Rodney Harrison called J.C. Jackson’s comment on the Chargers’ receivers ‘not smart’

Patriots legend Rodney Harrison isn’t a fan of cornerback J.C. Jackson saying Sunday’s matchup against the Chargers’ receiving corps is “not really a big challenge.”

“It’s not smart,” Harrison said in an interview on WEEI’s “Merloni and Fauria.” “J.C. should know better. You always respect your opponent. I don’t care how good or how bad your opponent is. You always show a level of respect to your opponent. J.C. probably got caught up in the emotions of the game, but at the end of the day, he’s going to have to back it up in front of a national audience. We’ll see what happens.”

In his comments on Thursday, Jackson added that “we’ve just gotta do what we do best: Play our football and trust each other, trust our teammates.”

The Patriots certainly have a challenge against the Chargers’ passing game. Their air attack ranks seventh in the league and Mike Williams is ninth in the league for receiving yards per game (83).

In addition to Williams, the Chargers also have Keenan Allen, who’s made the Pro Bowl in each of the last four seasons. Allen hasn’t put up eye-popping numbers this season (39 receptions for 419 yards and a touchdown), but he’s still a threat to have a big game – and Harrison knows it.

 “I wouldn’t have said anything like that because when you watch these guys on tape — Keenan Allen and Mike Williams — you could tell the incredible level of talent that they have, ” Harrison said. “These are veteran players. They are going to take that personally. Keenan Allen is one of the most competitive guys. You watch him on tape, he’s definitely going to take that personally. J.C., you’ve got to be careful, man. You can’t get caught up in the emotion of the game.”

“You’ve got to be careful because those boys can play. Those are big, big-time players,” Harrison added. “You go back and watch that tape you’ll see Mike Williams catching passes all over the place, and he’s huge — 6’3, 6’4”. We’ll see if you can back it up, J.C.”

The Patriots’ secondary is coming off a solid showing, giving up 237 passing yards with two interceptions against the Jets. Of course, much of that was against Mike White, who hadn’t played in an NFL game until he took over for Zach Wilson due to injury.

For the season, the Patriots’ passing defense ranks 15th in the league, allowing 245 passing yards per game.

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