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Surprise- Bellicheck defends Seymour


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Belichick defends Seymour from dirty play complaint

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Patriots coach Bill Belichick rebuffed claims that defensive lineman Richard Seymour played dirty in the AFC championship victory over San Diego.

New England beat the Chargers 21-12 on Sunday to advance to the Super Bowl, and after the game San Diego center Nick Hardwick called Seymour "a dirty, cheap, little pompous (expletive)."

"I'm surprised," Belichick said Monday. "That's the last thing I would say about Richard."

Seymour was called for running into the kicker when the Chargers punted on their first possession -- a clear penalty, but hardly a violent one. He also gave San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers an elbow to the back that sent Rivers into an exaggerated flop.

Hardwick also accused Seymour of stomping on feet, slapping heads and punching people in the back.

"He's cheap and dirty, and the head man just let him get away with it the whole time," Hardwick said.

It's the second straight year that the Patriots have eliminated the Chargers from the playoffs, and the second straight year the Chargers have complained about New England's sportsmanship. Last year, running back LaDainian Tomlinson said the Patriots had "no class" for celebrating on the Chargers midfield logo.

Seymour was unavailable for comment because Belichick gave his team three days off to rest and make plans for the trip to Glendale, Ariz., for the Feb. 3 Super Bowl. That's their chance to arrange for family travel, pack their things and handle ticket requests from friends and relatives.

"I'm sure everybody got a lot of calls last night," Belichick said. "We all did."

On Thursday, they'll start planning for the game. The team leaves on Sunday.

The Patriots beat the Giants 38-35 on Dec. 30 to complete a perfect regular season. Since then, the Giants have won three playoff games on the road -- in Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay -- as they improved to 10-1 on the road this season.

"We had a great game with them last month. Looks like they've done nothing but get better," Belichick said. "Unfortunately, it counts for a road game for them, 'cause we're the home team."

Having played recently, both coaching staffs have the benefit of having their game tapes organized already.

"It makes it go a lot faster. If it had been Green Bay, we would have spent a lot of time getting the material ready," Belichick said. "It's not an advantage. Both teams will be working with the same information."

One thing that might help the Patriots is their experience in the Super Bowl. New England has won three NFL titles since the 2001 season.

"Our organization's been in this game before," Belichick said. "So we have a little bit of history on what worked well, and other things we don't want to do."

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I can't blame Belicheck for defending his player. Also if Seymour was playing dirty, why not play dirty back? It is called doing what you can to win the game at all possible costs and it's only wrong if there is a penalty or you are fined for it and neither matters much when it helps you win the game.

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Of course he's not going to come out and say he's a dirty player. He's only following what he's been coached to do and if Bellichick admitted his player was dirty then that would be an indictment of his coaching being dirty as well.

We all know he is, and Bellichick knows it as well, but he'll never come out and admit it.

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I don't blame mumbles either and this is the first I have heard of Seymour being called a dirty player....now Wilfork or Harrison is another story.

I do remember Seymour falling on a certain Jets QB, injuring him so he can't finish the game.

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A quote from Seymour himself.

"There is nothing to hide," the five-time Pro Bowler said. "Whatever I did, it was between the whistles. Of course there is some pushing and shoving; it's a physical game. That's the way I play the game. There was nothing after the whistle, but it's a violent game and I play the game violently."

That's the kind of player that you look for on your D line.

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I do remember Seymour falling on a certain Jets QB, injuring him so he can't finish the game.

If you are referring to KC, that was not dirty....it was football....He did nothing wrong....the reason Jets fans are upset about it, is because Vilma was flagged for RTP the year prior on Brady, which was BS....

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If you are referring to KC, that was not dirty....it was football....He did nothing wrong....the reason Jets fans are upset about it, is because Vilma was flagged for RTP the year prior on Brady, which was BS....

Lets see if Strahan/Tuck falls on Brady...and they don't call RTP.

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I can't blame Belicheck for defending his player. Also if Seymour was playing dirty, why not play dirty back? It is called doing what you can to win the game at all possible costs and it's only wrong if there is a penalty or you are fined for it and neither matters much when it helps you win the game.

because if other teams did it back, they'd get called for it

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