Practice Makes Perfect: Seymour Says He’ll Play

He was a star player this season, dominating opponents and helping lift his team to the Super Bowl -- until he was sidelined with a leg injury. Now, he vows he’ll be back -- ahead of schedule -- to play in the Super Bowl.

Not Terrell Owens, but New England defensive tackle Richard Seymour.

Seymour practiced Wednesday for the first time in nearly six weeks and appeared to have no problems with his injured right knee, one that kept him out of the regular-season finale and first two playoff games.

“Any time you go out on the football field, you don’t know what to expect,” he said. “That’s something with a knee injury; you have to expect the unexpected. You can’t just do the movements you want to do. I was able to react and change directions. I did it at a high level. I’m confident I’ll be out there on Sunday.”

In addition to being perhaps the best defensive lineman in football, Seymour also is among the most versatile. He has the ability to play end in New England’s 3-4 alignment, then move to tackle when the Patriots go to a 4-3 formation.

Although he didn’t practice at full speed, Seymour said he felt “productive.” That was enough to convince his coach.

“He did everything we asked him to,” Coach Bill Belichick said. “So he’s ready to go.”

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Because of forecasted rains, the Patriots switched their Wednesday practice from the afternoon to morning and got in a session before the steady drizzle started. The high school field they’re using wasn’t as slick as it was earlier in the week.

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Safety Rodney Harrison, who has been frequently sanctioned over the years for questionable hits, doesn’t get too worked up anymore when the league slaps him with a fine.

“They FedEx you,” he explained. “When I see that envelope I open it up, read how much, and throw it in the garbage. I don’t even challenge them now. I just throw them in the garbage.”

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Tom Brady for president?

Don’t laugh.

“I think politics is something I’ve been interested in for a while, since college,” the Patriot quarterback said.

“I took quite a few political-type classes. But hopefully I won’t have to make any of those types of decisions for a while. I’m still very young in my football career and hopefully those decisions will be made after some more Super Bowls. But I do try to keep abreast of what’s going on in the world.”