By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com Patriots InsiderFollow @tomecurran
FOXBORO - Richard Seymour's conference call visit with the New England media on Wednesday was noteworthy more for what he didn't say than what he did.
The first first-round draft choice during the Bill Belichick era, traded away suddenly in September 2009, was all business during the call.
At the end, Seymour was asked, "Are you hoping to catch up with Bill Belichick at all, before or after the game on Sunday?"
Seymour replied, "All my teammates out there. I dont have a problem with any of them."
The response is open to interpretation.
Seymour may have meant that, in addition to Belichick, he's hoping to catch up with "all (his) teammates out there."
New England Patriots
Or he could have been specifically omitting Belichick and saying that he has no problem with any of his former teammates.
Whatever the answer truly meant is nice fodder for speculation about grudges and hurt feelings. Suffice to say Belichick isn't on Seymour's Christmas card list. But will their strained relationship impact this game? Probably not much.
Seymour would be motivated whether he was traded or left as a free agent. And his talking points Wednesday were torn from the Patriots' guide to speaking to the media. Few specifics. Short, to-the-point answers.
"Its a big game for us," acknowledged Seymour. "We have to bring our A game in order to beat them. This is a team that we respect and they have a lot of good players, so well put our best foot forward."
Seymour wasn't willing to discuss the deal that delivered New England a first-round draft pick last April (Nate Solder).
He said simply, "For me it was a business decision. They could have gone in any route that they wanted to in terms of the draft. I dont really get caught up in who they got and what pick was it. I cant control any of that. The only thing I can control is how well I go out and play and continue to do that. Thats really it from my standpoint. I dont really look at it any other way."
Seymour's play and his off-field influence on the team was a frequent touchstone Wednesday.
Asked about his former teammate, Tom Brady said, "Hes obviously a leader in that defensive front there and when he gets going, they all get going. Thats the thing, they really rally around him. When he makes his plays, then they all start making plays. So its got to be important for us to try to figure out ways to slow him down."
The only person Seymour discussed specifically was the late Myra Kraft. Seymour came to her funeral in July.
"For me, Myra was a great lady, she was great tothe Kraft family - was great to me and my family," he explained. "I have a lot of respect for her and I just wanted to pay my respects. It isnt anything about footballits about life. You know how valuable and precious life is.
"I know how much Mr. Kraft cared for his wife and loved her and he was always an example for me and my wife to follow in terms of how he treated her and how she treated him. For me, its about the type of person you are at the end of the day, so I just wanted to go and pay my respects."
Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran.