Tag: Kam Chancellor

Seahawks: Ranking the 12 highest-value draft picks of the Pete Carroll, John Schneider era

Here’s how we rank the 12 highest-value picks the team has made in the draft the last 12 years.

If the Seahawks are going to get back to the Super Bowl they’ll need to start getting better returns in the NFL draft, beginning with the extra picks they got from Denver in the Russell Wilson trade. Of course that will be easier said than done considering their recent history.

While their early drafts under coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Schneider netted an awesome amount of talent, after the legendary 2012 class this team’s drafts have gotten progressively much worse and only a handful of high-quality picks have been made since the franchise’s crowning moment at the end of the 2013 season.

For some inspiration, let’s take a look at what’s worked before. Here’s how we rank the 12 highest-value picks the team has made in the draft the last 12 years.

Seahawks legend Kenny Easley says he’ll miss Russell Wilson

Everyone will have their own take on the Russell Wilson trade in the coming days and weeks, but Easley is among those who say they’ll miss Wilson.

Kam Chancellor is a legend in his own right, but for our money the top strong safety in Seahawks history remains Kenny Easley, a Hall of Famer who was a three-time All-Pro in a far more brutal era of football.

Everyone will have their own take on the Russell Wilson trade in the coming days and weeks, but Easley is among those who say they’ll miss Wilson.

The Seahawks got a good haul of draft picks and a few quality players from the Broncos in return, but until they find another suitable franchise starting quarterback it’s going to be tough.

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Kam Chancellor ranks high among biggest Super Bowl MVP snubs of all time

Did I ever tell you about the time the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl by 35 points?

Did I ever tell you about the time the Seattle Seahawks won the Super Bowl by 35 points? Strange so much of the discourse about this team is about what happened the following year, so somehow one of the most dominant performances in the history of championship football goes under the radar.

In any case, in retrospect Seattle seemed destined to take down Denver that day. After barely squeaking past the obscenely tough division super-rival 49ers by the length of Richard Sherman’s middle finger, the rest seemed a given – fortune clearly had a favorite. The stories are all canon by now.

By the time the ball flew past Peyton Manning’s head on the opening snap of the game, you could feel something special happening already. You have probably heard about Denver’s star players partying in New York in the week leading up to the game, the defense breaking the OMAHA code of Manning’s audibles, the relentless hunger driving this group of super-competitive “misfits.”

That said, nobody really had any idea just how badly the historically-great Broncos offense would get beaten. Until this happened.

With that hit on Demaryius Thomas, alpha lion Kam Chancellor set the tone and sent a message – this was their day.

Chancellor played one of his finest games, but in the end the Super Bowl MVP trophy went to linebacker Malcolm Smith. While he was a fine defender, Smith won the award seemingly for being in the right place at the right time for a clutch sack and a pick-six.

If it felt like an injustice at the time, you weren’t wrong.

In a new list of the 15 biggest Super Bowl MVP snubs in history, Doug Farrar at Touchdown Wire ranks Bam Bam at at No. 4 all time.

“After the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom” defense poleaxed Peyton Manning’s high-flying Broncos in a 43-8 romp, it was decided that Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith would be the game’s MVP. Understandable to a point, as Smith’s 69-yard pick-six took the first-half score to 22-0.

But anybody who really watched this game understood that safety Kam Chancellor, the LOB’s primary enforcer, was the most valuable man on the field. Perhaps Chancellor suffered from a case of box-score scouting, but he did have an interception of his own, he put up 10 tackles, and he completely eliminated any chance the Broncos had of throwing anything short and intermediate over the middle… because every time Wes Welker or anybody else tried a slant, there was Chancellor, ready to blow it up and reinforce the fact that those passes were Very Bad Ideas.”

The Seahawks took home the trophy that really mattered that evening, but the MVP should have gone to Kam.

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Kam Chancellor suggests Seahawks could use more continuity

The latest person to offer their take on what went wrong with the Seahawks is four-time Pro Bowl strong safety Kam Chancellor.

The Seattle Seahawks just went through their first losing season in 10 years. Now, everyone has an opinion on how to fix things. Some fans want to see Pete Carroll and John Schneider get fired. Others prefer the team trade Russell Wilson while they can still get a good return. Some want to see them run it back with the same players next season as much as possible.

The latest person to offer their take on what went wrong with the Seahawks is four-time Pro Bowl strong safety Kam Chancellor. Here’s what he said in a recent interview with Seattle Refined.

“It’s hard to win when you have a lot of different moving pieces every year. It’s hard to build the cohesiveness and comradery and to be on one accord. The difference we had when I played was, we were together a long time, we knew each other and it’s easier to play for someone when you actually know them and care for them and they are family. If it’s just guys coming in and out, that’s super hard.”

An interesting take, certainly one we haven’t heard much of this offseason. Chancellor has a point about continuity – which is particularly important for the offensive line and secondary.

A major overhaul of this roster is not the best way for the team to get back into playoff contention. From the personnel side, they need to upgrade their pass protection and pass rush. The rest of it is on the coaches to use the pieces they have more appropriately. Most of that will fall on whoever the team hires as its new defensive coordinator.

