaker 3: be efficient at every position that they play.
Speaker 5: Could you have played you know the way they do it?
Speaker 6: Could you have figured it out?
Speaker 3: See the difference would have been And the reason why
Speaker 3: I used to hit guys up high because guys would
Speaker 3: actually come and tell me, hey, rod come on avoiding
Speaker 3: my knees because I'm trying to make a living. I
Speaker 3: got three kids and a wife, and I'm like, cool,
Speaker 3: I don't mind. I don't want to hit you in
Speaker 3: the knees. But if you're asking me, I can go
Speaker 3: full speed and hit a guy in his knees now,
Speaker 3: as opposed to hitting him up high trying to protect him,
Speaker 3: then I would have made the necessary adjustments. Definitely.
Speaker 1: We're having a conversation with former Patriot and Patriot Hall
Speaker 1: of Famer Rodney Harrison later this fall.
Speaker 4: Next month. To be exact, two people.
Speaker 1: Are actually going into the Patriots Hall of Fame. The
Speaker 1: people's choice from a voting standpoint. Linebacker Mike Grabil, who
Speaker 1: has shared many memories with Yes, an offensive line coach
Speaker 1: or coach for that matter, Dante Scarneckie to know that, Yes,
Speaker 1: Robert Kraft put him in as a contributor for his
Speaker 1: decades of service. I mean, Sky was coaching when Tip
Speaker 1: was playing.
Speaker 3: Let me just tell you, when I was here, we
Speaker 3: had talent on an offensive line, but we didn't. It
Speaker 3: wasn't like we had a bunch of first rounders. And Dante,
Speaker 3: he was the driving force behind our tough mentality offensive offensively,
Speaker 3: making sure that the offensive line was intact. The guys
Speaker 3: played physical, they played smart, they played well with Tom
Speaker 3: Brady and just bringing that consistency for so many years.
Speaker 3: As far as Vrabel, we always knew that Vrabel was
Speaker 3: gonna be a success. Coaching always knew that because he
Speaker 3: was always the smartest guy in the room. He was
Speaker 3: and he wasn't afraid to ask questions. He wasn't afraid
Speaker 3: to challenge Romeo Cornell, coach Belichick, and he would always
Speaker 3: bust our chops, ask us questions, laugh at us if
Speaker 3: coach asked us a question and we got it wrong.
Speaker 3: I mean Vrabel was really one of the light guys
Speaker 3: in the locker room, but when it came on as
Speaker 3: far as X's and O's, I mean, he was brilliant.
Speaker 3: So I'm just extremely proud of him, his work, ethic
Speaker 3: in the weight room and just everything that he embodied.
Speaker 3: It was always about the team. You never hear Mike
Speaker 3: Rabels saying anything about me, me, me. It was always
Speaker 3: about how can I contribute and become a better, you know, teammate.
Speaker 3: And I'm just I'm really happy for him.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 3: It almost brings tears to my eyes because you know,
Speaker 3: when you're playing with these guys, you see how much
Speaker 3: they sacrifice. You've seen the sacrifices to people realize, look
Speaker 3: at Tom Brady, they don't understand, you know, the sacrifice
Speaker 3: that he made to get to where he's at, you know,
Speaker 3: and all of us. You know, it's just it's just
Speaker 3: really really special. And just being back here with you guys.
Speaker 3: You guys have treated me well for so many years
Speaker 3: and I just appreciate you.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 5: So he wanted to talk to you about you and
Speaker 5: the Hall of Fame. Obviously you're already in here in Foxborough,
Speaker 5: but the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and you know,
Speaker 5: Matt has some notes here that he put together. And
Speaker 5: you know there's only two players in the history of
Speaker 5: football with thirty sacks and thirty picks. Ray Lewis is
Speaker 5: the other one and the other one sitting to my left.
Speaker 5: So do you think about it a lot and does
Speaker 5: it frustrate you at all that you haven't gotten more
Speaker 5: of a push.
Speaker 3: No, I don't think about it a lot, and it
Speaker 3: doesn't really frustrate me because the people that know me most,
Speaker 3: they know the work that I put in and the
Speaker 3: impact that I've tried to make on my teammates in
Speaker 3: the community. And that's what's important to me. If my
Speaker 3: teammates can look at me and say, we respect you,
Speaker 3: we respect.
Speaker 2: Your hard work.
