Rodney Harrison, the Patriots' safety who is the only player in NFL history to record at least 25 sacks and 30 interceptions, will miss Sunday's Wild Card contest with a knee injury. Defensive end Richard Seymour, another leader on the New England defense, talked Wednesday of what the Patriots will miss with Harrison on the sidelines.
"Rodney brings intensity; he brings leadership in the secondary and he's a physical guy back there," said Seymour, who racked up four sacks in regular season play. "Receivers may want to go across the middle more - I'm not sure. He means a lot to our team. Obviously, it's a big loss for us. If a guy is down, the next guy has to step in and take his place, and we expect him to do just as good a job as the starter. We look at everyone as being on this team for a reason."
Read below for the complete transcript from Richard Seymour's conference call
New England Patriots' DT Richard Seymour, 1.3
On facing the Jets for the third time…
We split earlier in the season, which everyone knows. They're a tough football team. They play smart, which says a lot about their coaching staff. He (Coach Mangini) has brought a mentality there, where they play together, they play smart and you can see it in a lot of their interviews and a lot of things that's coming out of that organization. We understand it's going to be a football game; it's a game where we are definitely going to have to prepare throughout the week because they do a lot of things offensively. We have our work cut out for us to say the least.
On how the Jets have changed since the last meeting…
They still do a lot of the same things. They get the ball out. They don't take a lot of negative plays. They try to stay on the field, with a ball-control, possession-type offense. They take some shots down field, a couple of shots per quarter and wear you down. They do a lot of quick counts, some no huddle stuff, so we're definitely going to be prepared for all that they're going to throw at us. It's important for us to prepare well for this football team throughout the week, because it's going to be a situational type game, where we are just going to have to be aware of all the things that they can do to us defensively.
On playing a 4-3 in the first game and a 3-4 in the second without Ty Warren…
We won the first game playing the 4-3 and they came up here and beat us at home playing the 3-4 defense. Whatever gives us the best chance of winning, I think that's what we will do. We have the ability to do a lot of different things up front; I think it says a lot about our versatility, that we can move in and out of a lot of different fronts.
On saying the Patriots were out coached in the last match up…
That's just the emotions of the game, especially after the loss. They (the Jets) did a good job so hats off to those guys. They were a close football team, they play smart and they go out and they play tough. You have to give the players in that locker room a lot of credit along with their coaching staff. We just didn't do a good enough job that day. We understand what we're getting ourselves into this week, we understand that they are a good football team and they beat us the last time here. With that being said, everyone is going on to be ready to go on Sunday and we are going to need everybody, playing against a football team like this.
On winning their last two games against two good teams…
It's good to go into the postseason with some momentum. It's always good to have some momentum this time of year. Confidence says a lot. We've been in a situation like this before. You look at the Jets and the same with them, they are a hot football team, they have a lot of momentum, they have a lot of confidence and they understand that they can play with anyone. That's a dangerous combination. It's going to come down to the team that is the most prepared and plays the best in a game situation.
On Coach Mangini knowing the Patriots' defense…
It's a balance on both sides. Both teams are familiar with each other. We played them twice this year and then we're familiar with a lot of their guys and a lot of their players. It's a division opponent, it's not like we're playing a team like San Francisco, where we don't know a whole lot about them. Both teams understand each other's strengths and weaknesses. We each understand what you need to do to be successful. It's just going to come down to the team that does it the best on Sunday. Obviously, Eric has been here and he knows a lot of our players and we know him.
On not having Rodney Harrison for the game…
Rodney brings intensity, he brings leadership in the secondary and he's a physical guy back there. Receivers may want to go across the middle more, I'm not sure. He means a lot to our team, obviously, it's a big loss for us. If a guy is down, the next guy has to step in and take his place and we expect him to do just as good job as the starter. We look at everyone as being on this team for a reason, they're in the NFL and everybody has reason why they are here.
On Coach Mangini's ability to adjust during games…
Even when Eric was here, he was a smart coach. He was aware which way the wind was blowing. We just understand that he's a smart guy and he's going to pay attention to detail and so is our coach. When I look at both of those guys, they do a good job of covering from 'A to Z' and a good job of managing all the situations and not leaving much to chance. That's what a good football coach does. We understand that and we know that no stone will be left unturned.
Wednesday Injury Report Jets Questionable: FB B.J. Askew (foot), RB Kevan Barlow (thigh), CB David Barrett (hip), WR Laveranues Coles (jaw), CB Andre Dyson (knee), FB James Hodgins (knee), C Nick Mangold (knee), OL Brandon Moore (ankle), S Kerry Rhodes (knee) & DL Dewayne Robertson (knee)
Probable: *LB Matt Chatham (personal), *RB Cedric Houston (calf), *QB Chad Pennington (calf), *DB Eric Smith (foot) & *DE Bryan Thomas (shoulder)
Patriots Out: S Rodney Harrison (knee)
Questionable: WR Bam Childress (ankle), RB Kevin Faulk (knee), CB/S Chad Scott (back), TE Benjamin Watson (knee) & NT Vince Wilfork (ankle)
Probable: *QB Tom Brady (r shoulder), *CB Ellis Hobbs (wrist), *DL Richard Seymour (elbow) & LB Mike Vrabel (back)
*Denotes players who participated in practice