Among other things, the new DC will need to take a more attack-minded approach in general – something Carroll has mentioned since Ken Norton Jr. was fired. Specifically, they should use Jamal Adams to rush the passer more often, stop the silliness of dropping defensive tackles back into coverage and not play so much zone that any mediocre game manager QB who likes to dink and dunk can walk down the field without facing much resistance.

The good news is Seattle has a strong cornerback group – assuming they re-sign Sidney Jones and D.J. Reed. That should allow the new coordinator to call more aggressive coverages.

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Tyler Lockett shares tribute to Seahawks greats Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor

Sherman responded by saying he’s proud of everything Lockett has accomplished.

Nobody needs to remind Seahawks fans to enjoy the good times while they last. What looked like a new dynasty in the NFL broke apart just when it was at its peak and most of the core pieces of those great Seattle teams have either retired or moved on.

It looks like former Seahawks cornebrack Richard Sherman’s career might be coming to an end. Sherman played this season with the Buccaneers but he was extremely limited by injuries. He was placed on IR a few days ago and posted a message yesterday about his body giving it all he had.

Sherman may not be done playing yet, but it’s clear he doesn’t have much time left in the league.

Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett shared a tribute to Sherman and Kam Chancellor on Twitter today, saying that Sherman was the one guy in the league he wanted approval from.

Sherman responded by saying he’s proud of everything Lockett has accomplished.

Lockett followed with an I love you of his own.

Wholesome.

For what it’s worth, Lockett finished with the highest offensive grade from Pro Football Focus this season on the team.

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Kam Chancellor talks about tension in Seahawks building after Super Bowl 49 loss

One of the key members of that peak Seattle squad was strong safety Kam Chancellor, who served as the ultimate alpha in a locker room full of them.

The 30 for 30 on this Seahawks team is really going to be something to see. For a while, Seattle was undeniably the best and coolest team in football, assembling an incredible collection of unique talents and personalities as they climbed the NFL mountain.

At their best, they won a Super Bowl by 35 points against an all-time great offense. Nobody can take that achievement away from them. However, it’s hard to escape the thought that they should have won more. At the very least, Seattle is short one Lombardi trophy thanks to the infamous end to Super Bowl 49. While the Seahawks still have an excellent team, things have never quite the same after Malcolm Butler’s heartbreaking interception at the goal line.

Now that K.J. Wright is with the Raiders, the only pieces leftover from that squad are Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. One of the key members of that peak Seattle squad was strong safety Kam Chancellor, who served as the ultimate alpha in a locker room full of them. Chancellor was a guest on CBS Sports radio today and talked about some of the tension following that loss. While he denies the rumored bitterness between Russell Wilson’s offense and the star-studded defense, he says there was some in other parts of the building.

“I don’t think there was any bitterness between the defense and offense. . . Maybe bitterness in other areas of the building, but there was no bitterness between the defense and offense. I don’t even know about the contract situations. I just know bitterness in other areas of the building.”

Chancellor was one of those contract situations. He held out to begin the 2015 season after playing through several brutal injuries in that fateful Super Bowl, but ultimately didn’t get the payday he was looking for. He was eventually forced to retire early after a neck injury he suffered midway through the 2017 season.

We may never know the full story of what happened internally after that devastating loss, but it’s one for the ages.

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Doctors recommended Branden Jackson not play this season to be safe

To prevent further injury to his neck, the Seahawks’ doctors recommended defensive end Branden Jackson sit out the season.

The Seattle Seahawks placed defensive end Branden Jackson on injured reserve Sunday after he gave the team quite the scare during the first mock game of the year at CenturyLink Field.

Jackson collided with a teammate during the scrimmage and was knocked unconscious for a brief time before being carted off to an ambulance. Thankfully, Jackson was able to return to the team meetings the following day.

Coach Pete Carroll, at the time, was unsure of any long-term damage as a result of the injury, but the team has decided to play it safe this year.

“It’s a situation where (doctors) don’t recommend him playing this season,” Carroll told reporters Sunday afternoon. “He really came out of that episode OK, but the testing did show him that he had a physical trait that they want to protect, so everybody has been convinced that the best thing to do is for him not to play this year. I don’t know that that’s forever, but I do know for right now. He’s not injured right now, but he’s susceptible — it’s similar to situations a couple of our other guys have had in the past. We’re erring on the side of long-term health and taking care of our guys.”

Carroll compared Jackson’s situation to that of Kam Chancellor and Cliff Avril, both of whom retired because of neck injuries. Carroll is hopeful that Jackson could return in the future.

“He is a great team guy, we love him on our team, and he’s got such spirit,” Carroll said. “He’s got great versatility too in his play, but he’s just been such a great guy in this locker room. We’re going to miss him. I asked him to stay around as long as he wants to be with us all along, and I hope he’ll be able to do that.”

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Why Gregg Williams thinks Jamal Adams may get ‘bored’ with Seahawks

Jets defensive coordinator Gregg Williams doesn’t think Adams will like Seattle’s defensive schemes for safeties.