Speaker 3: And if I can make a difference in the community
Speaker 3: like I've been able to make the last thirty years
Speaker 3: in the National Football League, that's the thing that makes
Speaker 3: me a Hall of Famer in my eyes. Okay, being
Speaker 3: a Hall of Fame dad, being a great husband, you know,
Speaker 3: being committed to my family. Those are the things that
Speaker 3: are so important to me. If they name me Hall
Speaker 3: of Fame, that would be great. If they don't name
Speaker 3: me Hall of Fame. I'm fine with it because you know,
Speaker 3: the New England Patriot fans, they know football players, and
Speaker 3: it's no way they they vote for me and invest
Speaker 3: the type of time and effort that they invested in
Speaker 3: me if I weren't worthy of that. And you look
Speaker 3: at some of the guys that were chosen in front
Speaker 3: of me and you kind of just shake your head
Speaker 3: and like, wow, I'm not going to name any guys
Speaker 3: in particular, but well.
Speaker 6: When you're not here, I will embarrassing.
Speaker 3: But then you know, then you know when you start
Speaker 3: to think is it political and is it personal? And
Speaker 3: at the end of the day, I don't have enough
Speaker 3: time and effort to sit back and wonder why somebody's not.
Speaker 2: Voting for me.
Speaker 1: It smart and it's great way to be I mean,
Speaker 1: so be it for people like Paul and myself to
Speaker 1: talk about it. But Coach Bill, as you like to say,
Speaker 1: has made it known to many people. There's only two
Speaker 1: guys in the Hall of Fame. There's only two guys
Speaker 1: in the history of the game, thirty picks, thirty sacks,
Speaker 1: and one of them's in there. Why isn't the other
Speaker 1: guy in there? And I think it's a legitimate question,
Speaker 1: that's all.
Speaker 5: And you know you talk about the different things. And again,
Speaker 5: I know how classy you are, and I've really enjoyed
Speaker 5: covering you, you know, throughout your time here, so I
Speaker 5: know you won't get into it, but it's you know,
Speaker 5: you look at these these accolades and Pro Bowls are
Speaker 5: lacking because that's a popularity contest. All pros are not,
Speaker 5: you know, like all pro is the best in the
Speaker 5: in the in the league. I don't care who's who's
Speaker 5: deciding it. So I'm sorry if you're one of the
Speaker 5: two best players at your position in the league multiple
Speaker 5: times during your career, and then there are other guys,
Speaker 5: so Matt and I my long way of saying Matt
Speaker 5: and I will make the argument that you don't want
Speaker 5: to have to do on you because you're too classy
Speaker 5: to do it.
Speaker 6: But there's something needs to change there.
Speaker 1: Ronnie's got some studying to do before he gets going
Speaker 1: on for his real job. One last question for me,
Speaker 1: I'm going to put you on the spot again. Best
Speaker 1: team that you were on, the four team or the
Speaker 1: seven team.
Speaker 3: I would say the four team because we finished. I
Speaker 3: don't care how much talent you have.
Speaker 2: I don't care.
Speaker 3: You know what you accomplished. Number wise, if you can't finish,
Speaker 3: then you know we're not. You can't consider us the
Speaker 3: best team oh four, Then you think about it. We
Speaker 3: were trying to repeat. Not consciously we're trying to repeat,
Speaker 3: you know, because you're erase it and you try to
Speaker 3: move on to the next season. But to be able
Speaker 3: to win back to back championships is something that hasn't
Speaker 3: been done in over twenty years.
Speaker 2: My homes has tried to do it. They can't do it.
Speaker 2: You know.
Speaker 3: Brady's tried to do it. He couldn't do it with Tampa.
Speaker 3: It's very difficult to do. And I'm just like I said,
Speaker 3: this is my moment opportunity to say thank you to
Speaker 3: all the fans that have supported me, that have been
Speaker 3: here for me, cheered for me, raised me up, lifted
Speaker 3: me up when I got injured, encouraged me, and have
Speaker 3: prayed for me. So I thank these fans. I thank
Speaker 3: you guys for this opportunity.
Speaker 4: His name is Rodney Harrison.
Speaker 1: You can watch him tonight and every Sunday night on
Speaker 1: Sunday Night Football Football Night in America.
Speaker 4: Don't miss it.
Speaker 1: It's the best pregame show around, and I say that
Speaker 1: with not a hint of hyperbole.
Speaker 4: It is the best pregame Jurun couldn't see you kidding.
Speaker 7: Thank you, Thanks you time, Thank you, Thank you for
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