When the Patriots began their unprecedented run of success, when they met the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl that launched the dynasty, Richard Seymour was one of the cornerstones of the defense.
Nineteen years later, the defensive lineman, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time Super Bowl winner, stands as one of the 15 finalists for the 2019 Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also being considered is Seymour's teammate, former Patriot cornerback Ty Law, who is a finalist for the second time.
As luck would have it, Seymour, who lives just outside of Atlanta, will be right in his backyard for the announcement of this year's class, not to mention, this year's Super Bowl between the Patriots and Rams at the Mercedes Benz SuperDome.
Seymour, the only defensive lineman on the ballot, is a finalist in his second year of eligibility. If he doesn't get the call, he'd certainly love it if former teammate Law, who played with him on the early championship teams, gets the nod.
Seymour was a frightening presence in the Patriots 3-4 defense. He was a force during the early Super Bowl run. Playing on the right side for then defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel, he took on double teams and still couldn't be blocked. He also set up avenues for the linebackers to make plays.
He doesn't have the gaudy sack numbers as some other defensive lineman in the Hall, but the 6-foot-6, 317-pound tackle was still a dominant and highly disruptive player on the line. Over a 12-year career, he played in 164 games with 157 starts, 57.5 sacks, 91 tackles for loss and 496 total tackles (324 solo). He also recorded 39 passes defensed with two interceptions.
He was a five-time All-Pro and an All-Decade pick for the 2000s. The latter accomplishment is one of the honors Seymour holds highest along with a few others.
Former Herald columnist Ron Borges, who is a Hall of Fame voter, is presenting both Law and Seymour to the room and stating their case for induction. Others on the ballot include Steve Atwater, Champ Bailey, Tony Boselli, Isaac Bruce, Alan Faneca, Tony Gonzalez, Steve Hutchinson, Edgerrin James, John Lynch, Kevin Mawae and Ed Reed.
A player who wasn't heavily recruited coming out of high school, Seymour never envisioned being a step away from football immortality.
The announcement is on Saturday, the day before the Super Bowl. Seymour does have a pair of tickets to the Pats-Rams game, courtesy of the Hall of Fame committee. He might attend and watch his former team, or let his two sons (ages 16 and 11) take in the big game.
While he did finish his career as a Raider after being traded to Oakland in 2009, playing four more seasons out west, Seymour still pays attention to what's happening in New England. It's hard not to. The Patriots are hard to avoid. They just keep winning.
His one takeaway from being a Patriot for eight seasons?
Asked if he felt he'd get into the Hall down the road if he didn't get in this year, Seymour sounded pretty confident.
CBS analyst Tony Romo, who will be calling the Super Bowl, believes that while most teams aren't motivated by being the underdog, it works for the Patriots.
Romo said players are more willing to go all out and lay their bodies on the line when no one thinks they can do it, when there are doubts.
It's not surprising the blown call by the referees in the NFC Division Round game was a hot topic in the lead up to the Pro Bowl.
Referee Bill Vinovich's crew missed a pass interference call on Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman with 1:45 remaining on third and 10 from the Rams' 13-yard line. The refs could have also called helmet-to-helmet contact on the play.
The call basically left the Saints at home, and allowed the Rams to advance to play the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Eagles Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins told reporters at the NFC's Pro Bowl practice at Disney's Wide World of Sports he couldn't stand watching the replay.
Jenkins, however, didn't feel there was a need for instant replay, even though there's been a huge movement afoot in recent days to make pass interference reviewable.