Undertaker #59
02-11-2008, 02:29 PM
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1072702&srvc=rss
“Right now, at this point, I feel like I’m going to honor the last year of my contract,” said the 35-year-old. “Everyone’s asking me about retirement. I don’t know what to say about it. I haven’t said anything publicly about wanting to retire or anything like that. I’m very hungry to get back to working out and be a part of this team, and try to win another championship.”
Maybe if the Pats had won the Super Bowl and capped off a 19-0 season, Harrison might have felt otherwise and walked off into the sunset, having secured his third championship since arriving in Foxboro. Only now, there’s unfinished business on the table. The loss has left a bad taste in his mouth.
“It’s not a good feeling,” he said. “So I’m going to take some time off to let my body rest, then I’ll be back in the gym in two or three weeks. I’ll be back, rejuvenated and ready to go.”
Harrison, who is headed for his 15th season, doesn’t see the loss as having devastating effects in the long term. Instead, he believes it will fuel the Pats.
“I think it’s going to be more motivating than anything,” he said. “Any time you have the groups of guys we have in that locker room, the type of talent we have, it’s going to serve as motivation. These are hard-working guys, some of the best in the business. We went 18-0. We lost one game. I don’t know how devastating that can be in terms of us losing our whole mentality and what we’ve worked so hard for.
“We still have the core guys here. And we have a lot of young talent in that locker room. We still have the best head coach in the league. So I don’t think you have to worry about the Patriots being competitive or even losing that edge.”
Harrison, however, admitted something was missing in Arizona. The Giants had it in spades. The Pats couldn’t muster enough of it. When told pundits felt the Giants wanted it more and played hungrier, Harrison didn’t put up a fight. He knew his team lacked its usual fire.
“When we played Indianapolis in the AFC Championship in Indy, I felt like we had more intensity, more fire than Indianapolis because everyone picked us to lose that game,” Harrison said, referring to last season’s 38-34 loss at the RCA Dome. “And it just seemed like (the Giants) came in, they had a lot more fire, more intensity. Not a lot more, but they had more intensity and played at a higher level. Emotionally, we didn’t play up to their level.”
How could that be, especially in the Super Bowl, with a championship and historic season riding on the outcome?
“I don’t know. It’s shocking,” Harrison said. “With all that being said, we still had an opportunity to win . . . but it’s still 60 minutes. You’ve got to be able to finish games. We just didn’t bring our A-game at the time we really needed it. We had opportunities, but you have to give the Giants credit. They played extremely well. Defensively, they played well. Offensively, they made some incredible plays. We had (Eli Manning) sacked, and he throws up a Hail Mary, and the guy comes down with an incredible catch.”
Harrison grudgingly honored one fan’s request to sign this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, showing David Tyree’s remarkable catch with Harrison doing everything possible to pry the ball loose.
“There were a lot of positive things we can take away from the season,” he said. “We’ve gone through so much criticism and scrutiny, being able to stick together and endure through all the trials we faced, it’s been pretty special. I’m really proud of this team, this coaching staff, this organization for being able to endure what we endured. But at the same time, I’m very hurt at the last game. We worked so hard. It’s just hurtful.”
Hurtful enough to make him want to return with a vengeance next season.
“Right now, at this point, I feel like I’m going to honor the last year of my contract,” said the 35-year-old. “Everyone’s asking me about retirement. I don’t know what to say about it. I haven’t said anything publicly about wanting to retire or anything like that. I’m very hungry to get back to working out and be a part of this team, and try to win another championship.”
Maybe if the Pats had won the Super Bowl and capped off a 19-0 season, Harrison might have felt otherwise and walked off into the sunset, having secured his third championship since arriving in Foxboro. Only now, there’s unfinished business on the table. The loss has left a bad taste in his mouth.
“It’s not a good feeling,” he said. “So I’m going to take some time off to let my body rest, then I’ll be back in the gym in two or three weeks. I’ll be back, rejuvenated and ready to go.”
Harrison, who is headed for his 15th season, doesn’t see the loss as having devastating effects in the long term. Instead, he believes it will fuel the Pats.
“I think it’s going to be more motivating than anything,” he said. “Any time you have the groups of guys we have in that locker room, the type of talent we have, it’s going to serve as motivation. These are hard-working guys, some of the best in the business. We went 18-0. We lost one game. I don’t know how devastating that can be in terms of us losing our whole mentality and what we’ve worked so hard for.
“We still have the core guys here. And we have a lot of young talent in that locker room. We still have the best head coach in the league. So I don’t think you have to worry about the Patriots being competitive or even losing that edge.”
Harrison, however, admitted something was missing in Arizona. The Giants had it in spades. The Pats couldn’t muster enough of it. When told pundits felt the Giants wanted it more and played hungrier, Harrison didn’t put up a fight. He knew his team lacked its usual fire.
“When we played Indianapolis in the AFC Championship in Indy, I felt like we had more intensity, more fire than Indianapolis because everyone picked us to lose that game,” Harrison said, referring to last season’s 38-34 loss at the RCA Dome. “And it just seemed like (the Giants) came in, they had a lot more fire, more intensity. Not a lot more, but they had more intensity and played at a higher level. Emotionally, we didn’t play up to their level.”
How could that be, especially in the Super Bowl, with a championship and historic season riding on the outcome?
“I don’t know. It’s shocking,” Harrison said. “With all that being said, we still had an opportunity to win . . . but it’s still 60 minutes. You’ve got to be able to finish games. We just didn’t bring our A-game at the time we really needed it. We had opportunities, but you have to give the Giants credit. They played extremely well. Defensively, they played well. Offensively, they made some incredible plays. We had (Eli Manning) sacked, and he throws up a Hail Mary, and the guy comes down with an incredible catch.”
Harrison grudgingly honored one fan’s request to sign this week’s Sports Illustrated cover, showing David Tyree’s remarkable catch with Harrison doing everything possible to pry the ball loose.
“There were a lot of positive things we can take away from the season,” he said. “We’ve gone through so much criticism and scrutiny, being able to stick together and endure through all the trials we faced, it’s been pretty special. I’m really proud of this team, this coaching staff, this organization for being able to endure what we endured. But at the same time, I’m very hurt at the last game. We worked so hard. It’s just hurtful.”
Hurtful enough to make him want to return with a vengeance next season.