As pleased as I was with Earl Thomas' play in this post-season (2 HUGE momentum swinging plays in addition to his customary steady patrol of the deep and willingness to come up and caution to the wind in run support), I was dismayed by Kam Chancellor. In each game Kam appeared to be targeted for the first 2 1st quarter touchdowns and he came up sorely deficient.

Is this a concern enybody else has going forward?

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"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk

idk what to say, he hasnt really been a issue all year long but its hard to say when he was having to cover a future Hall of famer.
But i think we need a guy like him to cover players like Gronk or Hernandez.

I'd be very intrigued by the idea of moving Kam to WLB, Browner to SS, and having Lane, Thurmond and others compete for the open RCB position opposite Sherman. You'd increase the athleticism and coverage ability at all 3 positions by doing that, while still having a very 'big' defense overall.

I actually thought that Kam slipped from last season. Particularly in coverage. I think he's great with run support, and can still lay the wood for sure. But I thought he got caught out of position more than a few times during the season and didn't have nearly the impact in the secondary that he did in 2011. A buddy of mine said that he was the biggest liability on the defense this season. I wouldn't go that far (see Leroy Hill, or Marcus Trufant when playing in the slot against quick receivers). But there are a number of us here that I bet would agree with that assessment.

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The NFL need to start fining QB's that throw the ball across my middle... #DangerZone -Kam Chancellor

I don't even recall who caught the first 2 TDs in the Falcons game. In the game vs the Skins I am pretty certain both were backs of the backfield who went directly in Kams area and Kam was victimized badly. I was mildly surprised. When he gave up two early TDs again vs ATL, it became a pretty big concern for me.

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"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk

Maybe I'm not reading enough into this but this is my view of Chancellor being "targeted" in the two games.

It appeared to me that the Washington touchdown was against a zone defense, and it was Griffin's first read, it (IMO) just happened to be a soft spot between Kam and Earl (I think).

In the case of the ATL game, I think it's more of a situation where Ryan was throwing at Gonzalez more than he was targeting Chancellor. This (again, IMO) is the same reason you typically see Richard Sherman get thrown at more than Browner, not because the other team thinks they can take advantage of Sherman, Sherman just happens to be matched up more often against the AJ Greens, Megatrons, and Larry Fitzgeralds of the world.

I could be wrong, and I think that of the 4, Chancellor is the weakest in coverage, but I personally don't think he's deficient enough to worry over.

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The NFL is all about match-ups.

When you have a Hof-er TE playing opposite you, you;re going to look bad if you're the SS or the LB assigned to cover him.

I'm not worried about Kam... and I sure as hell not worried about Bobby Wagner.

Now Hill, on the other hand... that's a whole different matter.

Bye Leroy. Oh what could have been... without all your stupidity.

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"Wilson will come in there pissing lightning and crapping thunder! Watch out!" ... Tech Worlds, 5/9/2012

Endzorn, 3 min. later... "Football aside, I would pay money to see that. I'm serious."

Moved to Seattle in 1980. Hawks fan for 33 years and counting.

^I may be off-base here, but I am pretty certain one of those TD passes went to 'Jason Snelling' when Kam was covering him and I don't antipate his bust in Canton anytime soon.

If you watch these games again, give it your eye. I don't think Kam had his best two games this month. It makes me wonder.

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"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk

I mentioned in another thread that I won't be shocked if we bring in someone else to compete with Kam and Jeron Johnson. And I really wouldn't be surprised if we go to the draft when Chancellor's contract is up. I like him, but I don't think he's in a safe position.

That said, the hit on Vernon Davis was awesome and we needed more of that from him this year.

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My single greatest contribution to the board: "42-13" (formerly 24-14)

What would be the purpose of changing the NFL's best secondary?
Sure they are not all perfect, but collectively, they are as good as a group as the NFL has seen in a long time.

I would concur that Kam, of all the players, was the least impressive. He's still very young and will get better.

The real issue with the playoff games and most of our regular season losses is our run defense. As other posters have mentioned Leroy Hill will not be a starting linebacker for us next year. Honorable mention for most disappointing (IMO) is Red Bryant. The guy got paid and nearly disappeared. Considering how disruptive he was last year and how his specialty was stuffing the run, I don't see how he was worth the money. Still a solid player, but he did not improve and likely regressed.

I'd like to see us bring in Henry Melton and draft a replacement for Hill in the mold of Von Miller (easier said than done). Bruce Irvin must improve and the may need to bring in a couple guys to push him.

Browner was targeted also, on the last drive by Atl, a deep come-back route was ran on Browner's side of the field. Anytime he has to change directions, he is very vulnerable (think Titus Young on the slant to win the game for Detroit). If BB cannot or doesn't get a jam, or a receiver can change directions on him, he is done.

players give up scores all of the time
especially against top scoring offenses on the road in the playoffs

you can't have a pro-bowler at every position
yet we actually do in that position (just not this year)

Kam Chancellor is completely lost in zone coverage. He is a huge part of why we lost on Sunday. 2 TDs (Gonzalez and White) were directly a result of Kam being caught flat-footed in his zone coverage.

I think Pete is looking for a guy to replace Kam as the starting SS. He wants someone with more range.

Kam's a great hitter and a fan favorite, but I don't think he can keep up with where this Defense is going. He cannot make the plays he needs to. He struggled much of the year, and especially in this last game.

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Thank you for the confirmation. I was pretty certain of my assessment even with my admittedly vague recollection of who the recipients were of his coverage. In DC, as well. Both TD passes went after Kam's assignment and "flat-footed" is a real good way to describe his response on both plays. It concerns me.

I have no axe to grind, here. It is possible to support and criticize a player on our team when their performance wanes or comes up short.

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"Some people here have been groomed to accept mediocrity and lame ducks, I'm on board with the vibrato!" -SouthSoundHawk

He was hampered by his plantar fasciitis pretty much all year.

Let's see how he heals during the off-season.

It certainly wouldn't hurt for Red to drop a good 30 lbs., thereby lightening the load on his foot and making him more agile.

I'd like to see Carp drop the same 30... and finally get in football shape.

And while I'm at it, Moffitt could lose 20 lbs and never miss it.

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"Wilson will come in there pissing lightning and crapping thunder! Watch out!" ... Tech Worlds, 5/9/2012

Endzorn, 3 min. later... "Football aside, I would pay money to see that. I'm serious."

Moved to Seattle in 1980. Hawks fan for 33 years and counting.

Kam has definitely been one of the 2 or 3 weakest links in the defense all year.

I've been saying this all season. I love Kam. Was going to get his jersey this season, but I saw early on, he was having a hard time in coverage. Sad to say it, but I don't think he'd be back there much longer.

Size and big hits are great, but I think those attributes should be secondary to or at least equal to coverage skills and playing in the box, making tackles, and as far as those attributes go, I think he is the weakest link in the DB group

I doubt Pete try's Kam in the LB position, but I like the idea another poster mentioned regarding trying Browner in the SS position, Browner has decent coverage skills and tracks ball/makes interception, and on top of that some of his play in the box/tackling has been good and he is also a hard hitter

I made a similar observation of BB during the game that he'd make an awesome safety once we get a tall, quicker CB to replace him.

For opponents, its about attacking weaknessses ......... i.e. as in changing direction in the case of Chancelor or Browner. Browner brings similar strength/weakness trade offs to the field. IMO