Tag Archives: Kam Chancellor

NFL draft, State of the team, The roster, Trades

No matter how season ends, Hawks have to make changes next year

November 20, 2015 cc 2 Comments

Chancellor, Carroll and Schneider No matter how the season ends for the Seahawks, they have some key changes to make next year.

They certainly don’t need to blow up the team completely – even if they miss the playoffs. But they will need to make a few small detonations — even if they make the postseason and even if they somehow manage to win the Super Bowl (which seems like California dreamin’ at this point).

Whether Pete Carroll intends to stay beyond 2016 or not, John Schneider needs to fix the problems that have been holding this team back from greatness and help avoid becoming, as he has called it, “one of those teams that skates in and skates out” of contention.

Bottom line: The Seahawks cannot go through another year with such a disjointed offense holding back a potentially great defense. And they have to make some changes to the defense as well – beyond Bruce Irvin leaving in free agency (they will get a taste this week of how Frank Clark and Kevin Pierre-Louis might replace him).

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State of the team, The roster

Midseason position evaluation

November 9, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks have been highly disappointing this season as the combined effects of a Super Bowl hangover (i.e., not fully trusting Pete Carroll anymore), contract squabbles and new additions have yielded the worst-case scenario: a 4-4 record.

But, they won two straight before their bye and now have a chance to redeem themselves in the final eight games.

Let’s take a look at each position to see how it has performed, what it needs to do better the rest of the year and what it might look like next year.

QUARTERBACK

Russell Wilson is completing a career-high 68.8 percent, but that has done nothing to help the offense in the red zone, where Seattle is the league’s worst offense.

Wilson’s crew has been the main culprit in meltdown losses against Cincinnati and Carolina – games the Hawks should have won.

Wilson is in his fourth season now and should be playing at a consistently high level, but he is not. Some of that is due to the subpar OL in front of him, some of it is due to the inconsistent play calls, some of it is due to him.

Wilson needs to have more urgency. He needs to change plays more at the line. He needs to account for blitzers. He needs to move more to create better passing lanes. He needs to find his open receivers more quickly and get the ball out fast.

The Hawks have little room for error in the second half, and Wilson needs to play like it.

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State of the team, Week 8: At Dallas

Bennett says Hawks became complacent, selfish, unfocused

October 29, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are looking to prove this week that they really have awakened from their early-season doldrums and have returned to Super Bowl contenders.

For the record, Michael Bennett has not experienced any hangover — even though he was unhappy with his contract last offseason and considered holding out, as Kam Chancellor actually did. Instead, Bennett has played as well as ever (a bunch of early offsides penalties notwithstanding) — and is coming off a 3.5-sack effort against San Francisco that earned him recognition as the NFC’s defensive player of the week.

In a couple of recent interviews, the always candid Bennett said he chose not to hold out because he is determined to help lead the Seahawks back to the Super Bowl. And he shed some light on the causes, as he sees them, of Seattle’s ridiculous 2-4 start.

To sum it up, Bennett said the team became complacent, greedy, selfish, unfocused — all while getting younger because it has lost some key veterans over the past two years. He said this incarnation of the Seahawks had to learn how to handle losing and needed to regain the trust, chemistry and confidence that had disappeared since the last Super Bowl. He also hinted that XLIX still lingered in the minds of the Seahawks — proof that Pete Carroll did indeed damage his team’s psyche with his stupid call on the goal line at the end of that game.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 7: At San Francisco

Seahawks getting ready for another big run

October 24, 2015 cc Leave a comment

After dominating the 49ers again, the Seahawks are set to make another great run toward the playoffs.

Bob Condotta points out that the Seahawks picked a good year to start slowly.

Marshawn Lynch means more than just numbers to the Seahawks. Beast Mode inspires the entire team.

Kris Richard’s critics were quieted by Seattle’s dominant defensive performance vs. the 49ers.

Kam Chancellor was fined for a hit on Carolina center Ryan Kalil — and he did not appreciate it.

Field Gulls with a bunch more links about the game and other things NFL.

State of the team, Week 7: At San Francisco

Can Carroll recapture his ‘distracted’ team?

October 21, 2015 cc Leave a comment

As the Seattle Seahawks seemingly sleepwalk through this season, with little sign of their previous hunger to win and killer instinct, it is fair to wonder whether the players have tuned out Pete Carroll and whether he can regain their ear before the season really does spin out of control.

