Earl Thomas was the best player in the Legion of Boom. Richard Sherman was the face, with the skills to back it up. But Kam Chancellor was the enforcer. He gave the Legion of Boom its name. Without Chancellor, they would have just been, the Legion of Extraordinary Secondary Players, which doesn’t have the same ring to it. Kam Chancellor might not have been the best player in the Seattle secondary, but he was the most vital. Sure, Earl Thomas can cover all the ground he wants, and Sherman can shut down half the field, but it would have been nothing without Chancellor. From the stare through his blacked out visor, you could always tell he had just one job, hit.
Laying The Boom
People in Seattle say Mariners slugger Nelson Cruz’s bat is a boomstick, but Chancellor was a human boomstick, blowing up people all over the field. Receivers were scared to go over the middle with Chancellor roaming. Let’s just take a moment to remember the greatest hit of all time that he laid on Vernon Davis. Week 16, 2012: Davis catches a pass from Colin Kaepernick at the five-yard line before taking a vicious hit square in the chest from Chancellor. Chancellor was flagged for unnecessary roughness, but after watching the replay, you can see the call was dead wrong. Everyone from Davis to Wes Welker, Jason Witten, and Julian Edelman have felt the bone-crushing wrath of Chancellor.
Bam-Bam Kam: Seattle Legend
Chancellor will always be remembered for setting the tone of a game on defense, by laying people out early and often. He didn’t just hit hard, having Chancellor out there at safety was like having an extra linebacker on the field. He was able to stop the run but was incredible in coverage too. There are too many memorable plays to count, so here are some highlights from arguably his best game ever, in the 2014-15 playoffs against the Carolina Panthers. Chancellor showed off his superior athleticism by jumping the center to block a kick, some forget he had to do it three straight times before the snap meant anything. He also had a 90-yard pick six off Cam Newton to put the game away in the fourth quarter.
Thank You Kam
Chancellor was flagged for unnecessary roughness a lot, which caused a lot of fans around the league to call him reckless. But, he was so controlled, so surgical with his hits, and just so strong. Every hit he made looked illegal, but they hardly ever were. The strength that he portrayed every time he made a tackle was incredible, and will never be forgotten. Every Seahawk fan will always adore Kam Chancellor for the man he was on the field, and continues to be off the field. He was the glue that kept the Legion of Boom together, and Seattle will never forget number 31.