It's Time To Put Rodney Harrison in the Pro Football Hall of Fame! | The Cam Show

[Music] back here on the cam show Rogue Media Sports Network cam Stewart with you and it was a big weekend for the Pro Football Hall of Fame a new class in Canton and you know Andre Johnson Devon Hester some guys from my child to Julius Peppers the former basketball player at Carolina Patrick Willis terrific player and an emotional one for Steve McMichael the great Texas Longhorn battling ALS uh gets his due obviously one of the the big parts of the of the 84 Bears um getting inducted in the Hall of Fame and look that's great I'm not saying any of these guys don't deserve to be in the hall of fame um I even like that Devon Hester is in the Hall of Fame even though he's a specialist um he was the most special specialist there was he was great he was a genuine weapon on the field without playing offense or defense and I don't want to take anything away from these guys that went in but it's wild to me that we that Rodney Harrison has had 11 shots at this and has not gotten in the Hall of Fame yet to me that is that is just criminal and I know I'm coming from the standpoint of a Patriots fan who got to see you know Rodney Harrison performing at the highest level and winning championships at the end of his career but if you look at the full body of work of Rodney Harrison there's really no excuse for him to not be in the hall of fame um he's already been inducted into the Patriots and the Chargers hall of fame um and pro football one this is the first time he was a finalist this year um is he was a semi-finalist for three straight years and 11th year on the bowet and still he has not been voted in it just it doesn't make sense to me I mean you want to talk about a guy who had a long career almost what almost a year career that he had playing defensive back in the NFL and the numbers are incredible you know 1,200 tackles uh 34 picks 30 and a half sacks 15 forced fumbles nine fumble recoveries and three defensive touchdowns just in the regular season by the way he's one of only two players ever to have 30 career sacks and 30 career picks two players in the history of the league have done that the other was Ray Lewis first bow at h Famer without doubt and still we wait on Rodney Harrison and for those of you who did watch Rodney Harrison with the Patriots or NFL football in the early 2000s you'll know that Rodney was even better in the postseason and there's something to be said for that in any sport the guys who have Hall of Fame numbers or close to Hall of Fame numbers anyway and then take it up a notch in the postseason guys who are foundational pieces to dynasties who are some of the best defensive players in the postseason in their era that needs to be waited too and how about this 13 playoff games 75 tackles seven picks two sacks two Force fumbles seven picks as a safety in 13 playoff games that was a a problem is he didn't get to play in a lot of playoff games before he got to the Patriots went to the Super Bowl with the Chargers and was like his rookie year they got laughed out of the building by Steve Young and he might not have even played him one again until 03 his first year with the Patriots and then is a lynchpin for some of the best defenses that we've seen in the last quarter Century those 0304 Patriots that won at 1.21 straight games a suffocating defense a defense that absolutely Rodney Harrison included had a big CH had a big hand in changing the rules that we know today we were it's kind of a weird context of like the the league was starting to become a pass first league for the first time and we're starting to usher in these new rules that make it so but we're not all the way there yet and the Patriots took advantage of that big time Rodney Harrison Willie mcginness Teddy brusi uh Ty Law even the young Asante Samuel these guys were physical physical in coverage and no one was more physical or more feared than Rodney Harrison you did not go across the middle in Rodney Harrison some would say he was dirty he would say he was aggressive he was intense he was physical and what stood out about that era and him playing with those Patriots is he came in after lawyer mooy was cut or as lawyer Malloy was cut this a guy who was a captain a a fan favorite a team favorite Tom Brady's best friend on the team and this this veteran who everyone else hated for years comes in and becomes the strong safety lawyer Malloy cut and suddenly Rodney Harrison is a captain because his teammates revered him that much so you talk about a guy who was a foundation piece to one of the best defenses in this era that alone gives you a Hall of Fame case his numbers and his longevity and his success back up his Hall of Fame case and I found this tweet from a few months ago that was very very interesting to me um it's from Scott peoli who who was the director of player personnel with the Patriots for years one of balichek's right-hand guys and he said as Pro director I evaluated Rodney Harrison for nine Seasons when he was with the Chargers his film and knowing him told me we wanted why we wanted to sign him in ' 03 and the film and these numbers remind me why he should be in the Hall of Fame we should have signed him earlier and he puts up his numbers Rodney Harrison's career numbers against two safeties that are in the Hall of Fame John Lynch and Darren Woodson let me start by saying this I don't love Arguments for the Hall of Fame that say oh well this guy was worse and he's in they only go so far for me but when you're taking two guys who played the same position in the same era that holds a lot of weight to me so here he goes he he didn't play as many games as John Lynch in his career but did have more picks than both those guys and by the way Darren Woodson was known as a great coverage guy um 34 picks in his career 26 for John Lynch 23 for Daren Woodson interceptions return for touchdowns Rodney Harrison has a couple John Lynch doesn't have any how about sack talk about a versatile safety or defensive back that can get in the back field John Lynch had 13 Darren Woodson had 11 Rodney Harrison had 30 and a half the most sacks all time by a defensive back by the way solo tackles last line of defense that's a pretty big thing for for safeties Darren Woodson 639 John Lynch 727 Rodney Harrison 9 920 has almost 200 more than John Lynch who was the other guy with that reputation right hard-hitting safety hell of a player welld deserved Hall of Famer Ronnie Harrison's got 200 more tackles championships Darren Woodson's got the upper hand they all have one Darren Woodson has three Rodney has two um and here's where it gets interesting the pro bowls all those numbers I just gave you Rodney Harrison only had two Darren Woodson had five John Lynch had nine how much do you think that had to do with likeability again players in the league hated Rodney because he would talk [ __ ] to you and then he would lay you out in fact my favorite Rodney Harrison clip is doing pregame warms I think it's actually in New York against the Jets he was with the Chargers and they're giving him all kinds of [ __ ] that oh you know this guy's going to own you whether it was you know Wayne KET or whomever and he goes what' you say to me and they say it again and he points up and he goes I'm gon knock him right in his mouth you write it down because that's who he was he was intense and he backed that [ __ ] up and so when the players don't like you that doesn't help your Pro Bowl chances and it's evidenced by the next thing which is all Pros okay cuz Rodney Harrison only made two pro bowls and yet he made three all pro teams do the math on that one because all pro is much more impressive than making the Pro Bowl so how is it that he only makes two pro bowls but three all Pros that tells me that there's a reputation problem in the way not not what he does on the field and not his leadership qualities in the locker room but rather what other players think about him because he has just as many all is Darren Woodson and John Lynch has one more so once we take out the reputation stuff Harrison is beating these guys in every meaningful category for a Defender so why is he not in the Hall of Fame is there still is there still some animosity from other players because we got to put that aside man Rodney Harrison is at worst a top three safety of his generation and when you look at the numbers you could argue he was the best we're talking before Ed Reed's real Prime Before Troy palalo Rodney Harrison was the guy with Woodson and Lynch and both those guys are in the Hall of Fame so why are we holding out on Rodney am I biased maybe he's one of my favorite Patriots of all time but you could make a case that guys like Rodney Harrison were the reason that the Patriots weren't a one-year fluke in 2001 and why they became a dynasty Rodney came in straightened some people out and led one of the great defenses of all time he and Willie mcginness and Teddy brusi and Mike frabel and Ty Law and Vince will Fork Rodney was at the center of that and should get is due by the way there's some other of those Patriots guys that should be in the Hall of Fame will Fork will get in pretty soon I think Mike Vel should be in um brusi as much as I love him doesn't quite have the numbers but Rodney Harrison is 1A on that list right now he should be joining ta law in the Hall of Fame we our Rogue Media Sports