Q. Given what happened in the first week of the season, the thrashing you took, could you have imagined you'd be in this position now the next time you faced Buffalo?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Well, you know, our confidence wasn't shaken when we played that first football game. We knew we had to regroup. It was a tough week for us, but we bounced back pretty well the next week against Philly. We just kind of continued strong all the way throughout. As we all know, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. That's what we we're concentrating on. We knew it was very early in the season; we knew we had a lot of opportunities to get the job done. We hung tough, were able to do some good things here.

Q. I'm working on a story from recovering from a game. Can you talk me through waking up on a Monday morning, what you feel like, what it's like to get out of bed, how you start to function again?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: It's pretty tough (laughter). It's almost like a week-long process. You definitely need that week, days in between to kind of recover. Mondays are kind of tough. Usually we have Tuesday off. But Monday we come in. It's pretty tough to get out of bed. We come in and have a light workout. Some guys get a massage. I get a massage on Mondays and Fridays. I think throughout the season, the more you're able to take care of your body, the better. Tuesday is a player's day off. It's good to relax on Tuesdays. Some guys may come in to get their second lift out of the way. Wednesday is a hump day. We come in Wednesday, put in a lot of the game plan, just get ready for the following week, mental reps on Thursday and Friday. I get a massage on Friday to tune-up my body to be ready to play again. Saturday is a mental day. Ready to go again on Sunday.

Q. Romeo Crennel has been mentioned as a candidate for the Giants job. If somebody was to ask you, whose defense is this and why, would you say Bill's, Romeo's or both?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: It's a combination of both. They (Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel) work well together. Romeo has been doing an excellent job here. He's a great motivator. He's an older, wise guy, a guy that Coach Belichick has a lot of confidence in. They put together the game plan. Romeo is a guy that seems to be spoken of often now around the league for a head coaching job. I heard there's talk about him for a head coaching job in Oakland, with the Giants. His name is surfacing a lot, not just as far as a minority candidate, but as a real consideration for the job. I think the sky is the limit for him when the opportunity comes.

Q. I'm with the Houston Chronicle and have a Super Bowl-related question. What did you do with your Super Bowl ring?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: It's in a safe down in South Carolina where I live. I gave that one to my parents. I'm trying to work on another one right now. Hopefully we end up back in Houston and you can do a story on me down there.

Q. How many times did you wear it before you gave it up?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: The opening ceremony when we got it that summer was the only time I wore it. I never wore it to any games or to functions. Everyone always asks where it is. I gave that one to my parents and I said, 'Hopefully I can attain some more.' We're just trying to get back on track to do that.

Q. Did the veterans give you a hard time about not having to pay the kind of dues a lot of guys have to pay before they get one of those?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: They tell me to cherish that ring. It's not too many times that a guy comes into the league and just wins the Super Bowl. I've been really blessed my first couple of years in the league. My first year I won a Super Bowl. In my second year, I went to the Pro Bowl. This year I am going back to the Pro Bowl. I was named defensive captain of the team this year and have an opportunity to go to the Pro Bowl again. That's all been done in three years in the league. It's an honor. I'm trying to build on that. I've had a pretty good foundation for coming into the league.

Q. How are they using you in terms of where you're lining up on the line? A bunch of different spots?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Yes, a bunch of different spots. I play all across the board, all the way from left tackle to right tackle, including both guards and the center. I have a lot of film watching to do as far as what type of guys I'm going to be going against, what are some of their strengths and some of their weaknesses. I think I've been doing a pretty good job every week of knowing the guys I'm going against because I'm all across the board. Nobody can just say, 'This is where he's going to be. We have to stop him over here.'

Q. You are lining up on the ends at some points?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: At some points I am, but I'm not really an outside rusher. There is still an outside linebacker on the outside of me. I'm an inside rusher. It could be on one guard, to the other guard, to the center, all the way to both tackles.

