What is Seymour's future with the Pats?

[RayClay]

I'm not sure Seymour is injured that much more then any DL. Seems like every teams best DL is out a decent amount of time during the season. Does anyone have some type of litmus test for this?

He's coming off a major knee injury.

 

[Lampshade]

I defy anyone, even those of us non-experts on Xs and Os, to put in a tape from this season, watch Seymour on every play, and still say he should be traded/cut/whatever. Just watch how much attention he gets from the offense: more than Wilfork, and exponentially more than Warren.

If he wasn't the best player on the D last year, he was pretty darn close.

 

[RayClay]

I defy anyone, even those of us non-experts on Xs and Os, to put in a tape from this season, watch Seymour on every play, and still say he should be traded/cut/whatever. Just watch how much attention he gets from the offense: more than Wilfork, and exponentially more than Warren.

If he wasn't the best player on the D last year, he was pretty darn close.

Plus he had 8 sacks to offset the nonexistent rush from the OLBs.

I just looked at his games played. Even without his major knee surgery and complications, he hasn't missed many games.

I don't understand this for the life of me. You draft and develop tons of players. A handful or less become league wide greats.

Those are the ones you get rid of?

 

[maverick4]

There are going to be some major big name trade-aways or cuts this year. Who do you propose the Pats move then to make room for the Cassel franchise move?

 

[Kontradiction]

Taylor is 34. The Dolphins were 1-15 and he was not happy there.

Good teams keep their best players if they can.

Good teams can but eventually, dynasties and great teams die because they are willing to shell out cash to the best players on the team even if it is a bad idea and can cripple you from being able to help out other areas of need. Taylor was 34 but he was still the best player on the Dolphins' defense at the time of his trade. They cut loose all that cash and addressed the rest of the defense. You're "if they can" at the end pretty much concurs with everything I've been saying, believe it or not.

?

Again, where do you guys get the information on what the front office is willing to pay?

We're not. We're saying IF. All of us, well... most of us, would love to keep Seymour. We're not saying to pay the man peanuts and hold out hope that he'll play with us. He deserves some good money. But not top dollar (as in the most money for a defensive lineman in the league). And you can get his dollar information by looking at Miguel's cap page. He just put up his new one if you're interested.

Also, please realize that this is purely speculation. Neither you nor I know what the front office plans to do with Seymour's contract.

 

[Kontradiction]

I defy anyone, even those of us non-experts on Xs and Os, to put in a tape from this season, watch Seymour on every play, and still say he should be traded/cut/whatever. Just watch how much attention he gets from the offense: more than Wilfork, and exponentially more than Warren.

If he wasn't the best player on the D last year, he was pretty darn close.

Yeah, he played some outstanding football for us this year. He was one of the only guys on the defense that CONSTANTLY wrecked havoc on opposing offenses game in and game out.

 

[RayClay]

Good teams can but eventually, dynasties and great teams die because they are willing to shell out cash to the best players on the team even if it is a bad idea and can cripple you from being able to help out other areas of need. Taylor was 34 but he was still the best player on the Dolphins' defense at the time of his trade. They cut loose all that cash and addressed the rest of the defense. You're "if they can" at the end pretty much concurs with everything I've been saying, believe it or not.



We're not. We're saying IF. All of us, well... most of us, would love to keep Seymour. We're not saying to pay the man peanuts and hold out hope that he'll play with us. He deserves some good money. But not top dollar (as in the most money for a defensive lineman in the league). And you can get his dollar information by looking at Miguel's cap page. He just put up his new one if you're interested.

Also, please realize that this is purely speculation. Neither you nor I know what the front office plans to do with Seymour's contract.

See, that's not the emphasis I'm getting from others, though I appreciate your qualifications. Other posters sound like it's some sort of game show and they can save the team money and find an all pro DE easily.

To me, I would look to lock up our most outstanding players if possible. If that's not likely, or Seymour wants a trade, the I'd proceed from there.

The first steps, to me would be do we want to sign him long term? What will it take to get it done.

Granted, I think Sey is one of the top two or three cogs in the machine (Wilfork being another).

