Bill on 'rare' Seau
By Mike Reiss, Globe Staff December 20, 2007 11:49 AM
FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots coach Bill Belichick held his Thursday press conference (10:50 a.m.) and opened by noting that the team would be working on third down today. That led to a discussion on LB Junior Seau, who has been staying on the field on third down in sub packages.
By one count, the 38-year-old Seau was on the field for all but one play against the Jets last Sunday. Considering that Seau had "graduated" after the 2005 season -- seemingly not to play again -- Belichick was asked if he was surprised and concerned about Seau's workload.
"I think anybody that has watched Junior play, if you didn't know what his age was, you wouldn't say he was the oldest player on the team," Belichick responded. "He doesn't look like it, he doesn't act like it, his energy level is better than most. He has a lot of experience and his intelligence goes along with it, his instincts go along with it, but physically he looks a lot less than that. He doesn't look like an old man out there. He's not. And he's really had very few injuries in his career, over the course of his career.
"Considering the position he plays, and the way he plays it, and the amount of contact that he is involved with, it's past remarkable. It's rare."
Seau is also performing at a high level with the increased workload.
"When you look at him and evaluate him, it's hard to find examples where he is just not explosive, getting outrun, doesn't show quickness," Belichick said. "He shows all those things and he shows them consistently."