Jamal Adams is no longer a Jet, but that didn’t stop defensive coordinator Gregg Williams from talking about his former safety turned Seattle Seahawk.

“Jamal may get bored there [in Seattle],” Williams said Thursday. “He had his most productive year here because of how we highlighted the skills he had.”

Williams added that the Seahawks don’t use their safeties like he used Adams in 2019. Williams unlocked Adams’ versatility as a coverage safety and pass rusher. Adams had 6.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hits, 10 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles and seven pass breakups to go along with 75 combined tackles. He also earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl nod and first All-Pro selection.

Williams isn’t entirely wrong. Though Pete Carroll’s defense has featured formidable secondaries in the past, the safeties rarely sack the quarterback.  

Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor – the most recognizable safety tandem during Caroll’s tenure –  tallied two combined sacks between 2010 and 2018. Both sacks came from Chancellor. Even Bradley McDougald, whom the Jets acquired in the Adams trade, only totaled half a sack during his three seasons in Seattle. The last Seahawks safety with more than one sack in a season during the Pete Carroll era was Lawyer Milloy in 2010 – Carroll’s first season in Seattle.

Now, this isn’t to say the Seahawks won’t get creative with Adams now that he’s in town. They could rebuild the Legion of Boom with Adams as the centerpiece and have him play the hybrid linebacker-safety role Chancellor played for seven seasons in Seattle. After watching Adams work in 2019, it would be hard for Carroll to reserve Adams as just a coverage safety. 

Regardless, the jab from Williams is funny considering Seattle was one of Adams’ preferred destinations and because of how well Adams played in his first year with Williams as his coordinator.

Williams isn’t too worried about losing Adams, either. He’ll work with the players he has, which include newcomers like McDougald and third-round rookie Ashytn Davis, and build around them in a way that accentuates their skills – much like he did with Adams in 2019.

“We’ll still do the same patterns of things,” Williams said. “We’ll still do a lot of the same exact things. But we’ll highlight the people we have here.”

Jamal Adams seeks to establish own identity apart from Legion of Boom

The 2020 Seahawks secondary may not be the “Legion of Boom 2.0” – and that’s alright with Jamal Adams, who wants to write his own story.

Jamal Adams understands what the Legion of Boom means to the Seattle Seahawks faithful – after all, he was a big fan of them himself.

During his time at LSU, Adams recalled in Thursday’s video press conference, he used to tune in every Sunday to watch Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, and Richard Sherman tear offenses apart. “I used to be inspired by the energy and love and passion that they played with,” told reporters. “These guys, they play so hard, and that’s what it’s about in this building. They’re all about winning, and you can’t ask for nothing better, man.”

These days, the Seahawks secondary looks completely different, with players such as Shaquill Griffin, Quandre Diggs, and Quinton Dunbar/Tre Flowers patrolling the defensive backfield for Seattle. The addition of Adams to that group has inspired murmurs across the internet of a “Legion of Boom 2.0,” a notion which Adams himself immediately dismissed.

“Their chapter is over with,” he stated definitively. “As a defensive group, as a defensive back group, we have to create our own legacy.”

That legacy begins with overcoming the Seahawks’ disappointing 2019 defensive campaign, which ranked near the bottom of the league in both passing and rushing yards allowed. Adams’ versatility will be a major part of that first step. “Whatever they need me to do, I’m going to do,” he said. “I can do a little bit of everything.”

Adams does plan on reaching out to the former members of the Legion of Boom. “All of those guys have my respect. I take my hat off for them,” he emphasized. “I have nothing but respect for those guys.”

The pressure to live up to that group’s impact on Seattle sports history is enormous, but Adams isn’t worried – the unit he’s concerned with is the one suiting up in the blue and green in 2020.

“All we can do is control what we can control and write our own story,” he said. “I can’t wait to get out there in front of the 12s.”

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Jamal Adams won’t be the first star Bradley McDougald replaces

Bradley McDougald has replaced star safeties during his time with the Seattle Seahawks.

Bradley McDougald isn’t afraid of stepping into the shoes of a star safety.

McDougald will take Jamal Adams’ spot at free safety after the trade that sent McDougald to the Jets and Adams to the Seahawks. However, McDougald has prior experience replacing star safeties.

In Seattle, McDougald had to fill in for both Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas — two former members of Seattle’s Legion of Boom. That certainly wasn’t an easy task given that both players were Pro Bowlers multiple times with the Seahawks.

McDougald has put together a solid NFL career, though. He’s entering his eighth year in the league after going undrafted out of Kansas in 2013. McDougald started at free safety in two of his four years in Tampa Bay before joining the Seahawks in 2017 as a backup.

In 2018, McDougald became the full-time starting strong safety and performed well. He had 76 total tackles, nine pass defenses, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery in his first full year as a starter. McDougald followed it up with 68 total tackles, six pass defenses, two interceptions, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery last season. Overall, McDougald has 10 career interceptions.

While there is an obvious drop-off in talent between McDougald and Adams, the former is a dependable player who won’t be phased taking over for a fan-favorite star. That should be good news for McDougald as he adjusts to the pressure of playing in New York and replacing a player of Adams’ caliber.