Also, have you looked at contracts for top 10 rookies lately?

I'll take the bird in the hand myself. I think if he doesn't sign, they'll just let him go, that does happen.

 

[Kontradiction]

See, that's not the emphasis I'm getting from others, though I appreciate your qualifications. Other posters sound like it's some sort of game show and they can save the team money and find an all pro DE easily.

To me, I would look to lock up our most outstanding players if possible. If that's not likely, or Seymour wants a trade, the I'd proceed from there.

The first steps, to me would be do we want to sign him long term? What will it take to get it done.

Granted, I think Sey is one of the top two or three cogs in the machine (Wilfork being another).

Also, have you looked at contracts for top 10 rookies lately?

I'll take the bird in the hand myself. I think if he doesn't sign, they'll just let him go, that does happen.

Well we shall see what happens. Here's to hoping we'll be seeing much more of Big Sey next year. :eat2:

 

[billdog3484]

I defy anyone, even those of us non-experts on Xs and Os, to put in a tape from this season, watch Seymour on every play, and still say he should be traded/cut/whatever. Just watch how much attention he gets from the offense: more than Wilfork, and exponentially more than Warren.

If he wasn't the best player on the D last year, he was pretty darn close.

i think i have to agree with you on this one. the question is, at 9M or so per season, i think the decision on seymour would still be more of a business transaction.

hes clearly a great player when healthy, there is no quesiton about that. he commands teams to gameplan around him in some way. but, in 2009 i think he will be entering his 9th season, and is approaching 30 years old. will he continue to play at a high level? is he going to continue to play injury free? these are questions that must be answered. he has played about 20 playoff games in his career or so, that is a whole extra season of bumping. who knows how much his body will hold up. if the front office thinks he will play at a high level i think he gets paid. if not, i wouldnt be totally surprised if he has played his last season with us, or just 1 more

 

[dhamz]

There are going to be some major big name trade-aways or cuts this year. Who do you propose the Pats move then to make room for the Cassel franchise move?

I don't agree with the premise. The Pats are already under the cap by about 20 million and can create a lot more room by restructuring guys like Brady, Moss, Adalius Thomas or extending some other guys. They don't require any big moves.

If I did agree with the premise, Jarvis Green makes far more sense to go than Seymour. The cap savings is only 800k more to cut Seymour than Green. Everyone assumes Green is cheaper and going to him creates big space. It doesn't, it clears enough room to sign a guy like Sam Aiken. Green actually has the 6th highest cap charge on the team. No one would argue Green's production is anywhere close to that. Mike Vrabel whose cap savings equals Seymour and Tedy Bruschi (over 2m) aren't the productive guys they once were. I'd see both of them going before Seymour.

I expect that none of those guys get cut but if BB did decide he HAD to cut guys to clear cap space, Seymour doesn't make the most sense.

 

[RayClay]

You're "if they can" at the end pretty much concurs with everything I've been saying, believe it or not.

We basically don't disagree much, though I think others are a little off the wall.

My take. He's only 29, has some wear on the tires, but is happy here as far as I know. Taylor was not happy and looking to force a trade (and older).

I don't know that Seymour's looking to break the bank. He was well paid last time and I feel there is a number both sides might agree on.

If not and we have him under contract and looking to leave, I'd pursue a trade then.

Also, with a high profile veteran that has served well, I don't know if it's good PR to force a trade to some place he doesn't want and make some negative headlines.

If they are amicable and can't reach a number, I wouldn't be surprised if they let him go and took the comp pick. Some here think it's a game show, but other players around the league do watch how veteran players are treated and having a good image for potential free agents might be worth a higher pick.

 

[RDS11]

There is so many other problems on the defense, I wouldn't start by getting rid of the 1 player that can both pass rush and stop the run.
If the Pats wants to save some money, cuts should be made in the linebacking corps.
Bruschi is no longer starting materiel. Vrabel is still very versatile, but he has lost some speed and not rushing the passer like he used to. Thomas showed some promise as an OLB, but again he didn't consistently generated a pass rush.