FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - New England Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour has been selected to represent the Patriots and the AFC at the 2007 Pro Bowl in Honolulu on Feb. 10. Seymour has been selected to the Pro Bowl for five consecutive seasons, becoming the first New England defender since Andre Tippett (1984-88) to earn five straight Pro Bowl nods. He has been picked as one of two starting interior linemen on the 2007 AFC squad.
Seymour, 27, is the fifth Patriots player to earn as many as five consecutive Pro Bowl selections since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, joining Tippett, John Hannah (eight straight from 1978-85), Mike Haynes (five straight from 1976-80) and Ben Coates (five straight from 1994-98). Seymour is the first Patriots defensive lineman to earn as many as five consecutive all-star selections since the 1970 merger. He joins Houston Antwine, who went to six straight AFL All-Star Games from 1963-68, as the only defensive linemen in team history to achieve the feat.
The 6-foot-6-inch, 310-pound defensive lineman was drafted by the Patriots with the sixth overall selection in the 2001 NFL Draft. He has earned three first-team All-Pro selections from the Associated Press (2003-05) and is in his fourth straight season as a defensive captain for the Patriots.
This season, Seymour has been a leader on a New England defense that has allowed just 13.8 points per game, a mark that ranks second in the NFL and is on track to challenge the franchise record (2003, 14.9). New England's defense has allowed an NFL-low 17 touchdowns and ranks sixth in fewest total yards allowed and fourth in fewest rushing yards allowed. Seymour has started 13 of 14 games for New England this season, recording 44 tackles (22 solo), including four sacks, and has also recorded 12 quarterback hits, an interception, seven passes defensed and a forced fumble. For his career, he has played in 85 career games with 80 starts and has recorded 360 tackles (203 solo), including 29.5 sacks, and has notched two interceptions, 26 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries.
