Seymour to Oakland?

Parting ways with successful NFL players so often was one way Bill Belichick developed a reputation of arrogance. Many felt he did not need any player no matter how talented they were, because he thought so highly of himself as a coach. That his coaching ability and football genius were so superior to anyone else in the NFL; players were expendable. Belichick's unfairly perceived arrogance was confused with his dedication to the "system over starpower" philosophy. Perhaps that is still the case; as days after my "Re-education of a Coach" blog post Belichick seems to have taken a step back towards his trusty old philosophy

After pronouncing Belichick the employer of a newly developed coaching method; he goes off and trades Richard Seymour. It seemed as if Bill understood that he needed system and starpower to be successful; not system over starpower. By resigning Randy Moss last off season (three years 27 million) and reloading the roster with other veteran talent this year it seemed this was the new approach. Yet out of nowhere three time Super Bowl Champion, five time pro bowler, and eight year Patriot Richard Seymour is traded. The trade is with the Oakland Raiders and has Richard Seymour being exchanged for a first round draft pick in 2011. After describing the depth of the defensive line at length (in the previous post) Belichick decides to rid the defense of its' best player? The line is deep enough to still be effective, but it would have been great to Seymour leading the charge.

Despite Belichick's success in the past with letting high caliber players leave New England; this move is a mistake. Any hope of having a dominant defense in 2009 could be soon flying on a plane to California. The Patriots do have enough depth to be a good defense, but not a great one. A good defense and a great offense is certainly enough to win a championship, but if they fail on defense we know where to place blame. A great defense and a good offense gives you a better chance to win, when compared to what New England is attempting this year. There will be no double teamed Seymour and Wilfork, which would have opened the floodgates for Patriot blitzers. However, does this truly matter if New England is the Super Bowl favorite either way?

This is a team that needs to win now and a team that needs to complete its dynastic journey with four Super Bowls in the last ten years. Tom Brady is 32 coming off a severe injury to his knee and despite his pronounced desire to play until he is 40; may only have a few prime years left. Tom Brady is the New England Patriots and while you have him you need the best supporting cast possible. Trading away Richard Seymour instantly makes the team worse. No one in the NFL will tell you that this move makes the Patriots better this year. This negative reaction is a personal one obviously, where as Bill Belichick is able to discern between emotions and football. As a fan you hate to see a cornerstone of all those Super Bowl wins be traded away on a whim. Such a whim in fact that even Seymour is in shock. He has not yet reported to Oakland to become a member of the Raiders. Not expecting to have to move across the country out of the blue, nor expecting to leave his family 3,000 miles away, Seymour remains undecided.

Emotions aside I understand why the Patriots feel this deal has tremendous value, but even with an open minded approach it makes no sense waiting so long. After all Seymour has contributed to the organization it would seem appropriate to at least inform the man sooner. Belichick's decision does make financial sense and has excellent potential for the future, but just like the word potential there is inherent risk. If the defense falls short then the move looks even worse, but more importantly what if the Raiders have a better season? Since 2001 the Raiders have been the worst team in the NFL and Belichick is banking on that trend to continue. He is hoping that the Raiders again yield a top ten draft choice for the Patriots to acquire. If the Raiders improve and have an 8-8 season or somehow better, than you will have traded Richard Seymour for a normal round one draft pick. The value is if the Patriots could get a top ten draft choice, which could very well be worth more than Richard Seymour (age 30). The intelligence in this move is also shown further by the fact that next season there will be a salary cap on rookie signings. In recent years the top ten draft choices have been making increasingly exorbitant amounts of money. Which is the reason why the Patriots have been trading out of the first round the past few drafts. However, in 2011 there will be a rookie salary limit and New England will be able to afford even a top five draft choice.

It seems unfortunate that with one year left on Seymour's contract the Patriots could not have waited until the end of the season. Yes, they do get possible great value for the future and yes they will save money, but at what cost remains to be seen. They also wanted to avoid having to chose between Vince Wilfork (also in the last year of his contract) and Richard Seymour. Potentially risking losing both players to free agency would have been more devastating to the team. For these reasons I understand what has happened here, however I still feel this is the incorrect move; a step away from becoming more dominant on defense. Belichick's latest move is most surely a "system over starpower" move with the team's future in mind. A team who had already lost such leadership and talent in the departures of Rodney Harrison, Teddy Bruschi, and Mike Vrabel needed an addition of starpower; not a subtraction.