Duron Harmon thought it was time to speak up.

It was about a half-hour after the Patriots’ 33-30 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 1. As his teammates walked around in a daze following their second loss in four games Cheap Mike Gesicki Jersey , Harmon didn’t hold back when asked what was wrong with a defense that already had given up 30 or more points three times.

”Obviously, what we’re doing is not good enough, so we need to go take a look in the mirror and just look and realize: Are we doing enough to win?” he said that night.

Both the words and the sentiment had a familiar ring to them.

That’s because it was Harmon who issued a similar challenge to his team during halftime of last year’s Super Bowl against Atlanta. It’s a pep talk his teammates credited with helping them complete their 25-point comeback.

Since signing a four-year, $17 million contract this past offseason, the defensive captain has become an even more vocal presence in the Patriots’ locker room and was one of their most consistent players down the stretch.

He led the team with four interceptions, including one in the end zone in the waning seconds of New England’s 27-24 win at Pittsburgh that would help it secure home-field advantage in the postseason.

The 27-year-old says he still feels like a ”young player” but that he has felt more at ease speaking his mind as he heads to his third Super Bowl, where the Patriots will face the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.

Part of the reason is because he thinks he’s playing alongside a defensive unit that is just as tough mentally as the one that showed up when it had to against Atlanta. He also doesn’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings in a locker room where the demand for excellence is so high.

”Just a group of fighters,” Harmon said. ”I mean you just look at the way the year progressed – started the year not the way we wanted to, came out and lost the opener, got to 2-2, but nobody in here really listened to the noise. We ignored it. We did everything we can to get better and try to progress throughout the year and that’s the reason why we’re here right now, just because we continued to fight.”

Patriots safety Devin McCourty said Harmon’s preparation is noticeable to his teammates and gives him credibility when he chooses to speak out. It also has allowed the coaching staff to trust him late in games.

”The situation doesn’t affect him. The pressure doesn’t bother him,” McCourty said. ”Since he was a young guy in here, if he was thrown in there at the end of the game he was ready to go, and I thought he’s always done a good job of taking advantage of opportunities.”

It’s also kept Harmon on the field.

He appeared in all 16 regular-season games for the fourth straight season. Though often used in nickel situations as the third safety Deion Sanders Jersey Youth , including in the playoffs, Harmon has been on the field for 60 percent or more of the Patriots’ defensive snaps 11 times this season.

Having him out there is never a bad thing, coach Bill Belichick said.

”Whether he’s 60 percent or 80 percent, whatever it is, 70 percent, whatever it ends up being – we want him on the field. He does a good job for us,” Belichick said.

Harmon said playing in place that puts such a premium on accountability is what drew him in from the beginning.

”If you love winning it’s not hard,” he said. ”I mean this is what this place is about – winning. Everything we do, everything we sacrifice for is for to win. Coming here as a young guy five years ago, I just see how competitive this place was and I just wanted to be a part of it so I did everything in my power to continue to get better and try to make sure that at the end of training camp I’m always on this roster.”

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>(PHILADELPHIA) — Three star Philadelphia Eagles players have preemptively declined the inevitable post-Super Bowl invitation to the White House.The formal invitation has yet to be extended, but three people who won’t be responding favorably are Malcolm Jenkins, Chris Long and Torrey Smith.Long and Smith made that clear before the first Super Bowl play unfolded, and Jenkins detailed his decision during a post-game interview Monday morning.Chris LongThis won’t be the first time the defensive end will have skipped a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long takes part in a media availability for the NFL Super Bowl 52 football game Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 Authentic Nick Chubb Jersey , in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)Long played for the Patriots last year when they were invited to the White House to celebrate their 2017 win, and he opted out.He’s continuing his now-annual tradition. During an interview on Barstool Sports’ podcast “Pardon My Take,” which was published Sunday but recorded in advance of game day, Long said, “No, I’m not going to the White House.”He added, “Are you kidding me?”Long has been praised for his off-field activism in the past.He gave the paychecks from his first six games of the season to cover scholarships for students in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, in the wake of the violent protests that broke out in the town in August.The move earned the praise of former President Barack Obama, who highlighted Long’s donation as part of a series of stories of good that he shared at the end of 2017.Torrey SmithDuring a news conference at Minneapolis’ Mall of America on the Wednesday before the Super Bowl, Smith said he would turn down any White House invitation if they won.“We read the news just like everyone else,” Smith said, according to NJ Advance Media.“You see Donald Trump tweet something … We have those conversations in the locker room, just like everyone else does in the workplace. We’re very informed about what goes on, and we’re trying to continue to educate ourselves. It’s pretty special to have a group like that Sean Lee Jersey Elite , of folks that aren’t just socially conscious, but folks who genuinely care about people and care about learning more,” the wide receiver said.Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Torrey Smith takes part in a media availability for the NFL Super Bowl 52 football game Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2018, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)“I’m not saying we’re right about everything, but we’re willing to figure out what is right. We’re willing to work with people to find the best way to move forward, because there are problems, and we’re not shy about speaking up about them,” he added.Smith responded Monday to comments about why he won’t go to any White House celebration. One user asked Smith why he wouldn’t go, and Smith responded: “It goes beyond politics. … I don鈥檛 think he is a good person.”Another user defended Trump by writing, “the man you are protesting has brought black unemployment to its lowest levels ever recorded, while soldiers stand post thousands of miles away from their families so that you can get paid a lofty salary to catch a football.”To that, Smith responded: “HE DIDN鈥橳 DO ANYTHING! Stop giving credit when it鈥檚 not true. That trend started under Obama and continued to drop. Our soldiers have nothing to do with my feelings towards the president. I show every soldier I meet love. Real heroes!”Malcolm JenkinsJenkins told CNN Monday morning, “I personally do not anticipate attending” if asked to the White House.Jenkins Marcedes Lewis Packers Jersey , a 30-year-old safety, was then asked whether he had a message for President Donald Trump.“I don’t have a message for the president. My message has been clear all year. I’m about creating positive change in the communities that I come from, whether it be Philadelphia, New Jersey, Ohio, Louisiana or this entire country. I want to see changes in our criminal justice system. I want to see us push for economical and educational advancement in communities of color and low-income communities and I want to see our relationships between our communities and our law enforcement be advanced and that’s what myself and my peers have been pushing for the last two years and that鈥檚 what I’ll continue to do,” the New Jersey native, who played at Ohio State before being drafted by the New Orleans Saints, said.Jenkins is a co-founder of the Players Coalition, which is made up of NFL players hoping to improve the U.S. criminal justice system and led about 40 NFL players in negotiations with the league about protests during the national anthem.The negotiations led to an $89 million dedication by the NFL to address criminal justice reform, improving law enforcement and community relations, and education, ESPN reported.Copyright 漏 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved..