Tag Archives: Kam Chancellor

Like Easley, Chancellor is heart of defense

January 11, 2015 cc Leave a comment

It was only appropriate that Kam Chancellor had perhaps the best game of his career on the day Kenny Easley raised the 12th Man flag.

Just as Easley was once Seattle’s best player, Chancellor — who, like Easley, is from Virginia and once dated Easley’s daughter — has been this team’s MVP the past two years.

Yeah, that’s a loaded statement on a team that includes so many star players — fellow Legion of Boomers Earl Thomas and Richard Sherman, linebackers Bobby Wagner and K.J. Wright, defensive linemen Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril, quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Marshawn Lynch.

Everyone likes to say Lynch is the heartbeat of the team — embodying the tough, relentless style Pete Carroll wants his guys to play with.

But the defense is the backbone — the reason Wilson has won more games than any quarterback in his first three seasons — and Chancellor has been the heart and soul of that unit for the past two dominant years.

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Pro Bowl

Five Seahawks picked to Pro Bowl

December 23, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks had five players picked to the Pro Bowl, although none is likely to play because the Hawks are on a collision course for another Super Bowl win.

The Seahawks’ announcement (click to enlarge):

State of the team, Week 15: San Francisco

Defensive leaders explain resurgence

December 13, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ late surge was born of roster health, leadership and camaraderie — things that were missing at midseason — and the Hawks have emphasized for the past three weeks that they are playing for each other more than ever now. And, because of that, they are able to play smarter and faster.

With every win, they reinforce the reborn mantra that they will continue to win if they trust each other.

After the 24-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Kam Chancellor was asked if the defense had sent a message. He said yeah, “but the message wasn’t to anyone outside of this team. The message is to each other.”

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State of the team, Week 14: At Philadelphia

More about that awesome defense

December 10, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seattle defense is the toast of the NFL again — now that Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell are healthy and the unit is playing perhaps the best it ever has.

Pete Carroll said it has been “significant” to get back Wagner, who missed five games with a toe injury, and Chancellor, who sat out two games with a groin issue and got to rest his bad ankles.

“I think the camaraderie of all those guys being back in there and feeling right has been resounding,” Carroll said Monday. “You can really feel it.”

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Week 14: At Philadelphia

Hawks are for real now — and won’t lose again

December 8, 2014 cc Leave a comment

It’s official: The Seahawks are back. And it will be a surprise if they lose again this season.

They are peaking at the perfect time and look fully capable of beating any team that is forced to oppose them (because no one would willingly play them at this point).

A pair of convincing 19-3 wins over their contending division foes were impressive, but there were still doubts about whether the Hawks truly were back to Super Bowl form. After all, the Cardinals and 49ers both were struggling on offense, so was it really an accomplishment for the Seattle defense to hold them to six total points and 368 yards the past two weeks?

It was fair to wonder how a defense that had been gashed by Kansas City’s running game three weeks ago would handle Philadelphia’s high-powered offense.

Were the returns of Bobby Wagner, Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell — along with one “come to Jesus” meeting — enough to bring the defense back to its 2013 form?

After a stunningly dominant 24-14 win in Philadelphia, the answer is a resounding “Yes!”

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CHAWK LINES, Week 14: At Philadelphia

December 5, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks are as healthy as they have been since September — so healthy that they haven’t even felt the need to add a 53rd player because they know that player will be inactive Sunday in Philadelphia.

It has been a big birthday week for Russell Wilson.

Danny Kelly of Field Gulls gives his take on the Hawks’ red-zone failures against the 49ers.

Seattle’s defensive dominance coincides with the return to relative health of two guys: Bobby Wagner and Kam Chancellor.

Dan Quinn and Wagner told Peter King they are not concerned about the quick pace of the Eagles’ offense.

New Seahawk Demarcus Dobbs, who played pretty well in his 11 plays vs. the 49ers, tells his “Blind Side” story.

Week 13: At San Francisco

Hawks suddenly look like strong contender

November 28, 2014 cc Leave a comment

A week ago, the Seahawks were coming off a tough loss in Kansas City, sitting at a precarious 6-4, with a muddled team identity and facing the toughest finishing slate in the NFL. Needless to say, there were plenty of doubters.

It’s funny what five days can do to change a team’s image.

Thanks to an attitude adjustment on defense and the league’s top-ranked running attack, the Seahawks are suddenly looking pretty good for the playoffs.

A second straight 19-3 domination of a contending NFC West foe proved the Hawks are back to their 2013 form and ready to make a charge into the postseason.

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Week 12: Arizona

Defense rediscovers health and No. 1 ranking

November 25, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks recaptured their mojo last week, and Sunday against Arizona they finally looked like the Super Bowl champions they are and aspire to be again.

For the first time since perhaps the season-opening 36-16 win over Green Bay, the defense brought it like it was 2013.

With Bobby Wagner back and Kam Chancellor and Byron Maxwell healthier, the Hawks put together a performance that reminded everyone of the dominant unit that led the league last year. They held Arizona to 204 yards, 3 of 12 third downs, 3.2 yards per rush and 4.2 yards per play. Drew Stanton completed just 53.8 percent and posted a 54.8 rating.

Back from a five-game layoff caused by a toe injury, Wagner looked like he never left, playing all but one play on defense. He and Chancellor — who apparently is healthier than he has been in weeks — led the team with eight tackles. And Maxwell picked off a pass and played some great coverage — a ticky-tack PI call notwithstanding.

Cliff Avril fed off the energy of the 12th Man, getting great jumps off the snap all game, pressuring Stanton and recording two sacks. And the rest of the defense fed off those guys.

Appropriately, it all added up to Seattle reclaiming the No. 1 defensive ranking as they prepare to face San Francisco’s No. 2 defense.

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Injury report, Week 10: N.Y. Giants

O-line and secondary almost back to normal

November 5, 2014 cc Leave a comment

The Seahawks’ offensive line should look more like itself this week, and the secondary could be at full strength (in numbers, if not in health) for the first time this season, according to reports from Pete Carroll’s press conference.

Center Max Unger, who has missed four games with a sprained foot, and Russell Okung, who sat Week 9 with a calf injury, are both expected to play Sunday vs. the New York Giants.

Okung was to be limited in practice today, and Unger is gone for personal reasons. But both are expected to practice fully Thursday.

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State of the team, Week 9: Oakland

Carroll thinks his team is ready to finish strong

November 4, 2014 cc Leave a comment

Despite missing nearly a dozen key players Sunday and barely beating a winless team because of it, Pete
Carroll thinks his team has turned the corner at the right time and is ready to finish strong in the second half of the season.

You might question the wisdom of saying your team accomplished something by beating the Oakland Raiders, but Carroll’s optimism is understandable considering his team’s situation.

“Under the circumstances of this game, where so many guys played that haven’t played before, I take maybe more out of it because of that,” he said. “Offense played tough, special teams played tough; we just didn’t play well all the time. The kind of effort that we need to be a good football team was there, and so that’s a good sign for us.”

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