FOXBORO, Mass. — Rodney Harrison added a red jacket to his wardrobe Monday afternoon. Bill Belichick believes a gold one should follow.
In a speech during Harrison’s New England Patriots Hall of Fame induction, Belichick spoke passionately about the impact the safety made during his six seasons in New England, laying out the case for why Harrison deserves enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as well.
“With Rodney, he just did everything well,” Belichick said. “I’ve never really coached too many players like this. He was great against the run. He was great at defeating blockers. He was an outstanding tackler. He could play man-to-man. He could play zone. He could play in close, short zones, and he could play in the deep part of the field.
“He was a tremendous blitzer — I’ll say as good a blitzer as any defensive back who has ever played the game. He was simply unblockable. If I would’ve blitzed him more, he probably would’ve had 75 sacks. I mean, we couldn’t block him in practice, and nobody could block him in the game. He played in the kicking game.
“Whatever we needed him to do, he did it at an elite level. He did it on the practice field, he did it in the locker room, he did it off the field. And the biggest thing for me was he always did it in the big games. That’s where Rodney Harrison showed up. The bigger the game, the more impact Rodney had in it.”
To date, only one player from the dynasty-era Patriots has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Ty Law, who will be inducted Saturday and who was on hand for Harrison’s ceremony.
“Let me say how proud we are as a football team, speaking for the team and the organization, of Ty Law getting into the National Football League Hall of Fame,” Belichick said, turning from his podium to applaud the former shutdown cornerback. “I hope through the years here, and soon hopefully, they’ll have the other Patriots in the NFL Hall of Fame. This one, Rodney Harrison, deserves to be there. He deserves to be there.”
Harrison was an integral member of the Patriots teams that won back-to-back Super Bowls in 2003 and 2004. Over those two seasons — his first two in New England after nine years with the San Diego Chargers — he racked up 264 tackles, six sacks, four forced fumbles, five interceptions and 18 pass breakups, plus another six interceptions in six playoff games.
Speaking earlier in the week, Harrison made his own case for why more Patriots Super Bowl-winners — himself included — belong in Canton.
“We know that Tom Brady and (Rob Gronkowski), they’ll be first-ballot Hall of Famers. We’re excited about that. Adam Vinatieri eventually when he retires sometime in the next 10 years. But there’s other guys that deserve consideration, no question about it. Willie McGinest, myself, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork — all these guys.
“You just don’t have two guys in the organization that make it successful. You have so many other small parts that add up. And these guys don’t self-promote. They don’t (pound) their chest. But they come to work every day, and they’re productive. And they’re some of the best players to ever play this game. And definitely, Canton should take notice of these guys.”
