Rodney Harrison hasn’t played for the Patriots since 2008, but he still has strong feelings about one of New England’s AFC East rivals.
Referencing Tom Brady’s comments that he doesn’t watch Hard Knocks because he hates the Jets, Harrison said he thinks Bardy’s comments represent the feelings of the entire Patriots locker room.
“Tom Brady is an honest guy, but Tom never comes out and blatantly says how much he hates a particular team,” Harrison said on an NBC Sports media call. “So obviously they’re very tired, fed up with the trash talk.”
Harrison also noted that Jets coach Rex Ryan has become the most vocal member of the organization. Harrison said that can be particularly galling to players.
“It’s one thing if a player trash talks,” Harrison said. “But if a coach starts trash talking, guess what? He hasn’t made one tackle, he hasn’t caught the ball, he hasn’t scored one touchdown.”
Harrison said he thinks his old team is already getting excited about their Week Two game at New Meadowlands Stadium.
“You better believe, the Patriots have that circled with the Jets,” Harrison said. “They hate the Jets, but they hate them even more because they’ve been coming out saying, ‘This is our division.’”