Even in retirement, former New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski wants no part of Pittsburgh Steelers legend James Harrison.
On a Halloween-themed episode of the Dudes On Dudes podcast, Gronkowski and former Patriots teammate Julian Edelman ran through some of the “scariest dudes” in NFL history, prompting them to throw Harrison’s name into that ring.
From there, Gronkowski discussed what it was like to line up across from Harrison as a blocker and how his 6’0″ frame made such a challenge even more demanding.
“With James, I knew I couldn’t get into his chest,” Gronkowski said. “The guy is like a bowling ball. You know that 28-pound bowling ball that everyone wants to throw down the lane and just try to knock down all the pins? You kind of it do it granny-style, and it’s so heavy, you blow your back out? Those are the hardest guys to block in the NFL, especially at my size.”
Part of the reason why Harrison went undrafted out of Kent State in 2002 was because of his height, as there some thought that he would be more of a “tweener” at the next level who wouldn’t find a positional home given his stature.
As we know now, however, he quickly proved all of his critics wrong. In three separate stints with Pittsburgh (’02 – ’03; ’04 -’12; ’14 – ’17), Harrison became one of the most feared defenders in the league.
He made five Pro Bowls, won a Defensive Player of the Year award (’08) and was a two-time first-team All-Pro as a Steeler all while helping them win Super Bowls XL (’05) and XLIII (’10) against the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, respectively, the latter of which featured an 100-yard pick-six that may represent the magnum opus of Harrison’s career.
The Patriots and Steelers shared a heated rivalry throughout the 2000s and 2010s, which both Gronkowski and Harrison were a part of. While Gronk is on a fast track towards the Pro Football Hall of Fame as arguably the greatest tight end to ever play, those matchups against Harrison appear to have left a lasting impression.
“When I’m blocking him, it’s a guy that you just kind of want to get in his way,” Gronkowski said. “I’m not going to come off the ball and crush his skull. I’m not trying to do that because if I piss him off, if I hit him hard and I trigger him, I’m telling you, he’s going to pick me up and throw me to the next play.”
