Rodney Harrison Saw Look In Tom Brady's Eyes: 'He's Out For Vengeance'

The other 31 NFL teams should be shaking in their boots.

The New England Patriots have come out with guns blazing this season, and Tom Brady’s performance through two weeks is a huge reason for the hot start. The quarterback’s success also might be a sign of things to come, as Brady looks as motivated as ever after an offseason filled with Deflategate drama.

Just ask former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison.

Harrison, now an NFL analyst for NBC Sports, won two Super Bowls alongside Brady. He also went to another one with the future Hall of Famer following the Patriots’ 16-0 regular season. So he has seen Brady at the QB’s very best. And even he can’t help but marvel at how driven Brady looks this season.

“I’ve always said, when you obtain the level of success Tom Brady has obtained, you need something to push you, and I think this was a mistake by the entire league. I think he’s out for vengeance,” Harrison said Tuesday on WEEI’s “Ordway, Merloni & Fauria,” alluding to Brady’s fight to have his four-game Deflategate suspension vacated. “He’s not going to ever come out and say anything, but it’s a focus that even when I was on the field Opening Night, I saw it in his eyes. I saw that special look. I saw that same look I saw in ’03 and ’04 in the Super Bowl, and it’s scary when Tom Brady gets like that.”

Brady has completed 63 of 91 passes for 754 yards and seven touchdowns amid the Patriots’ 2-0 start. That includes a 466-yard effort Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, who talked smack leading up to their Week 2 matchup with the Patriots, only to crumble against one of the NFL’s best.

It’s amazing to think Brady turned 38 in August. He still hasn’t lost a step.

“When you get older, people start to say you lose it, but I think you become a lot more focused on taking care of your body, not partying, not drinking, not hanging out,” Harrison said. “You’re more structured. You have family life, and things are kind of slowing down for you.

“Tom Brady, I mean, the work he and (his body coach) Alex (Guerrero) have been doing is absolutely fantastic. He looks tremendous, and I am so happy and so proud of him.”

It’s a long NFL season, so let’s not get too carried away. But with Brady thriving and the defending Super Bowl champions sitting at 2-0, it’s not hard to imagine a strong push for another ring.