Posted on 09/06/2009 11:56:02 AM PDT by mainepatsfan
Seymour dealt to Raiders
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Five-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Richard Seymour has been traded from the New England Patriots to the Oakland Raiders, giving the rebuilding franchise a veteran stalwart up front.
In return, the Patriots received a first-round draft choice in 2011.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Hey, I was going to post that! ;)
Geez, Bellichick is a genius. It’s almost unfair.
I wish you all the luck in the world this year...but I hope you crash and burn in 2010 :)
Brady better perform this year. I think that he shall, and quite well actually.
Too bad for Seymour. Oakland is the arm pit of the NFL.
On the same day you guys get Seymour San Diego loses Merriman!
I’m starting to think Belichick has compromising pictures of Al Davis. Randy Moss for a 4th, Derrick Burgess for a 3rd, and now Seymour for a 1st.
You’d think that AFC teams would refuse to do business with the Patriots. Yeesh.
These kinds of transactions are the key to staying strong. The Pats were unusually loyal to their linebackers the last few years. At 29 and making $3.7 million, Seymour would have been looking for a very large, long term contract. This looks like a good move.
Keeping just Brady and Hoyer at QB, though.... what are they thinking? Pick up an experienced backup in the coming days?
hh
count me as a fan of this deal. Seymour has held up the Pats on previous seasons looking for contract upgrades then in the end never returning to the dominant guy he used to be. In this scenario they have set themselves up to work the draft board in 2010 and 2011 with a labor situation that looks cloudy at best. They look to have grabbed some good talent this past draft with a WR and ILB that are getting stashed on IR to be ready for next year.
They might not win the SB every year but the front office is putting a good product on the field while reloading their roster over 3 drafts. This will keep them one of the top franchises in the NFL for years to come.
That’s pretty much my take on it as well. Some fans will let their emotions get the better of them but that’s to be expected.
I hear there is a deal brewing between the packers and my falcons.
Some fans ignore the fact that players get older, slower and injury prone or that the guy that was great 5 years ago is no longer worth $4 million a year at 2/3 the output. That the Pats won 3/4 SBs earlier in the decade while managing to make the playoffs 3/4 years save for last year’s 11-4 Brady-less campaign is amazing.
The other team that’s really good at that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They haven’t exactly struggled this decade either.
Here is a little tidbit from a Patriots web site....
For those who think that the loss of Seymour won’t be felt:
Adjusted Line Yards for running on the Pats (and ranking)
Left End: 4.30 (20th)
Left Tackle: 2.88 (2nd) <-— Seymour
Mid/Guard: 4.18 (14th) <— Wilfork
Right Tackle: 4.26 (22nd) <— Warren
Right End: 4.41 (24th)
Which of these numbers is not like the other? Since most people only seem to evaluate defensive players for their sack totals, Seymour doesn’t get anywhere near his due, because his greatest value is in that he absolutely shuts down the run. It’s impossible to run behind the left tackle when Seymour’s playing.
So basically, we just lost our best run-stopper and our top pass-rusher on the DL. AKA, the MVP of our defense. I get that we got value for him before he walked, but don’t be surprised when our run defense suddenly becomes a problem this year. Maybe Belichick’s banking on our opponents playing from too far behind to exploit Seymour’s absence against the run, but this isn’t going to help us win any games in january...
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