Rodney Harrison Reacts To His Hardest Hits | LA Chargers

Rodney Harrison Reacts To His Hardest Hits | LA Chargers

When the good Lord planted that seed in me at 6 years old, I was always physical. I always wanted to hit my opponent and that’s just the way I played. I was very rough kid and I always wanted to inflict pain on the other kids. Harrison Harrison Harrison. This is Rodney Harrison. Come take a look at a few plays that I love. Some of my biggest hits. This should be exciting. We’re going to start with the Seattle Seahawks. This is a playaction pass. I remember this. He was trying to take a shot down deep down the field. I was a deep middle post safety and there’s no way that I was going to let this ball get over my head. Went up in one hand and grabbed it. Pretty awesome play right there. Now, this is one of the hardest hits that I’ve had in the National Football League right here. I felt really bad for this receiver. I saw that ball get popped up. I came back and Trent Dilford was saying that that’s that’s a bad hit. Let me play that hit again. saw the ball get tipped, couldn’t go get it, so I’d had to go and try to knock his head off. When the ball goes in the air like that, I get really excited because I know a receivers’s going up for it. And that gives me an opportunity to go and just smash him. And that’s what I saw. I was, look at me. I’m looking right at the receiver. I hit him right in his chest. So, it’s a legal hit. I thought it was a good hit. I believe this is when I flipped the wide receiver right there. Yep, I remember that. That was actually a pretty good hit right here. They tried to run a boot. They were running the ball. Tried to get us on a play action pass once he caught it. Actually, I think he’s the former first round pick from Michigan. Yeah, that felt really good right there. Taking him out. The Seattle Seahawks once again. Oh, this is my interception, Warren Moon. Now, let me tell you guys something. Okay, let me rewind this and watch. Once you see this inside receiver when he goes to the flat, I know this is the guy that Warren Moon wants to hit. And I just stayed back, read the quarterback, and broke on it. 87 yard touchdown to the house against a Hall of Famer. That felt really good. Oh, this is the Germaine Lewis hit right here. This is one of my favorite hits. And I felt bad for him because he’s such a small receiver. He’s only like 5’9, 175 lbs, but you come across that middle, you going to get your head knocked off. And um I was the protector of that middle. And unfortunately for him, he had to pay the price. And that’s my favorite thing to stand over you after I hit you. I did notice that in a lot of Hey, it’s intimidation right here. Oh, this is um safety. Okay, this is go this is a goal line play and it became a safety blitz and I came from the backside. The tight end couldn’t block me. He missed his block and that’s how his quarterback gets taken out. Once that quarterback turns his back like that, he has no idea that you’re coming backside. The tight end couldn’t get me because he’s not fast enough. He blew his assignment and also the offensive tackle missed me. It’s two guys. That’s what happens in the goal line. I think that’s Rick Meyer as the quarterback with this play. I had the backside tight end. He stayed in and blocked. So, that freed me up. So, I saw Rick Meyer running. I just said, “Hey, I’m gonna go chase the quarterback down. He’s slow. Why not?” Okay, this is one of my favorite sacks. I remember this one right here. Watch this. They’re treating me like I’m Michael Parsons. Look at They’re blocking me with a tackle. They’re blocking me with a tackle. That’s why I don’t like fat offensive linemen. You can’t block me. When you feel like you’re in the zone, you just feel like you can’t be stopped. And our defense was good, man. Our defense was really tough. Junior Ray Lee Johnson, John Pereella, we had some studs on that defense and they came to play every single week. The thing that I want to express is just how much I appreciate Junior Sea. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Junior Sea. him showing a vested interest in me and um investing in me emotionally, um mentally, showing me how to be a pro, how to watch film, how to take care of my body, praying with me, going to Miles McFersonson, who’s um a pastor on Tuesday on our day off, you know, praying with them, having Bible service. I mean, Junior Se taught me that. I miss him. I love him. That’s my brother. We had a unbelievable connection and um I love him. Oh, this is the trick play right here. And nothing nothing felt ever felt better than hitting a quarterback in his mouth. Nothing. Especially a trick play. And our coaches all week talk to us about trick plays. Beware of trick plays. And that was a perfect one. And then the lineman gets mad. He pushes me a little bit. But you don’t quarterback. What are you trying to do? I leave my man because I saw what was going on. And that’s a legal hit. It’s not dirty. It’s just letting them know. Don’t run that play in my area. Oh, yeah. This was one of my favorite plays right here. See, I came inside. If you watch me, I came inside. You don’t supposed to come inside on that play. You’re supposed to stay outside and contain it, force it back in. But I beat the guy inside. I forced the fumble. Daryl Lewis, my teammate, picked it up and took it to the house. Anytime as a defense you can create turnovers, score points, you know, that’s going to help out your team. Watch me. I go inside the block of the fullback as opposed to staying outside. Was able to get my helmet on the ball and the rest is history. I think this is the interception Cordell Stewart threw me. And Cordell had that tendency, too. Cordell was a running, scrambling quarterback, but he had a tendency to kind of stare at his wide receivers. I knew exactly where he was going. He was looking at him the entire way. And I was able to step in, take it to the house, and of course, none of them bad guys can catch me. So guys, this was actually a really good job by their offensive line. We had a blitz going on. They protected it well. So Cordell had plenty of time to sit back there, but he threw to the wrong person. Wow, that was awesome right there. You guys took me back at a bunch of plays that I I didn’t even remember I I made. Oh yeah, this is one of my favorites. Destroying my boy Donovan McNav. Oh, that hurt. That hurt. And guys, if you look at it, guess where I was at? I was playing corner. Look at me. I was playing corner. I came all the way from the right corner position. He should have known something was up. I don’t play corner. I play strong safety. Those are the little things that quarterbacks, the the great ones. See, what am I doing playing cornerback? This was Trent Diler. And this is after a lot of finds. So, I made sure that I didn’t hit him with my helmet, that it was my shoulder and my forearm. And I just looked at him after it. Reading the quarterback. Just look at him and let him know. Don’t come across the middle or you gonna pay the price. There he is. What’s up, coach? You have been elected to the Chargers Hall of Fame. You are joining the greats. I thought Harbaugh was busting my chops. I couldn’t believe it because he he had called me and told me about he wanted to talk to me about some leadership stuff. and and when he told me, my heart just dropped because I mean, this is the organization that gave me an opportunity that believed in me. Um, and I’m very grateful. I’m very thankful. And I I just and I told Bobby Beth and I told Coach Bobby Ross that you would not regret drafting me. And I play I play I gave everything for nine years here, everything I had in me. and to come out here and to see those players. And I told those players, I said, you know, I wrote I I wore those jerseys with pride and I tried to play every play like it was my last play cuz that’s what my buddy Junior Se taught me. And um it’s special. It’s special because you don’t ever get to this point by yourself. You have a lot of people praying for you. You have a lot of people supporting you, a lot of people making sacrifices. And I understand that. And that’s why the opportunities that I get, I try to make the most of it and I try to treat people with respect because that’s what life is about. It’s about how you treat people. And I’m very grateful. Thank you.

Chargers legend Rodney Harrison reacts to some of his hardest hits as a safety in the NFL. Harrison explains his mentality during games, reflects on how Junior Seau impacted him personally and professionally, and breaks down what was going through his head when LA Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh called to let him know he had been selected for the Chargers Hall of Fame. Presented by Microsoft Copilot+ PC.

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