PHOTO:Richard Seymour #93 of the New England Patriots looks on before the
pre season game against the New Orleans Saints at Gillette Stadium on August 18,
2005 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Saints defeated the Patriots 37-27. (Photo
by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Richard
Seymour: Monster in the Middle
By Site Staff
Linebacker Tedy Bruschi isn't the only Pro Bowl defender the Patriots are hoping to have back
in the lineup when they host the Buffalo Bills in Week 8. Defensive end Richard
Seymour, who missed the last two games before the bye week, wants to suit up as
well. "I expect to be there," Seymour said. "Definitely."
While
Bruschi's comeback from an off-season stroke clearly has been the big story around
the team, Seymour's return would be equally welcome news for a club whose defense
has crumbled.
Seymour is attempting to recover from a much more routine
problem -- a hurt knee. The odd twist is that he injured it while playing goal-line
fullback against the Chargers in Week 4. Quizzed about whether his days on offense
could be over, Seymour said, "I'm just playing football. Whatever is asked
of me, that's what I've always done."
Seymour has done his main job
-- terrorize offensive linemen -- so well that he earned three Pro Bowl invitations
and two All-Pro nods (to say nothing of three Super Bowl rings) in his first four
seasons. Statistically, he was off to the best start of his career (36 tackles,
2 sacks) when running back Corey Dillon fell on him in the end zone at the end
of a touchdown run.
The Patriots have split their two games without Seymour.
With Jarvis Green filling in for him, the defensive line played well in a victory
in Atlanta, but not so well in a loss in Denver. Consistency has been elusive
for the Patriots in all phases of the game this season, but Seymour thinks having
Bruschi and him on the field again could be a tonic.
"I think if we
go out and continue to play the way we played in the past, I think (it will help),"
he said. "It always helps to get guys back and to get some playmakers on
the field."
Still, Seymour knows reputations alone won't solve the
Patriots' defensive woes.
"It doesn't matter who you have in the huddle,"
he said. "What really matters is what you do on the football field. You could
bring (out) Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White and put all those guys on the field,
but if they don't contribute or make plays, it really doesn't matter."
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