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Kam Chancellor Return Overshadows Bigger Seattle Seahawks Loss

By Erik Lambert

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Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; Seattle Seahawks strong safety Kam Chancellor (31) during Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Seahawks 28-24. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Here he comes, riding in on the proverbial white horse.  After two weeks of holdout in the regular season, watching his Seattle Seahawks surrender 31 and 27 points in losses to St. Louis and Green Bay, All-Pro safety Kam Chancellor is on his way back to what most expect to save the day.

"“At the moment, the Seahawks are 17th in total defense and 21st against the pass.It would not come as a surprise if Wednesday marks a turning point in their season. Chancellor was one of the team’s emotional leaders during several tumultuous stretches during the 2014 season. According to NFL Media’s Michael Robinson, he also does head coach Pete Carroll’s dirty work in terms of player discipline.”"

There is no question that the Seahawks have missed Chancellor.  He’s been their tone-setter the past few seasons.  The guy who led both by word and example with his hard hits on the field and direct leadership off of it.  However, is the strong safety really the entire antidote to the problems on this defense?

Granted, they’ll likely make easy work of Chicago in their first home game of the season, the Bears not having several key starters on offense (Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery both nursing hamstrings).  However, the underlying issue is that this unit lost more than Chancellor through the first two games, something they’re not going to get back.

Dan Quinn.

The former Seahawks defensive coordinator is now head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.  For the two season the Legion of Boom was under his watch, it was the envy of the NFL, finishing 1st overall in 2013 and 2014 while helping the franchise to back-to-back Super Bowl appearances.  His players came to appreciate what made him special on their run to the championship two years ago.

"“Says (Michael) Bennett, “He’s a master in the film room.”For Dan Quinn to become the Next Big Thing in coaching, his defense had to leave no doubt in Super Bowl XLVIII against Peyton Manning. In Quinn’s mind, that meant watching two years’ worth of Manning snaps in the week after the NFC Championship Game.That’s every snap Manning had yet taken for the Denver Broncos, watched, re-watched and mentally catalogued; 1,479 throws, 967 handoffs, 131 touchdowns, 24 interceptions and more audibles than there are minutes in a day.Says a close friend of Quinn’s, “He’s definitely an obsessive.”"

This is no disrespect to Kris Richard, who was elevated from secondary coach after Quinn left.  However, anybody knows there are only so many top coordinators in the league and a team can’t keep losing them without suffering some sort of decline.  They were fortunate Quinn was there when Gus Bradley left.  Is it reasonable to think lightning can strike twice?

Quinn’s impact is already being felt in Atlanta.  Through two games they rank 9th in the NFL against the run (ranked 21st in 2014) and are allowing 22 points per game, which is down from 26 last year.  The man knows defense and how to employ it to ultimate success.

Maybe Richard can do the same, but the odds are stacked against him.  That is why the Chancellor return may not be enough to keep Seattle atop the NFC as so many expect.

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