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Rodney Harrison shared a different perspective on the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick debate
Harrison added that he "can't wait" for the Sunday night matchup.
The Red Sox lost to the Orioles on Thursday, 6-2. Boston is now tied with Seattle for the second American League wild-card spot, with Toronto one game behind.
And the Connecticut Sun defeated the Chicago Sky 79-68 in Game 2 of the best-of-five playoff series on Thursday. Alyssa Thomas helped guide Connecticut with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
Tonight, the Red Sox begin a season-deciding three-game series against the Nationals at 7:05 p.m.
And on Sunday night, the Patriots host the Buccaneers at 8:20 p.m.
Rodney Harrison on the Brady-Belichick debate: With Tom Brady and Bill Belichick set to face each other for the first time in Sunday night’s Buccaneers-Patriots matchup, much of the buildup discussion has been focused on simple questions.
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Specifically, who should get more credit for the Patriots’ dynasty, and who’s fault was it that the 20-year relationship came to an end when Brady departed for Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2020?
But when asked for his take on the perpetual debate in a recent interview on WEEI’s “Merloni & Fauria,” former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison (now an NBC analyst) provided a different take.
“You will never know, we will never know,” Harrison explained. “At the end of the day, we can’t focus on things that we can’t control that we don’t know everything about. I choose to focus on two decades of what [they] did together.
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“Imagine two decades of being with coach Belichick — how tough he is, how demanding he is, how much of a perfectionist he is,” Harrison continued. “To me, that speaks volumes with Tom Brady and what he’s been able to do and his mental toughness to be able to deal with that. Conversely, the same thing with coach Belichick. Tom is a stubborn dude. And you know how Tom is at times. Tom gets stuck in his ways and wants to do things a certain way and you have to give [credit] to coach Belichick.”
In Harrison’s view, the circumstances of the 20-year run Brady and Belichick had together is more compelling as subject matter than their eventual split.
“However you want to focus on it, in 20 years in any relationship there’s going to be ups and downs. But to be able to manage at the highest level of football, these guys sticking together for 20 years is absolutely incredible and that is what I choose to put my focus on.”
And as for who gets credit for the dynasty, Harrison had a simple response.
“Coach wouldn’t be the coach that he is if he didn’t have Tom,” he noted. “Tom wouldn’t be the player that he is if he didn’t have Coach. And you know what, both of them have a lot of respect for each other.
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“I’m just so pumped up,” Harrison said of Sunday night, “I can’t wait.”
Trivia: Two members of the 2007 Patriots also started in Super Bowl XXIX. One was Harrison. Name the other.
(Answer at the bottom).
Hint: He was the fifth overall pick in the 1990 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California.
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Bill Belichick previews the Buccaneers’ defense:
On this day: In 2000, Bill Belichick got his first win as coach of the Patriots by defeating the Broncos, 28-19. New England entered the game against the Broncos at 0-4, having struggled on offense.
But thanks to four Drew Bledsoe touchdown passes (including two in the first quarter to Troy Brown), the Patriots got a much-needed win. It was the first of 245 (and counting) for Belichick in New England.
Daily highlight: Maximilian Wittek of Vitesse scored on an absolutely perfectly struck shot in a 2-1 loss to Rennes in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
Trivia answer: Junior Seau
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