Richard Seymour more like old self

Now healthy, DL has gone from PUP to top dog

Credit: Matthew West

Commanding presence: With last year’s knee injury behind him, defensive lineman Richard Seymour has been his big, bad self for the Patriots so far this season.

One year ago at this time, Richard Seymour was participating in the football version of extended spring training.

Stuck on the physically unable to perform list while rehabbing a knee injury, among other maladies, Seymour was in no physical condition to be anywhere close to the dominating force worthy of a four-year, $30 million contract.

Fast forward a year, however, and times have changed. By his account, Seymour is not all the way back. But he’s taking giant steps in that direction.

In Sunday’s 19-10 victory over the Jets, Seymour seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. Played to a standstill by left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson for one quarter, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound defensive lineman exerted his will on the second-year pro and was ultimately a huge reason the Pats front seven dominated.

As the Patriots embark on life without Tom Brady, it will be incumbent upon the defense to play its best football in years. Seymour can be a huge part of that, which is saying something, given where he was 12 months ago.

“If you take it back that far, he’s come a long way,” said Pats coach Bill Belichick. “But, it’s a gradual process, as we all know. He came off (PUP) and played. He played through the regular season and played in the postseason, training camp and preseason games. It’s been a steady progression, but Richard has gotten off to a good start this year and had a good camp. I think athletically he looks good. He has played with good power and explosiveness and has been productive.”

A few plays from Sunday’s victory illustrate the impact Seymour can have on a game without making much of a dent in the stat sheet. While he finished with three tackles and a sack, his influence was actually much greater. Consider the following:

* In the second quarter, the Jets tried to run Thomas Jones outside to Seymour’s side. Seymour tossed aside tight end Chris Baker at the snap and then acted like a rolling Jersey barrier, blocking Jones’ cutback lane and stretching the play to the sideline, where Lewis Sanders knocked Jones out of bounds after a 2-yard gain to force a third-and-5.

It was classic Seymour. He never came close to touching the ball carrier, but he blew up the play, occupied blockers, and made Jones run sideways instead of upfield. All Sanders had to do was clean up.

* Later in that same drive, Seymour showed why he’s such a force on the goal line. The Patriots like to preach, “Do your job,” and this was a good example. Seymour ripped inside of Ferguson by winning the leverage battle. He sealed Ferguson with his right arm, surged past the 6-foot-6, 312-pounder, exploded upward, and corralled Jones with his left arm.

It was a vintage display of (a) quickness off the ball to beat Ferguson inside, (b) strength to hold him off with one arm while making the tackle with the other and (c) determination not to settle for being in the backfield. If Seymour hadn’t dropped Jones, linebacker Tedy Bruschi was in the vicinity, but Seymour took care of things himself.

* On New York’s final possession of the first half, Seymour played a little two-man game with linebacker Mike Vrabel, who initially lined up in the gap between Seymour and nose tackle Mike Wright, but then curled out wide with a hand on the ground.

At the snap, Vrabel rushed from the outside, forcing Ferguson to step out and take him. Seymour then showed breathtaking agility and speed for a man his size, blowing past All-Pro guard Alan Faneca and making a beeline for Brett Favre, who had no shot.

Seymour sacked him for a 9-yard loss, and the Jets ran one more play before letting time expire.

Those were just three plays, but there were plenty of others, all encouraging.

And encouraging is a good word for the first two games of the season. Seymour looked better in the opener than he did for virtually all of last year. And he looked better on Sunday than he did two weeks ago.

At this rate, he’ll be his All-Pro self by midseason. Imagine what the Patriots defense will be able to do then.

Needless to say, a lot can change in a year.

“Some of those guys that have offseason surgery or rehab, they basically spend the whole offseason trying to get back to the previous year,” Belichick said. “Whereas a player who is healthy going into the offseason really has a chance to make some gains and start at a much higher point the following year. That’s a huge difference. It’s the difference between rehab and training.”