Q. A couple years ago you guys turned things around overnight, and we're seeing a big turnover of playoff teams every year. Is that good for the league or bad for the league, because there are no dynasties?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: It's good for the league. We went from the Super Bowl to not making the playoffs to being back in the hunt right now. It's definitely something as an expansion team coming in like Houston, it's something they can say, 'Well, hey, we can still attain some of these goals because anybody can do it.'That's the beautiful part about the league. Everybody has hope and everybody has the opportunity to get it done each and every year. Once you win the Super Bowl, you just have to go back and start all over again, start from scratch again. It's going to be interesting to see how things play out.

Q. How hard is it to repeat?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Oh, it's definitely tough. I mean, you can look at from when we won the Super Bowl in '01 to not even making the playoffs. Then you can look at Tampa winning, and see where they are right now. As we all know, it's tough to repeat because everyone is trying to knock you off. It's tough already in the National Football League to do it for 16 weeks in a row. I guess you can ask Tampa. It's tough.

Q. Would you like to see the Rams in the Super Bowl?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: If we make it there, I wouldn't mind who I see. Our goal right now is just to beat Buffalo. If we can end up there as our final destination, that's where it is. We're just concentrating on winning these last football games.

Q. What makes Bill Belichick special as a head coach?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: He really pays attention to detail. He focuses in on a lot of detail work. He does a great job preparing us in every situation. He always goes over every situation that we may face in the football game, and we're prepared. I think that's the main thing about him. He's a well-prepared coach. He has all his assistant coaches prepared and the players prepared as well.

Q. How important is coaching in the NFL?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: It's definitely important. You have to have the players to get it done. But as far as coaching guys, knowing what they're supposed to do, where they're supposed to be, where to line up, the things you have to stop, I think that's something that Coach Belichick emphasizes on. He gives us about three or four things every week that we must stop. If we do those things, we're usually successful. You know, if we don't do it, then we have a pretty tough game ahead of us. We're prepared in all situations. Also, the overtime games, we've been pretty successful in those games, as well.

Q. Romeo has a specialty in the defensive line. He's been doing it forever. Is there a point at any point maybe in your rookie year or anytime where it kicked in, something he was telling you, just some incident where you said that this guy is going to help you big time?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Every day really. He's a guy that you can just look at when things are going bad and have a since of calmness. Seeing him on the sidelines, when things are getting pretty tough, getting rough, everyone is saying, 'What do we do? How do we do this?' You can look at him, get a sense of calmness. He'll tell everyone, 'Do your jobs.' Whatever he says, do it. You have so much trust in doing it. That's what we go out and do.

Q. You guys seem to be amazingly proficient at stopping the short pass. The slant used to be the easiest pass to complete in football. Teams have a heck of a time completing that against your defense. Do you think that's true? If it is, why is that happening?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Well, I'm not sure. Our cornerbacks, Tyrone (Poole) and Ty (Law) have done a great job at the corners all year long. We blitz a lot, we bring a lot of different guys. A lot of times those guys will hang out to dry one-on-one. I think that's a tribute to our secondary. That's probably one of the toughest positions on the field, being out there on the corner. They've been doing a terrific job for us all season, Ty Law going to the Pro Bowl, Tyrone Poole was in consideration. I think you have to take your hat off to those guys.

Q. Do you ever drop back in a zone blitz to cover passes?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: I'm always rushing. I have in my career. But I think I'll be better rushing than out there covering.

Q. People see Romeo as very calm and mellow. Some people will take that to be not a drawback, but the guy has to get more excited. A lot of people like to see coaches screaming at guys. Do you agree or disagree with that?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: Well, one thing about coaching is you don't have a whole lot of time to be excited like a player does. I think they have to be two steps ahead and preparing for the next play. That's something that our coaching staff has been doing, not getting caught up in the moment. They're still thinking two, three plays down the road. They don't have time to celebrate, do this and that, because they are always thinking in advance, thinking what we should do after this play if this should happen, if that should happen. I think they concentrate a lot on the next play rather than what's going on at the moment.

Q. Can you tell me the difference between the team that won the Super Bowl (2001) and this team?

RICHARD SEYMOUR: The team that won the Super Bowl, I think we went on a 10- or 11-game run of wins. We're trying to focus in on doing that, as well. Until we get to that ultimate game, I don't think we can compare it to that Super Bowl team yet. But we're close.