Stafford: Harrison off base with 'no respect' comments

Rodney Harrison had a problem with the way Matthew Stafford's Detroit Lions teammates reacted to their quarterback getting shoved while running out of bounds in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 26-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings, but Stafford did not.

Stafford said on "The Mitch Albom Show" today that he appreciated how his teammates came to his defense when Anthony Barr shoved him as he crossed the sideline after scrambling for a first down on fourth-and-4.

Barr was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the play.

"I didn't see anybody behind me, so I was just kind of trotting out of bounds," Stafford said. "I got a couple steps out and then got the shove in the back and opened my eyes and I was underneath the bench. But I wasn't too happy about it.

"And watching the tape, I thought it was a great response. I don't know what Rodney wants us to do. If he wants us to have an all-out brawl, we can have an all-out brawl but then they'd just say it's the same old Lions. I was proud of the guys' response. We got the 15-yarder, we didn't negate it by doing something stupid and at the same time we kind of got to let Anthony know how we felt about it."

Harrison, on NBC's "Football Night In America," said Lions players should have been more up in arms about Barr's shove of Stafford.

"This is a cheap shot right here, and nobody comes to his defense except a rookie lineman," Harrison said. "This is crazy. This just shows me how much respect this team has for Matthew Stafford. Not a lot."

Golden Tate certain Vikings took cheap shots

Brandon Pettigrew, who was not in uniform because of a hamstring injury, shoved Barr immediately after the hit, and Laken Tomlinson and DeAndre Levy approached Barr before tight ends coach Ron Prince and others interceded.

Stafford confronted Barr, too, after he sprang to his feet.

"Just had a lot of pleasant things to say," Stafford said. "We just had a quiet conversation. Just shook hands, talked about it. No, you can imagine. It's not a fun thing to be hit like that."

Lions receiver Golden Tate said Harrison, who was known as a punishing hitter during his 15 seasons as an NFL safety, was off base with his comments.

"That's one thing we don't listen to," Tate said. "People are always going to try to stir up something to try to start something. That's not the case at all. I think everyone in this building, and hopefully everyone in this state supports Stafford and this team and that's exactly what we do. I wouldn't pay too much attention of all that B.S. That's just someone trying to start something, give something to talk about."

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.

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