Junior Seau Announces his Retirement - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-14-2006, 05:05 PM

Seau's fist-pumping NFL days finally end

By BERNIE WILSON, AP Sports Writer
August 14, 2006

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Seau punch has finally run out of juice.

Junior Seau retired from the NFL on Monday after 13 seasons as the live-wire leader of his hometown San Diego Chargers and three less-productive years with the Miami Dolphins.

The 37-year-old Seau celebrated practically every tackle and sack with a trademark fist pump during a career in which he established himself as one of the NFL's greatest linebackers and helped San Diego reach its only Super Bowl. During his best years he seemed to cover more turf than a groundskeeper's tarp, and was rewarded with 12 Pro Bowl selections.

"There's nobody that loved playing more than Junior," former Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard said Monday. "Any organization should be as fortunate as the Chargers were to have Junior."

Seau starred at Southern California and was Beathard's first draft pick as Chargers GM, taken fifth overall in 1990.

In a sign of the intensity to come, Seau was thrown out of his first NFL game, an exhibition against the Raiders, for fighting with guard Steve Wisniewski.

Seau knew only one speed -- as fast as possible.

Beathard said he was surfing recently and ran into Seau, who was working out on the beach in Oceanside with some cousins and neighbor kids.

"He brought something to the game that very few people have brought to the game -- he made people around him better," Beathard said. "He's got the passion that is unlike anybody else. He's just incredible. Besides being a great athlete, it's the intangibles that some guys have, but a good percentage don't have. He's unique in that sense."

Seau often referred to his teammates as "my players."

"He was the same in every practice as he was in every game," Beathard said. "You couldn't relax if you were on offense because he'd knock your head off if you thought he was going to go half-speed."

In helping the Chargers upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1994 AFC championship game, Seau spread his 16 tackles from the first play to the next to last despite a pinched nerve in his neck. His 15 career interceptions sometimes led to reckless returns, and one of his wildest was a pick of John Elway that saved a 37-34 win in the 1994 opener at Denver.

But Seau played in only six postseason games, three of them wins. After the Chargers were humiliated by the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl following the 1994 season, they limped into the playoffs in 1995, were embarrassed at home in a wild-card loss to Indianapolis and never made it back to the postseason during Seau's tenure.

Seau's short playoff resume was hardly his fault. The Chargers had only three winning seasons during his time in San Diego, offset by plenty of ugly years, such as 1-15 stinker in 2000.

While Seau was scheduled to end his career with a news conference at San Diego's headquarters, he didn't go out the way he always figured he would -- as a Charger.

The Chargers jettisoned him in 2003 because he was getting older and a step slower. That spring, the team informed his agent that he was free to shop for a trade.

When Seau held a news conference to discuss the end of his Chargers' career, it was at his restaurant a few miles from Qualcomm Stadium. His pride was clearly bruised.

"I never saw myself wearing another jersey," Seau said that day.

When a fan asked him to do his trademark fist pump, Seau replied: "You want to see the Seau punch? Right now it's out of batteries."

The Dolphins got him for a fifth-round pick in the 2004 draft.

In the fall of 2003, a countdown clock at Seau's restaurant ticked away in the days leading to his anticipated return to San Diego for a Monday night game against the Chargers. But his homecoming never happened because wildfires forced the game to Tempe, Ariz.

Seau dominated in helping the Dolphins to a 26-10 victory, but said it was "the hardest game I've had to play."

Seau was sidelined with a season-ending injury when the Dolphins won at San Diego on Dec. 11. He was released by the Dolphins in March after missing 17 games the past two years. He finished both seasons on injured reserve.

"I only had one year experience with the guy," Dolphins coach Nick Saban said. "But you really hold people like Junior Seau in high esteem, not only for the character he has as a person but the competitive character he played this game with for a long, long time."

AP Sports Writer Steven Wine in Miami contributed to this report.

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-14-2006, 05:23 PM

Junior achievement

By Cris Carter, Yahoo! Sports
August 14, 2006

Disruptive. Intense.

Those are the words that best describe the way Junior Seau played linebacker in his 16-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins.

He was so disruptive that you had to account for him on every play, and you didn't know where he was going to come from, too. People will probably remember him most for his intensity, though. He really loved the game. He played football like a kid.

Every time I played against Junior, the offensive coordinator made sure our game plan absolutely and positively accounted for him, like we did for Reggie White and Lawrence Taylor. Seau even made you change your pass protections – he forced you to make changes that you normally wouldn't do for a defensive player, much less a middle linebacker.

Seau was better defending the run, of course. He was good at reading plays and figuring out what you were doing while you were doing it. He was very physical and a sure tackler.

