clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Lions notes: Rodney Harrison continues to criticize Stafford's teammates

Today Lions notes covers why Rodney Harrison thinks Matthew Stafford's teammates showed no respect for the quarterback on Sunday.

By Jeremy Reisman
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

  • Sunday night Rodney Harrison, former NFL player and current "Football Night In America" analyst, called out the Detroit Lions for failing to come to Matthew Stafford's defense after he was shoved out of bounds late by Anthony Barr. Stafford responded by saying he was proud of his teammates' response and restraint from getting a retaliation penalty. On Tuesday, Harrison doubled down on his original comments:
    "It’s on your sideline, a guy pushes your quarterback out of bounds, gives him a cheap shot. And Matthew Stafford may not think that that’s a big deal, but little things like that, they add up. They create a culture and attitude. And for me, I’m one of those guys where if that would have happened to Tom Brady, I would have punched that young guy right in his face, and I don’t care if cost me [$25,000] or $50,000..."
    With all due respect to Harrison, that's a terrible way to look at this situation. I'm not saying everyone's philosophy should be "turn the other cheek," but in a game where the Lions were in desperate need of yards and points, any sort of retaliation -- especially a punch that would draw an immediate ejection -- would have been incredibly stupid. His later insinuation that the Lions' failure to respond 'properly' will bring upon more incidents like this is completely baseless.

  • Speaking of the Barr shove, this is...um...interesting: I really couldn't disagree more. The shove was literally the definition of unnecessary. If you want my full thoughts on the play, check out our article on all of the Vikings' "dirty" hits.

More From Pride Of Detroit