NBC NFL analyst Rodney Harrison joined Dennis & Callahan on Friday to discuss Thursday night’s Bengals-Browns game and the state of the Patriots as the team goes into its bye week. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.
The Bengals, playing at home against their AFC North rival, struggled all night during a 24-3 loss. Quarterback Andy Dalton completed just 10 passes for 86 yards and threw three interceptions. It was the fifth-worst statistical game for a quarterback since 1960.
Said Harrison: “First of all, if I was a member of that organization, I don’t know if I would’ve went on a limb and paid [Dalton] just based off of everything that’s happening in prime-time games as well as in the playoffs. But everyone acts like it’s a surprise of what’s going on with Andy Dalton and inconsistent play. Marvin Lewis, he has to take a big responsibility, but that’s something we can talk about later. But Andy Dalton, just his performances, the inconsistencies, and we’ve seen it from this team this entire year from the Patriots and the Bears and from the Indianapolis Colts shutting them out. From the tie with Carolina to last night, it’s just pathetic.”
Continued Harrison: “You look at Marvin Lewis, and I see this team last week, he was smiling, he was enjoying the victory. But they’ve been so inconsistent, and part of that is the lack of preparation with the players.”
While the Bengals battle their own problems, the Browns have moved to 6-3 and into a first-place tie in the AFC North.
“I don’t believe in the Browns like a lot of people,” Harrison said. “It’s easy to look at a team’s record and jump on the bandwagon. Just last week, or was it the week before, where they lost to Jacksonville, then everybody kind of jumped off the Browns. Then all of a sudden they’re back. Cincinnati, it’s one of those teams that’s hot and cold. I just don’t believe in the Browns right now. I like what they’re doing, I think Mike Pettine, I mean, he’s probably on pace to be Coach of the Year, not Bruce Arians. But I look at that team still far, far away now.”
Brian Hoyer, a former Tom Brady backup, has found some success since taking the Browns’ starting quarterback job. He finished Thursday’s game with a 92.3 quarterback rating but did not throw a touchdown pass. Harrison likes what he has seen from Hoyer, though he isn’t sure if he’s more than a game manager yet.
“I’ve seen him just this year and he’s been good this year,” Harrison said. “He hasn’t been great. If you look at everything that he’s done, the story of him and being a backup and coming in under those situations with Johnny Manziel, the distractions, you have to give the man a lot of props. And it really shows a lot, to me, if I’m looking at a quarterback and everyone’s talking about Johnny Manziel. I like Brian Hoyer because you want a guy to be able to perform under pressure. You want a guy to stand up and say, ‘Hey, this is my team. I don’t care what’s going on with Johnny, I’m focused on doing what I’m doing coming off an injury.’ That’s the type of guy you want.”
After a big win over the Colts last week, the Patriots head into their bye week with a one-game lead in the AFC East. Harrison said the week off can help a player physically and/or mentally.
Said Harrison: “I think it depends on where you’re at in terms of your career. If you’re seven years and under, it’s probably more mental than anything because physically your body recovers so fast. I think right now for a guy like [Tom] Brady and Vince Wilfork, I think it’s half and half. It really does them a lot of justice just physically resting, spending some time with their family, getting away from football for a few days and just enjoying life. It’s a long season, it’s a lot of pressure, it’s a lot of expectations. When you can just get away and take a break and not have watch or worry about X’s and O’s I think it does your mind, your spirit, your body a lot of justice.”
Following are more highlights from the conversation. For more Patriots news, visit the team page at weei.com/patriots.
On Tom Brady‘s work ethic: “I never worried about anything with Tom. Tom is one of the toughest, most mentally tough, smartest guys and well-prepared men I’ve ever been around. He’s just amazing, his level of consistency, never becoming complacent with any success, just the level of humility, the way he works each and every day. Tom Brady is a special, special individual.”
On if the negative play from a quarterback effects the mentality of the rest of the team: “It all comes down to work ethic, and like I said, consistency. If you’ve got a guy like Tom Brady who’s your best player, your highest-paid player, your highest-profile player. And he’s doing everything that the guy that’s trying to make the team and trying to fight to stay on the team, if he’s doing all those little things, what does it say when your best player is one of your hardest workers, if not the hardest worker? It means a lot. You talk about teams going out and trying to get younger, and get faster — screw that.
“I want guys that go out there that are leaders, guys that work extremely hard. Forget youth, we’ve seen a lot of teams with all this youth movement and they can’t win, they can’t consistently win football games because they don’t know what it takes. That’s why I love veteran players like Tom Brady. But if you talk about Andy Dalton, I don’t know his level of commitment and his work ethic. But there’s one thing to have a work ethic, but there’s another thing to have where you’re not playing well and just the inconsistencies. And it’s frustrating because it trickles throughout the locker room when your quarterback, he’s been so inconsistent.”
