Kam Chancellor

[Coug_Hawk08]

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.

Good assessment, I completely agree.

 

[FlyingGreg]

Bias aside -- I openly admit Kam is my favorite current Hawk, although Wilson is nipping at his heels -- Kam did not have a great season.

It wasn't just the lack of "plays" (zero picks after 4 in 2011). He definitely looked like a liability in coverage.

I'm not sure what the solution is, he is a monster as a SS but teams will keep picking on him in the passing game.

 

[seahawk2k]

Fair criticism BFS.

I thought Kam had Gonzales pretty well covered, the guy just catches everything. He's not great in zone coverage at times, and there are routes he doesn't cover well, just like any player, even Sherman.

I think a lot of the year long criticism of Kam has been based in the level of "wow" plays he made in 2011 compared to this year. I actually thought he was more sound in coverage this year than last year, I think expectations were higher because of the "wow" plays last year.

However, he doesn't have the quickness in the hips that you'd want out of a safety, and he got beat badly on that Roddy White touchdown and didn't look good early on against Washington. I'm not even close to ready to write the guy off. Like I said, I thought he was better this year, but our defense is so talented, sometimes we expect perfection from them.

If there is an obvious upgrade available, go for it, but its also important to realize this guy is a key part of our physical identity on defense. Attitude helps make this defense tick, and Kam's part of that.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Laloosh]

Fair criticism BFS.

I thought Kam had Gonzales pretty well covered, the guy just catches everything. He's not great in zone coverage at times, and there are routes he doesn't cover well, just like any player, even Sherman.

...

Gonzalez had more than a couple catches that nobody makes w/out those long arms of his. Very good point IMO. Ryan was putting the ball where only Tony was going to catch it. I saw a lot of replays with good coverage and you can't cover perfect throws.

 

[lukerguy]

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?

Go back and listen to JS post draft interview on Brock and Salk. I wish I had the link, but I'm sure it can be found. He talks about Wilson, and Irvin in particular.

He said they rated a few guys ahead of Irvin...Keuchly and Barron were two guys in particular he mentioned..If Barron was available, we WOULD have taken him, and we WOULD have moved Chancellor to LB. I can't help but wonder if that isn't the long term plan, we just need a SS better than him in order to make that move.

 

[HommyHawk]

we just need a pass rush and everything will be fine. Kam makes players scared to sell out over the middle. Some one has to collect the toll.

 

[HawkGANG]

Kam didn't have a great season but I'm def not ready to give up on him, not even close. He was suspect in coverage this year especially in the playoffs. But as someone else stated this team has an identity of being extremely physical, to the point where individual players from other teams have it in the back of their minds. Kam is a big part of that identity. I think he has the skill set and the youth to improve his coverage skill this off season. I'll be interested to see if he can take his game to another level next season.

 

[Mjolnir]

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.

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.

I like the idea of Browner as the SS and trying Kam out at LB. The purpose is to get better; to put players where they seem more natural. Browner, as great as he has been playing, is not a natural CB in my opinion like Sherman is. Browner hits just as hard as Kam.

It would definitely be nice to have more awareness out there. Can never have enough.

 

[GoHawks]

Go back and listen to JS post draft interview on Brock and Salk. I wish I had the link, but I'm sure it can be found. He talks about Wilson, and Irvin in particular.

He said they rated a few guys ahead of Irvin...Keuchly and Barron were two guys in particular he mentioned..If Barron was available, we WOULD have taken him, and we WOULD have moved Chancellor to LB. I can't help but wonder if that isn't the long term plan, we just need a SS better than him in order to make that move.

I remember JS had Barron rated high on their board and likely would have picked him if he was there at are pick, but I also thought that JS or PC had dispelled the notion of moving Kam to LB, so I guess unless that was just a ruse - I don't know what their gameplan would have been with both Barron and Kam on the field

 

[TheHawkDoc]

If anyone has the Redskins game on DVR go back and watch the Redskins 2 TD's (2nd one in particular). Pause it as RG3 gets ready to throw. It's disturbing the lack of awareness in zone coverage that Kam displayed on those 2 plays. Particularly on the 2nd TD he had no threats in his area and he allowed Paulson to stand there uncontested and wide open. There were 3 Seahawk DB's standing in the middle of the field without anyone around them guarding their empty "zones". Anyone who has played knows that you "look the guy up" when you're in zone, you don't just stand there flat footed in a specified area like you are a statue planted in the ground. I couldn't believe it when re-watching the game and it really surprised/worried me.

 

[lukerguy]

I remember JS had Barron rated high on their board and likely would have picked him if he was there at are pick, but I also thought that JS or PC had dispelled the notion of moving Kam to LB, so I guess unless that was just a ruse - I don't know what their gameplan would have been with both Barron and Kam on the field

The interview with JS didn't do anything to dispel that notion. He will be a LB in the future, it's just a matter of how long.

 

[scutterhawk]

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?

I love his big hits, BUT, all you have to do is stand the Seahawks Corners and safties in a row, and pick who you think we could replace without a huge drop off, and KC comes first in my pick.
Like was mentioned before, it almost looks like he's playing the wrong position.
Why can't we find another baller like Kenny Easley ,who just seemed to nose out and locate the ball on almost every play.

John Elway hated playing against Easley, because he could never seem to figgure out where he'd be on any given play.

Not trying to turn this into an Easley thread, just seems that his style of safety play is missing big time in the legion of boom.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

Get something even slightly resembling pass rush, and somehow I don't think you'll be seeing Kam get victimized nearly as often.

 

[Tical21]

Stop it, just stop it. Kam is one of the best strong safeties in the league, period. If you think they're going to be able to upgrade the position with any kind of ease anytime soon you should start watching tennis. Does he have weaknesses? Sure. Does he more than make up for them in other areas? Sure. Is he a second year starter that is going to continue to improve and learn from his mistakes? Of course. Just stop. End thread.

 

[lukerguy]

Stop it, just stop it. Kam is one of the best strong safeties in the league, period. If you think they're going to be able to upgrade the position with any kind of ease anytime soon you should start watching tennis. Does he have weaknesses? Sure. Does he more than make up for them in other areas? Sure. Is he a second year starter that is going to continue to improve and learn from his mistakes? Of course. Just stop. End thread.

Sure, but perhaps they believe he can be the best OLB in the league? I'm not picking him apart; I'm thankful to have him as our SS, but like I said, if Barron was there, JS would have picked him and moved Chancellor to LB.