Paying tribute
We pay tribute to the players this week. We fully understand and admire the great coaching job done by Bill Belichick in keeping this Patriots team afloat and flourishing with a 4-2 record heading into the toughest test of all -- Miami on the road. But it's the players who play; and though I've been away the past two weeks covering the Red Sox in the playoffs, the games I've watched on tape and the players I spoke to this week have to give all of you in Patriots Nation a new appreciation for some of these guys. I hear a lot of Cowboy Up talk with the Red Sox, but it looks like the Patriots are the ones who are playing in the spirit of the phrase.
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We salute:
1. Roman Phifer: Ted Johnson once referred to him as a freak, and I'm beginning to see why. No 35-year-old linebacker can be in this type of physical condition and make plays all over the football field like Phifer. Here's a guy who's been playing inside a lot for the first time in his career and acting like he's played there all of his career. I remember during training camp thinking that Phifer might be the odd man out, but now he's an instrumental part of the linebacking unit.
2. Rodney Harrison: Fun to watch. Fun to speak to. Fun to be around. Harrison brings an energy to the team and the fans. He loves to play football; and sure, once in a while he'll take a foolish penalty for a little extra curricular activity, but he appears to have a knack for picking his spots.
Junior Seau said of Harrison in this week's conference call with the New England media: "I love any player that loves the game of football, that treats the game with honor and respect and is a guy that is a leader on and off the field. So that's Rodney Harrison. I am going to love him either way. What you are seeing, especially with a healthy Rodney Harrison, you are seeing a guy that is able to be used in the defensive scheme with [Bill] Belichick has which allows him to play safety and linebacker. He has that mentality. He has that athletic ability. He can't just be consumed with one responsibility. You have got to move him around. And that's exactly what they are doing. It is working best for both parties, the New England Patriots and Rodney Harrison. Rodney is like Forrest Gump; he just keeps running."
3. Damien Woody: His run blocking the past two weeks has been magnificent. Is there a better guard in the league right now? He was an All-Pro center last season, and he might be an All-Pro guard right now. Continued...
