The real dirt on Mawae

FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots safety Rodney Harrison was voted the dirtiest player in football in a recent poll conducted by Sports Illustrated of 354 current and former NFL players. Surprised?

Harrison got 15 percent of the vote. Another player who made the list was Jets center Kevin Mawae. Both will be on the field Sunday in a battle of unbeaten teams at Gillette Stadium.

Harrison is the most heavily fined player in NFL history, and that's why he believes he's been labeled a dirty player. Not that he cares. Neither does Mawae, for that matter.

"That's something that's been with me throughout my whole career," Harrison said. "But every time I'm on the field, guys come to me and say how much they respect the way I play. One guy in Buffalo said, `I hate you, but I'd love to have you on my team.' I think what happens is the media throws it out there and the players kind of run with it. But I think it definitely takes away from the fact that you can play football.

"It used to bother me, but it doesn't bother me anymore because I know what I can do." Harrison has been to two Pro Bowls and has played like an all-star in the Patriots' first five games this season. Mawae has played in five Pro Bowls, but has the reputation for using every trick in the book. Last season, Patriots nose tackle Ted Washington accused Mawae of breaking his leg underneath a pile of bodies in Week 3, causing Washington to miss six games.

This season, Mawae is playing with a cast on his broken right hand, which has forced him to snap the ball lefthanded. Suffice to say, Mawae has used the cast to make up for not being able to get that hand on opponents. In last Sunday's win over the 49ers, officials flagged Mawae for unsportsmanlike conduct for punching defensive lineman Tony Brown. The fact that Mawae wasn't in the top three in the poll was somewhat of a surprise. Mawae isn't Conrad Dobler, the former offensive lineman who was known to bite opposing players. But Mawae is one tough hombre, as is Harrison. "He'll rip your head off if you're not ready to step up to the plate," said Harrison of Mawae. "I love the way he plays."

Asked if he were concerned about Mawae's cast, Harrison said, "I'm not concerned about anything. I don't care about a cast or a club or anything. I would love to have guys like that on my team."

Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, who played with a cast for a few games last season, said, "If he didn't have to wear it, he wouldn't wear it. I'm sure he doesn't want to snap lefthanded every play. But if he has to put it on and it happens to find its way into somebody's facemask or in the helmet or whatever, you know, this is professional football. He can't grab with it, so he might as well punch you with it. But he's a guy who plays through the whistle."

Harrison said being labeled a dirty player bothered him for a time, but he's gotten past the name calling. He found it was affecting the way he played and he wasn't able to properly showcase himself as one of the league's top safeties.

"I know I'm not dirty," he said. "I play hard, but I'm not out there to make friends. I'm not out there trying to be buddy-buddy with someone. I don't care. I don't need to call you. I don't need to talk to you in the offseason. I don't need to hang around with you."

Mawae said his cast has padding around it and he doubts it could be used to hurt someone. He's come to know there will always be complaints about the way he plays. But he'll do anything to win his battle that day.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who was with the Jets with Mawae for two years, came away with the impression that "Kevin is a good leader both on and off the field. He is well respected and works hard. He is tough. He is the kind of guy you like to have on your team."

The fact he can snap lefthanded comes as no surprise to Belichick, who assumed Mawae would be able to do so because of his athleticism.

"If it was shotgun, I could see that being a little bit of an issue," said Belichick. "They are not a shotgun team. That really hasn't come into play. Being able to snap the ball on the ground to a quarterback under center with both hands, I am not surprised that he doesn't have a problem."

Belichick feels if Harrison and Mawae were truly dirty players, they would often be flagged by officials. Though, of course, both players are savvy enough to get away with things on the field.

"There are a lot of plays out there on the field that sometimes could be somewhat borderline," Belichick said. "[The officials] judge whether they are or are not [dirty]. If they call them, then it is not acceptable. If they don't call them, then either they missed it, but it is not going to get missed again when they review the films after the weekend, whether it is the officials or [league disciplinarian] Gene Washington's group. It doesn't really matter what I think. It is being evaluated by someone in the league."

There is little doubt Harrison and Mawae push the envelope.

"I think that is probably what every team does," said Belichick. "You try to take it as far as you can take it because your competition is taking it as far as they can take it. I think it is up to the team and the officials to be able to compete at a high level without the game getting out of hand. It hurts your team when the game gets out of hand because you get penalized and you lose your focus on the game. I think the officials have to maintain some kind of a balance there, too, where it is not a nitpicking thing, but at the same time it doesn't get out of hand."

Call them dirty, call them tough. On Sundays, teams have to deal with Harrison and Mawae.