Seattle Seahawks Secondary: Here Comes The Boom!

There are many legends and myths that come out of the Great Pacific Northwest. There is a word that Bigfoot is a long time resident. Allegedly, someone’s taking pictures of a monster in the Puget Sound. There’s even a myth, although not true, that Seattle is the suicide capital of the world (it’s actually Vegas).

You can argue about this stuff all day long, but one thing you can’t argue coming out of the Great Pacific Northwest is that the Legion of Boom, the Seattle Seahawks much vaunted secondary, is growing into the stuff that legends are made of. 

This secondary, comprised mainly of basketball sized hard-hitting athletes, who happen to be rather intelligent and know the game, is making a habit of creating havoc with opposing offenses. They are led by a 6’3 cornerback from Straight out of Compton, Richard Sherman. Sherman was only a 5th round draft pick in 2011.

He lettered into sports at the University of Stanford, starring: on the track as well as the football field. To call Sherman brash and bold is probably an understatement. His loquacious ways have earned him well-publicized beefs with at least 6 players and 3 coaches of other teams. With him being a Stanford grad, it stands to reason that a lot of his antics are mainly psychological.

Whatever the case, it seems to be working. Offenses, even in the playoffs really seem to be intimidated- and in some cases of afraid of Sherman and his cohorts. 

If Sherman is the ringleader, safety Earl Thomas is the Swiss Army Knife. He can do it all. Standing at only 5’10, Thomas is the shortest member of The Legion. There is no question however, that he is the most feared member.

The 4th year safety out of Texas, is said to be the most vital piece of the Seattle secondary and the hardest to replace. Favorable comparisons have been made between Thomas and future Hall of Famer Ed Reed. He has superior range and ability enough to cover almost any teams number 2 receiver. He disguises blitzes better than most.

There may be 3 or 4 better tacklers in the league, but even that’s debatable. Add to that that although he’s in his fourth year Thomas is only 24 years old. This basically means bad news for offenses for a long time to come. 

If Thomas is the heart of the Seattle defense, Kam Chancellor is the quiet soul of the unit. The 6-foot-5 230-pound strong safety out of Virginia Tech, is the knockout artist. He brings bad intentions to every tackle. Chancellor has been called a tight ends worst nightmare.

Nicknamed Bam, Chancellor was drafted the same year as Thomas. They’ve been inseparable on the back rend of that defense ever since. If you look all over YouTube you’ll find many devastating hits that Chancellor has delivered on tight ends, linebackers in kick coverage, running backs…everybody! He has said that he patted his game after the late great Sean Taylor. Believe me, it shows! 

Walter Thurmond III and Brandon Browner were suspended at different points of the season for transgressions regarding marijuana, with the latter- all 6’4 of him- being suspended indefinitely. This with a host of other suspensions, prompted Chancellor to speak out, imploring his teammates to grow up. When Thurmond returned, he assured everyone that he had grown up and learned his lesson. All he’s done since then is solidify the secondary ensuring that there are no weak links. 

Seattle may or may not win the Super Bowl, due in large part to injuries on the offensive side to key personnel which may keep them from scoring enough points to play with the San Francisco’s and the Denver’s and the New England’s of the world. The one certainty however, will be the one sound that you will hear if any of those teams dare to think of making a living by sending receivers over the middle- BOOM!