On Monday, Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour expressed his disagreement with the decision of the New England coaching staff not to have him on the field for every third-down play.

In their conference calls with media yesterday, head coach Bill Belichick and defensive coordinator Dean Pees were asked about Seymour’s comments and his lobbying for more playing time.

Just as Seymour said he respects the decision of the staff, Belichick said he respects Seymour’s stance.

“I think all the players want to play and contribute,” he said. “I have that conversation with players every week. (But) I respect that. That’s why you prepare and compete for this game — to play it and play well. I respect that from all the players. But at the same time, I try to take everything into consideration and try to put the team out there that we feel like has the best chance.

“I know the players all understand that. They may not agree with every single thing, but they understand that.”

Belichick indicated personnel decisions are generally made on a game-by-game basis, based on New England’s scheme and game plan for each week.

In his comments, Seymour said he believes a team’s best players should be on the field on third down. After playing with injuries the last two years, the five-time Pro Bowl selection has been playing at a high level, and feels he should be getting as many snaps as possible.

“Every player, I’m sure, wants to play more and would like to play all the time,” Pees said. “All I can tell you is that we make the decision based on what we think the situation is and who should be in there at that time.”

Good and bad

As Pees noted, he has been on the good and bad sides of James Harrison’s quarterback sacks.

Harrison, the Steelers’ Pro Bowl linebacker, had two strip-sacks on Sunday, on consecutive drives. That’s the bad side for Pees.

But in 2001, Harrison was a senior at Kent State, and his head coach was Pees. The Golden Flashes went into their season finale against Miami of Ohio that year at 5-5 and going for their first winning season in 20 years.

Miami’s quarterback was Harrison’s current teammate, Ben Roethlisberger.

“They have the ball on the 20-yard line going in and we’re up, 24-20,” Pees recalled. “We know this is going to be the last play, it’s fourth down, unless they get a first down. I remember calling a pressure … and I pulled Harrison over to the side and said, ‘Look, you’ve got to get this guy.’ They were in the shotgun and by the time the ball got to the quarterback, to Roethelisberger, Harrison had him sacked.”

smanza@projo.com