The New England Patriots had signed Rodney Harrison in the offseason, and Patriots fans had visions of him pairing up with Lawyer Milloy to solidify the back-end of what was already a pretty good secondary.
But Bill Belichick had other plans.
Belichick released Lawyer Milloy just five days before the start of the regular season. Eugene Wilson stepped in at safety, and after a small bump in the road week one against the revenge seeking Buffalo Bills (featuring Milloy, Drew Bledsoe, and the mighty Sam Gash), the Patriots dominated their way to the second Super Bowl championship in team history.
Belichick had a plan, and Eugene Wilson was it.
Patriots fans point to this when defending the release of safety Brandon Meriweather. The problem is, that’s not a completely accurate portrayal of what happened in 2003.
Remember Antwan Harris?
Antwan Harris was supposed to be the replacement for Lawyer Milloy. He was faster, he was going to be better in coverage, he was younger.
Then came week one, and Drew Bledsoe completely and utterly undressed the poor, over-matched, undersized safety.
Harris was quickly benched, and rookie Eugene Wilson was forced to switch positions. Luckily for the Patriots, Wilson turned into a pretty good safety.
But that certainly wasn’t the plan. I give Belichick credit for figuring out his plan was garbage quickly and changing it, but anyone who says “Belichick always has a plan” conveniently forgets the Antwan Harris experience.
Maybe Josh Barrett is the next Rodney Harrison. Maybe Sergio Brown is the next Lawyer Milloy. Or maybe they’re both Antwan Harris, and we’ll have to hope Ras-I Dowling is the next Eugene Wilson.
That’s my issue with releasing Brandon Meriweather. I’m not a huge Meriweather fan, I’m just not convinced anyone remaining on the roster is an upgrade over him.
And, short as it may have been, I really disliked the Antwan Harris experience…
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