Among the linebackers that I played against in the 80s, 90s and early 2000s, only a handful stood out – guys like Lawrence Taylor, Mike Singletary, Harry Carson and Ray Lewis. Junior was in the same class as them. In my association with the NFL over the last 20 years, those linebackers were the best.

When you talk about the Hall of Fame, you talk about consistency. Twelve Pro Bowls in a row? That right there gets Junior Seau into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.

snoop · 08-14-2006, 07:33 PM

seau was such a great linebacker, i used to watch chargers games back in the mid 90's when they were good just to see seau play

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-14-2006, 08:47 PM

Yeah, he was an awesome player. Definetly HOF worthy.

chumdawg · 08-14-2006, 09:17 PM

Never much cared for him.

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-14-2006, 09:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chumdawg

Never much cared for him.

But do you think he's Hall worthy?

#1MavsFan · 08-14-2006, 09:42 PM

He was always fun to watch and he'll definately make the hall.

chumdawg · 08-14-2006, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nashtymavsfan13

But do you think he's Hall worthy?

I reckon.

Drbio · 08-15-2006, 08:32 AM

He sounded like a spoiled preacher during his announcement. Kind of silly about the graduation stuff.

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-18-2006, 01:35 AM

Seau considering quick un-retirement

By JIMMY GOLEN, AP Sports Writer
August 17, 2006

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Junior Seau is looking to join the New England Patriots, just three days after the San Diego Chargers threw him a lavish retirement party.

"Junior left a message for Chargers President Dean Spanos today alerting him that he may sign a contract and play for the New England Patriots," the Chargers said Thursday in a statement. "If, in fact, he chooses to continue his playing career, we wish him good health and the best of luck this season. Junior's place in the Chargers Hall of Fame awaits him when his career is over."

The San Diego Union-Tribune first reported on its Web site that Seau was heading to Boston for a tryout and could sign by the end of the week. Seau's agent, Marvin Demoff, did not return several calls from The Associated Press.

Reached in Chicago, where the Chargers will play the Bears on Friday night, Spanos declined comment. The Patriots did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but coach Bill Belichick recalled Monday that he got to know Seau in Hawaii in 1998 -- one of Seau's 12 Pro Bowl selections.

"He's always been a very energetic, high-energy type of player that has made a lot of big plays through his career," Belichick said when asked to comment on Seau's retirement. "He's had a good career, 16 years he's been playing, pretty good."

The Patriots are looking for linebackers because Tedy Bruschi has a broken hand and Willie McGinest, another mainstay of their three Super Bowl titles, signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. Chad Brown and Monte Beisel are also hurt.

Seau grew up in suburban San Diego and starred at Southern California before the Chargers took him fifth overall in the 1990 draft. He led San Diego to the 1995 Super Bowl -- its only appearance in the NFL title game -- but was cut loose in the spring of 2003.

He played three seasons in Miami before the Dolphins released him.

"It's pretty easy. When a team doesn't want you or need you, retire, buddy," he told a crowd of about 300 family, friends, players and team executives Monday at Chargers' headquarters.

"I'm not retiring. I am graduating. Today is my graduation day. Retirement means that you'll just go ahead and live on your laurels and surf all day in Oceanside. It ain't going to happen."

Even as he announced his retirement, Seau said he was healthy and still able to play. Asked if his decision was irreversible, Seau said: "I can't answer that. I really can't.

"What situation can get me out of it? I don't know," he said. "If there's a need team out there, I'm definitely going to look at it. But we're almost halfway through training camp. I'm 37 years old."

AP sports writer Bernie Wilson contributed to this story from San Diego.

alby · 08-18-2006, 10:16 AM

what a dick move

nashtymavsfan13 · 08-18-2006, 04:13 PM

Seau signs with New England

August 18, 2006

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- The New England Patriots and Junior Seau agreed to a contract Friday, ending his brief retirement.

The team did not disclose terms of the deal.

The 12-time Pro Bowl linebacker retired Monday after the Miami Dolphins cut him after three unremarkable seasons.

At a news conference announcing his decision, Seau, 37, said he still could play.

On Thursday, officials for the San Diego Chargers, his long-time team, confirmed Seau left a message for team president Dean Spanos alerting him he might sign with New England.

The Patriots needed another linebacker because Tedy Bruschi has a broken hand and Willie McGinest, a mainstay of their three Super Bowl titles, signed with the Cleveland Browns as a free agent. Chad Brown and Monte Beisel also are hurt.

Seau grew up in suburban San Diego and starred at Southern California before the Chargers took him fifth overall in the 1990 draft. He led San Diego to the 1995 Super Bowl -- its only appearance in the NFL title game -- but was cut in the spring of 2003.