Bill was never angry at Seymour. Seymour stayed past the funeral. He'd been given time off. He never called to clear any more. Bill was simply setting a tone with a young man who was being groomed for leadership. Richard never accepted that. He felt he should be the exception to the rule. Most players want to believe they are too. Bill and the organization bent over backwards to accommodate Seymour after the fact. They increased his pay to end his holdout. They promoted him to the public as a leader tried to show him the potential benefits of becoming an icon in a sports town. Kraft took him to Israel. They gave him a new deal at top tier money a year later. But they had their doubts it would ever workout, which is why it was a 3 year extension and not a 7 year one, and it didn't. Richard could not play effectively hurt, he was hurt a lot, and he seemed to think that is what it is. He'd become increasingly vocal even as he became less impactful or productive. He became the guy who raised him as a rookie, Lawyer Milloy. Bill loved them both but they were not the players he hoped they'd be. Both became entitled and complacent.
I think Warren was trending in the same direction, although he never was a vocal leader or complainer. Never really emerged as a leader at all. Took his money early in a discounted extension and then coasted. Bill needed leaders to step up on defense on and off the field in 2009 and he didn't have any. Mayo was just a sophomore and coming back from injury, Wilfork didn't step up either - but he had issues related to being in his contract year. Seymour had one foot out the door. AD had both feet out the door. It was as Bill calls them a situation, and Warren failed to step up and play it. And coming off it he decided to skip the 2010 off season and go back to school... And then days into camp he reinjured something he had chosen not to take care of sooner and he decided to take care of it right then and there. TBC syndrome... Well, Bill decided this year it was time for the team to move on.
As long as they ultimately deliver, Bill is generally more forgiving than this fan base when it comes to players taking care of their business. He is also better equipped and less forgiving than most of this fan base when it comes to assessing performance and whether or not they are taking care of his business which is preparing to win football games and championships.