Back-to-back Super Bowls, contract concerns and Carroll’s game-losing call in the last title game all could be culprits in the Seahawks’ late meltdowns that have resulted in a 2-4 record.

Carroll surely lost some players with his ill-fated decision to throw the ball rather than run it with Super Bowl XLIX on the line, and it is clear he has not gained back the confidence of all of them.

On top of that, he has a new defensive coordinator and the Legion of Boom has not been itself.

Kris Richard, the DC, took the blame for the communication breakdown that resulted in Carolina tight end Greg Olsen being wide open to win the game Sunday.

“I stand up and I absolutely accept full responsibility for what happened at the end,” Richard said. “It will not continue. We must get better and we are examining each and every single possible thing we can do to fix it, again, starting with me.”

On the field, though, it starts with the Legion. And, as Earl Thomas said, “We’re not being ourselves. I think we’re distracted.”

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CHAWK LINES, Week 6: Carolina

October 18, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Sounds like a Seahawks fan tried to give the Panthers a taste of what it feels like to be playing in the early morning. Not cool.

The Panthers always come along at a critical point for the Seahawks.

Even former Seahawk Kevin Norwood — now a Panther — thinks this game is pivotal.

Dave Boling thinks the Seahawks will use Carolina as a springboard again.

Tight ends are still a problem for Seattle — and Greg Olsen is coming to town.

Rob Rang has three key matchups, including Olsen vs. Kam Chancellor and Kevin Pierre-Louis.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 5: At Cincinnati

October 8, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are not making any changes on the O-line at this point, hoping the unit will get better as constituted.

John Boyle of Seahawks.com reviews the first quarter of the season.

The Seahawks are still the No. 3 betting favorite, at 6-1, to win the Super Bowl. Like us, Vegas knows better than to panic.

Here’s a good look at how the Seahawks always turn it on in the second half of the season.

The Seahawks have flipped the script on penalties this season, Bob Condotta writes.

That’s ironic, considering the rest of the NFL is on pace to set a record for penalties.

Russell Wilson said he feels just fine despite being sacked 18 times — a pace for a team record.

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State of the team, Week 4: Detroit, X's & O's

Wilson carried offense until he dropped ball

October 6, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Before Kam Chancellor and the referees combined to steal the headlines in Seattle’s win over Detroit on Monday, the biggest story was the play of Russell Wilson.

With Marshawn Lynch out and almost no help from his blockers, the quarterback did everything he could for three-plus quarters to keep the Seahawks ahead. And then he dispelled all of that magic with one huge fumble that was returned for a touchdown and put Detroit in position to go ahead in the final two minutes.

Wilson was sacked six times — two or three were his fault for holding the ball too long — and was almost constantly on the run. He is on pace to be sacked 72 times, which would tie Randall Cunningham (1986) for No. 2 in NFL history (David Carr was sacked 76 times in 2002).

Despite the pressure, Wilson completed 20 of 26 passes for 287 yards and a touchdown, with no interceptions. He ran his Monday night record to 5-0, with 10 TD passes and no picks.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 3: Chicago

September 28, 2015 cc Leave a comment

Kam Chancellor got a warm welcome from the fans and inspired his teammates to their first shutout since a 23-0 win over the Giants in 2013.

Jimmy Graham played a big role, scoring the only offensive touchdown. His seven catches were the second most by a tight end in team history.

With Marshawn Lynch sidelined, Thomas Rawls gave the Hawks a spark — becoming the first Seattle runner other than Lynch to go over 100 yards since Robert Turbin in 2012.

Lynch’s calf/hamstring injuries are “nothing to be alarmed by,” Pete Carroll said, although his status was unclear after the game.

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CHAWK LINES, Week 3: Chicago

September 26, 2015 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks activated Kam Chancellor and waived Dion Bailey on Saturday. Bailey could end up back on the practice squad.

As Chancellor returns, the Seahawks are starting over.

The Jimmy Graham Conundrum explained by the principals.

The Chancellor saga showed new Seahawks fans it’s not all fun and games. Will they welcome him back Sunday vs. Chicago?

#CHIvsSEA will pit the Bennett brothers against each other for just the third time.

Three keys to the game from Seahawks.com include the Seahawks stopping Matt Forte.

The Chicago Tribune (via The Seattle Times) breaks down five keys to the game.

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