Biggs: Rodney Harrison rips Favre

If there’s one thing that could bring Rodney Harrison out of the television studio and back onto the field, maybe it would be the opportunity to put his helmet into the side of Brett Favre.

Well, maybe that wouldn’t do it, but the former hard-hitting safety laid out Favre this morning when he said he was tired of the drama and that the last two offseasons have tarnished the legacy of one of the greatest quarterbacks the league has ever seen.

APRodney Harrison

“I have a lot of respect for him as a player,” Harrison said on the Mully & Hanley Show on WSCR-670 AM. “I just think that the back and forth is really a joke. I think after a decade of playing football, you pretty much know if you want to play football or not. Especially this year. If he wanted to avoid training camp, it’s very understandable. Most people would understand. But it’s such a joke and I’m sitting back and laughing.

“The back-and-forth, garnering so much attention to yourself. I’m just the complete opposite. I just don’t like to take attention away from the National Football League and all of the other players that really deserve some of the attention. I’m a guy that tries to avoid the spotlight and not put a lot of attention on myself. So it is very disappointing.’’

Favre did the back-and-forth last year until Green Bay granted his request and traded him to the New York Jets. This time, he worked to be released from the reserve/retired list and then flirted with a comeback for nearly fourth months before finally joining the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.

“I think it really messes up everything that he’s done the last 16, 17 years. All of this plays as a distraction,” Harrison said. “Because when you think of Brett Favre, you don’t think about his gutsy performances and (three-time league) MVP and all of those things. You think about, well, he’s retiring, he’s unretiring, he’s retiring, he’s unretiring. That’s just a bad light and it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.”

Favre, in his homespun press conference after his first practice with the Vikings, said he wasn’t concerned if others believe the perception of him has changed.

“First of all, when people start talking about my legacy, it’s mine,” Favre said. “It’s what I think of it. I know the way I play the game. I know the way I handled myself as a teammate, as a leader, within the public. Yeah, I’ve made mistakes along the way, we all have. But if I had to do it all over again, I would do it the same way. I don’t think anyone has played the game with as much passion and has loved it, and loved his teammates as much as me. I haven’t always been the best player. I would like to think that every player that I have played with would love to have me in the foxhole. I have no idea what is going to happen this year. I didn’t know last year. As I look back, I gave it everything I could give. That’s what I’ll do this year.”

Let the record show that Harrison’s legacy over 15 seasons includes numerous fines that easily top $200,000 for play many have deemed dirty.

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