No Respect For Richard Seymour
Richard Seymour may have had his best year as a pro in 2008.
He’s only 29.
He’s a three-time Super Bowl winner.
In my books, a sure-fire Hall of Famer.
Yet, every time I hear fans talk about Patriots defensive end Richard Seymour, it seems they are either criticizing him for dogging it, for not being effective enough, or for being too injury prone.
I just don’t get it.
The Patriots’ defensive scheme calls for the defensive ends to each cover 2 gaps, which means they pretty much need to be twice as strong. They are generally not pass rushers. They don’t put up the gaudy numbers. However, their effectiveness at covering their gaps is what determines the entire success of the defense.
Richard Seymour, even as of last year, has done this to the utmost fashion. His first couple of years in the league, Seymour was able to exploit a lot of one on one matchups, putting up “bigger numbers.” However, by 2004, Seymour was getting double, even triple teamed. His stats dropped, and after missing nearly have the season in 2007 due to injury, Seymour fell off the radar a little bit.
Then, last summer, Richard Seymour came back to camp 10 pounds lighter and healthy. He played every game except the finale in 2008, registering 52 tackles and 8 sacks. By the end of the season, he was once again garnering constant double teams.
The guy played a monster season, yet, he still earns no respect. At only 29 and a free agent next offseason, the Patriots should make re-signing Seymour a priority, as he’s still one of the best in the game.
Reader Comments
I agree on the Seymour thing. I think he’s so solid he gets overlooked. Wasn’t it his monster hit on Trent Edwards that sidelined him.
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You’re not talking to the right Patriots fans then. Belichick values Seymour, not based on his stats alone, but because Seymour forces other teams to game-plan for him. Any time a team has to do that, or have to double him, then that’s a plus, no matter what he does statistically on the field.
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I think you nailed it. People don’t understand how the 3-4 defense works. You can’t make direct comparisons with 4-3 DE stats.
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Marima: I’m not addressing all Patriots fans. But there are a good portion of the “casual fans” that don’t really understand the value of what he does for the system. And there’s a good section of die-hards that don’t appreciate it either, that don’t realize exactly what he takes on and how effective he is at what he does.
B: Yup, 3-4 defensive ends aren’t sack guys or stat guys alltogether. When they do have pass rushing skills (like Seymour at times), it’s just an added bonus.
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That’s because the idiots that blab the most about this sort of thing know little about football. Sure, they might manage a successful fantasy football franchise, they might watch every game, but they watch and study football like it’s baseball. They don’t fully understand.
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