| Authored by Randolph Charlotin - 10th September, 2007 - 4:58 pm
 No excuses.
That’s what New England safety Rodney Harrison offered the media and fans when he fessed up to obtaining substances on the NFL’s list of banned substances. No one else was involved in his decision to obtain what is believed to be human growth hormone, also known as HGH.
So for anyone trying the blanket defense of “Well he’s not the only one doing it,” needs to give it a rest. It’s not about the unknown them, but the singular him that is Rodney Harrison. The others will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, like Dallas Cowboys assistant coach Wade Wilson who was suspended five games and fined $100,000 by the league. So for the others like Harrison, the league will catch up to them at a later time.
I also don’t buy the “It wasn’t for a competitive advantage” statement. Yes HGH doesn’t make the user stronger. What HGH does is reduce body fat and increase the production of red blood cells which increases a person’s aerobic capacity.
Harrison said he used it to help him recover from injuries. But if HGH helped Rodney stay on the playing field, then that’s an advantage. Players play hurt if they have to, or they don’t play.
Former baseball player Mark McGwire said he used androstenedione to help him stay healthy during his historic 70 home runs season. While andro wasn’t illegal in Major League Baseball at the time, many took issue with McGuire’s admitted use. Two seasons later, McGwire told the world he would stop using andro and the difference was remarkable. McGwire missed a combined 138 out of 324 games over the next two seasons. If andro helped McGwire stay healthy enough to break the record, then that’s an advantage.
To Harrison’s credit, he didn’t do a Michael Vick when face to face with commissioner Roger Goodell. When confronted, Harrison admitted to breaking the rules and now will serve his four-game suspension without a fight.
While that earns him some respect, it doesn’t make up for the respect he lost from admitting his use. A ferocious competitor on the field, Harrison played every snap without holding back. While opponents didn’t like it when he’d deliver a crushing blow just at the whistle, they did respect the way he played. Some called Rodney a dirty player, but he was the kind of player everyone wished they had on their team.
And that kind of player will not be with the Patriots for the first four games. New England will miss his run support, his intimidation over the middle, his coverage skills and play-making ability in the secondary, and his leadership. Looking at the first four opponents of the season, expect Harrison’s presence to be sorely missed.
The season opener is against the New York Jets and the efficient Chad Pennington at QB. Chad lacks a powerful arm but is very cerebral and gets the ball to his playmakers on time. WRs Laveraneus Coles and Jerricho Cotchery are a productive tandem that can produce big plays.
Week two is San Diego, that same Chargers team that beat the Patriots in practically all facets of the game during the divisional playoff game in January except on the scoreboard. QB Phillip Rivers, RB LaDanian Tomlinson, TE Antonio Gates and the relentless Chargers defense want to show they are the better team and they have every intention to prove it.
Next up will be the up and coming Buffalo Bills who will challenge the Patriots defense…ok, ok, so the Bills are a bad team. I’m can’t stretch the truth with this team.
The fourth game will be against the offensively explosive Cincinnati Bengals. QB Carson Palmer is a potential MVP candidate throwing to maybe the best tandem at receiver in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmanzadeh.
When Harrison returns, it will be business as usual. There will be the initial circus when Rodney comes back with the media asking the questions he never gave them the chance to ask when he announced his suspension through a conference call. But that scrutiny will be short lived. After a week of being back, the transgression will be forgotten and all will be forgiven. The suspension would become a footnote, like DL Louis Castillio’s positive steroid test before the draft and LB Shawn Merriman’s steroid bust last year. As long as Harrison plays well every week, few will remember he was suspended.
But for those that do remember, they will hold it against Harrison. He got caught breaking the rules. We don’t know for how long Harrison was using HGH but the duration doesn’t matter. It will be a black mark on a potential Hall of Fame career. In the critics’ eyes, Harrison is a cheater.
It’s not a label they attached to Rodney. Harrison became one when he used HGH and he won’t make any excuses. |
