Re: Bigger impact - Seymour's mouth or his game?
Really? Richard had things to say about Deion Branch leaving and he had things to say about the coaching staff last season after he played like a dog all year long. Now this season we get the he hurt his knee 2 1/2 years ago spin? This knee was so damaged it required a minor scope procedure not a major surgery. It's affected him for 2 1/2 years? He's making excuses for playing like a dog since he signed a big contract a couple of years ago. Richard needs to shut up and play. We'll see if he makes an impact in the playoffs this season. Big Sey has been a non-factor on this team.... for 2 years running.
This sounds like complete acceptance of the Jackie MacMullen article from the Globe.
First, Seymour was asked how he felt about Branch leaving and said "To not have No. 83 in uniform definitely hurts." Did he critique the organization himself? No. Did the local media spin it that way? Yes. Second, in that crap MacMullen article, his exact quotes were about recovering from the knee injury that sidelined him the first 7 games. He did not critique anyone, and his personal trainer indicated Seymour would not like him stating his (the trainer's theory) on how he got injured.
So setting aside Boston media spin, how does that constitute saying anything about coaching? When reading articles about players, look for the things in quotation marks next to the player's name - that's what they said. The rest is the author's "reasonable inferences" from the statement. The players tend not to write the articles on themselves, so you may want to question whether the writer has an axe to grind with someone on the team, maybe someone like, oh I don't know, Belichick?
As for him playing like a dog the last 2 years, his stats last year look much like the stats in 2004 (that would be the last Superbowl season you may recall). As for this year, maybe you are Superman but professional athletes coming off knee injuries mid-season may not work at peak levels. I suspect, unless Belichick is an idiot, that Seymour at half-speed is better than everything else available at full.