The Daily Blog 9/10/09

The Richard Seymour situation remains quite interesting, and as I said yesterday it appears it's not going to get any better.

I don't quite know the implications behind trading a player, and having them stomp their feet and say, "I'm not going - you can't make me." But so far - Seymour hasn't gone - and by all indications it doesn't look like he's going to change his mind.

I can't say I blame him for not wanting to go to the cesspool that is the Oakland Raiders. If I played for the Patriots and was told I was being shipped off to Oakland, I wouldn't want to go either. I would have said, "Couldn't you have at least shipped me off to Detroit?"

Actually, Matt Millen is gone, so the odds of even the Lions offering up a first round pick for Seymour wouldn't have happened either.

According to ProFootballTalk.com if Seymour fails to report, Oakland will take the position that his refusal to become a Raider will require a return of their 2011 first-round selection. Such a move will also put Seymour in limbo, because after this fiasco he's obviously not coming back to New England. Most reports have made it clear that he's pretty upset about the whole thing, and I'm guessing his relationship with head coach Bill Belichick is probably irreparable.

The deal on paper was a brilliant one for the Patriots, and one that has still left most Raider fans scratching their heads. They've got to be wondering how that crazy old man (ie: Al Davis) could give up a first round pick for a 29-year old player who's in the last year of his contract. To make matters worse, they won't even have him for week one at this rate.

I won't pretend to understand the complete logistics behind this deal. I don't recall ever seeing a player blatantly refuse to play following a trade, with the exception of Jake Plummer who ultimately decided to call it a career. I don't see Seymour going out that way, but I'm just not completely sure who's on the hook for this deal.

If the paperwork has already been filed with the league and the trade on paper has been completed, Seymour should be the property of the Raiders. They should also be the ones responsible for levying any sort of penalty for his absence. This is the stance that the Patriots are apparently taking, saying that they "no longer have the rights" to him, which means that to them the deal is done. They've already filled his roster spot, and now they're focused on Buffalo.

And why not? Belichick pulled a brilliant deal and caught Davis at a moment where he clearly wasn't thinking. It's like that time when you were younger and one of your friends agreed to trade you his Cal Ripken Jr. rookie card because he really wanted your 1990 Roger Clemens "20 Game Winner" card because he was a Red Sox fan and it completed his set. He couldn't have cared less about the Orioles, and was excited to finally have a full team sleeve. Being the nice guy you are, you make him happy and you gladly make that deal. Then you quickly walk away before he realizes what a ridiculous deal he just made and pray his mom or dad doesn't call your parents and you don't get reprimanded for swindling their son.

Needless to say if you're Belichick now you're throwing up your hands and saying, "Sorry. Not my problem."

Obviously if this continues there have been some reports that think NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will have to get involved, and then mediate the two sides to bring this to a close.

Seymour's stance right now (if he continues) is clearly going to cost him. However, he knows that someone - eventually - is going to give him a new contract, he'd just probably prefer it not be the Raiders. According to PFT, per a league source, Seymour's allocation for 2009 is only $1.335 million. So, if the Raiders or the Patriots attempt to recover bonus money, the maximum forfeiture is, for now, $333,000.

That's chump change to a guy who's expecting a new monster contract. Teams make far more outrageous deals with guys who aren't anywhere near the type of player Seymour is, so Seymour's going to get paid. If he was to sit out the full season, according to that same report he'd potentially have to pay $1.335 million. Should he somehow decide that going to Oakland isn't so bad and Davis offers him $100 million, his mansion, part ownership, and a yacht (why not - he seems nutty enough for this) and he shows up halfway through the year, he'd reportedly owe the portion of the allocation corresponding to the number of games he has missed.

But the question we all have is, if he doesn't go, does New England get to keep that first round pick? I would tend to think that something would happen to prevent it - but some sort of compensation for losing him would have to be given because you obviously can't let a player control a trade. This isn't baseball - there's no "no trade clause" where the player has the rights to approve or reject a trade. So both teams are going to have to get something back, because neither wants to walk away from this with nothing to show for it.

Needless to say, this is quite a mess and only getting uglier. From what we can see right now this is only the beginning, and I for one am definitely curious to see how it's going to turn out.

QUICK HITS

- I understand the people out there who "don't get" Twitter and outright refuse to use it for that reason. However, if you're looking for timely information and the ability to easily follow dozens of news sources easily, you definitely want to use it. I'll be setting up a section explaining Twitter further in the coming days for anyone interested in learning more about it. It's not about "telling people what you're doing" which is a good thing, because it may not have ever become as popular as it is otherwise.

- The new NFL Madden 2010 game was released for the Iphone & ITouch for just $7.99, with that offer ending tonight after the NFL's first regular season game is over. From there I've heard rumors of $19.95 to $29.95. I purchased it and have to say the gameplay and graphics definitely exceeded my expectations, so if you haven't already bought it, it's definitely worth the short amount they're currently asking for it.

- We may have a new local expert joining us this season, and we're excited about the possibility of having them with us. So be sure to keep checking back as we'll hopefully be making an announcement very soon.

That's it for today. Hope you all have a great day, and we'll see you back here in the morning. Otherwise be sure to check this blog throughout the day for updates, as I'll be posting the injury report and any other information as it comes available throughout the day.