6 rings: The future is so unknown who knows what the last Patriots' win did
As you might have heard, former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison was named one of 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 on Wednesday. The two-time Super Bowl Champion played in New England from 2003-2008 and tallied 1,206 tackles, 34 interceptions, 30.5 sacks, 15 forced fumbles, and four touchdowns throughout his 14-year career.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was asked about Harrison's campaign to be an inductee on Friday morning:
"Best safety I've coached," he explained. "There's a couple other ones that I've coached that are in the Hall of Fame. Fantastic player, person. Great competitor. Could do it all. One of the most versatile players I've ever coached. Could cover. He really could play corner. He was a great blitzer. He was a great tackler. Was really, really hard to block in the running game, as a blitzer, kickoff coverage, things like that. He was very explosive. He was 220 pounds, whatever he was, but he was a thumper. He could-- he was a contact player but ran well. Very instinctive. Did a great job at disguising coverages. Worked well with his teammates you know with Eugene [Wilson], some different safeties we had back there throughout his career. Just, he was just a heck of a football player. One of the best I've ever coached. He'd certainly be on my All-Time team without question. Behind [Lawrence] Taylor, but, I mean he would certainly be. He'd be right up there. Tremendous player."
"Great practice player too," Belichick continued. "Made everybody else on the team better. If you practiced against him you got better, or you got embarrassed. One of the two. And he brought a level of competitiveness, intensity, focus, and brought a higher level of practice to the team which helped everybody. There's a lot of things that don't ever show up in the stats or anything like that, but. Tremendous, tremendous respect for what he did as a player, what he brought to our team, how much he meant to our team, and what we lost when we lost him. We lost a great, great player Monday through Monday. It wasn't just on Sunday. What he brought to the team every day of the week, every day he walked into the building, every time he stepped on the field was all positive. It was impressive."
"Certainly hope he gets recognized," he finished. "I think he definitely deserves it. This guys a great football player. Great teammate."
The Pro Football Hall of Fame committee will select their five inductees over the coming months, with a decision being announced on February 8, 2024.
Make sure to follow Mike on Twitter @mikekadlick, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Patriots and Boston sports news!
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