http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/story/12166674 Wow... epic fail. Pats trade away a guy, who they really don't even need, for a potential top 5 pick in the 2011 draft (who knows, they may even land the 1st pick of the draft). On the other side, the Raiders are going absolutely nowhere. Seymour is on the edge of his prime. This is a team that most likely won't make the playoffs until Seymour retires. Makes absolutely no sense to trade away their pick. I would understand this deal if the Raiders were anywhere near competitive, but they're not. The Seymour deal doesn't change anything because they have so many weakness. Al Davis FTL
Patriots traded away a guy they didn't even need? We'll see about that. Seymour is a giant run stuffer. We'll see in December if the Pats needed Seymour or not. Let's say you have to travel to Pittsburgh for a road Playoff game with the Steelers, who always try to run the ball right up your throat. That's when we'll know if they miss Seymour or not.
It does hurt the Pats for the next two seasons, and I would be more worried with winning now than later. They probably won't find replacements for Moss/Brady/etc. for quite some time, NE should take advantage of the special window they have.
He makes them better, but they don't need him. Considering he only played 9 games during the Pat's 18-1 season, where they pretty much dominated, I'm pretty sure they'll survive his absence if it means getting a top 5 pick of the draft. Knowing the Pats though, whoever they put in to replace Seymour will become a stud anyway. The Pats just robbed the Raiders like they did with Randy Moss.
Well I'm not sure they will recreate 18-1 again, NE needs all the help they can get. If you think about it they got nothing in return for two years, and then they have to wait for that new guy to develop which might be after the Superbowl contending Pats are way past their prime.
I completely agree. I understand building for the future - but for Brady & co. the future is NOW. The Pats may be competing for a championship this year, but they won't dominate like they did in 2007. The Steelers & Titans are right there - two physical teams that like to pound the ball on the ground. And the Ravers and Colts are there too. I'm scratching my head on this one. I can't think of one reason that makes Seymour expendable. He's 29, in the prime of his career, and the Pats figure to be in the hunt for a title this season. I don't buy into the theory that they can plug in Jarvis Green or Myron Pryor (or anybody else) and that defense won't miss a beat. When you have a dominating defensive lineman like that - it makes everyone better. Teams either double team that guy, or they just stay away from his side. Either way - That makes their schemes more predictable. I don't see how losing Seymour doesn't hurt that defense this season.
This trade is confusing for both teams for sure, but Pats should get the edge since they will get a youngster that could be a stud for years. I may be the only person that thinks the Raiders can compete for the AFC West title b/c that division is dreadful right now. Raiders don't have that bad of a defense, and if McFadden can turn into a big time weapon, I'm sure their offense can be adequate.
The Pats had Seymour, Wilfork, Mankins, and a few other starters contracts up after this season. Seymour was holding out and they couldn't afford to pay him and keep the others. Wilfork is younger, cheaper, and NTs are harder to find. They could re-sign Wilfork and still keep Mankins and some other key players. If they kept Seymour it would mean losing a few other key contributors. I've read that most think Seymour has been on the block as the Pats want to move him for value before he walks (he was holding out too I believe). Most say that there was a bidding war in the AFC West as the Chiefs and Broncos (with former Pats Pioli and McDaniels) both wanted him. The Raiders were obviously the high bidder. Pats did well for themselves in this trade when considering that they had to move him to keep their other players. The Raiders gave a lot but I think this trade could end up being a good one. The Raiders #1 deficiency has been run defense. They've got great talent at LB and DB. The run game has been very good and the pass game looks much improved thus far in the preseason due to improvement from Jamarcus and a much better receiving corps. If we can stop the run we'll be a much better team and Seymour is one of the best at doing that. Check out this post from a Pats forum: If Seymour can dominate against the run on one side of the line that will make the rest of the defense' job much easier in stopping the run overall. Seymour is going to command two OL which allows Kelly, Greg Ellis, Trevor Scott, and Gerard Warren to go one on one with their man. It will also prevent OL from easily getting to the next level and blocking Morrison and Howard. This move could be HUGE for us stopping the run. And if we improve our run defense we'll be a MUCH better team. We paid a lot to get Seymour but we got a top level DL, a possible future HOFer. Al is finally making the right move to address our biggest problem. Seymour may not be the answer by himself but hes a big step toward helping the problem.
This benefits the Patriots heavily. I doubt Seymour will even want to sign another contract with Raiders after the season. In return, the Pats get a potential top 10 pick. Seeing as their recent high draft picks haven't panned out that well, getting a high pick like that is always good. And yes, Al Davis has completely lost it.
reports are that Seymour is pissed about the trade He has a house in Foxboro and his kids go to school there. He goes from first class organization to probably the worst organization in the league. He hasn't even reported to Oakland yet, and I seriously do not see any reason why he would even think about resigning with the Raiders when his contract is up. I'm seriously going to LMAO if the Raiders traded a top 5 pick for a 1 year rental, which to me, seems very likely. Knowing the Pats though, they get a top 5 pick in 2011 and resign Seymour in free agency. Doesn't seem fair at all, probably impossible, but knowing the Pats, and the Raiders luck, I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/09/07/harrison-seymours-not-thrilled-with-deal-to-raiders/ Harrison sums it up perfectly. Even if Seymour plays well this year, you're gonna have a hard time convincing me he's going to want to stay in Oakland, out of all the other places he could go.
Also consider Al Davis probably doesn't want to pay another 1st round pick the guaranteed money they make.
If they have enough depth at the position, and didn't want to lose him for nothing I get that but they could have used a vet instead. I don't think NE will be as dominant in the near future.
I'm reading that they plan on using a lot more 4-3 schemes with Burgess, Wilfork, Brace, Warren up front. Apparently Burgess has been disappointing as a standing 3-4 OLB and hes slower than they thought he was. This somewhat reduces their weakness as far as playing LBs who are young and/or unproven as that front four should still do very well against the run and they'll have Adalius Thomas and Mayo taking up two of the 3 LB spots.
There's always something to improve, offense, RB, whatever. I don't see much use for this new guy. NE will be done by the time he becomes a meaningful player. All that matters is titles for them, they should worry about that first because New England is the perfect example of how nothing is a lock in the NFL.
Seymour is reporting today and happy to be here. Says if you wanna see him he'll be "the guy on top of the quarterback". And he's playing against the Chargers on Monday. Suck it Mamba!
It was interesting to see the Patriots struggle to stop the run in the first game without Seymour and then watch him dominate against the Chargers running game.
If giving up 65 yards to Buffalo's running backs is "struggling", then I hope the Patriots defense "struggles" against the run every week.
