Jimmy Sheldrup |
Two weeks into the season, the Seattle Seahawks suffered two tough losses against two tough opponents. Without a win, and in last place in the NFC West, many so called experts and fans began to question the Hawks. Fast forward to now, and Seattle is right back in the thick of it in the NFC West at 2-2. But how? Marshawn Lynch, pro-bowl running back has been banged up. Newly acquired tight end Jimmy Graham has yet to be a consistent threat in the passing game. The offensive line is still awful. The answer then, can only be the return of Kam “Bam Bam” Chancellor.
Chancellor sat out the first two games of the season. He felt he deserved more money, and so he decided to not show up to training camp or the first two games of the season in the hopes of pressuring the team to pay him more. Whether or not he should have done that is for another column, (Short answer: he deserves the money) but during his absence, the Hawks struggled.
Chancellor is the enforcer in the Seahawks' defense. A living, breathing dump truck. In the two games he sat out, Seattle allowed a massive 61 points. Not every point scored against Seattle was the defense’s fault, but to think Chancellor’s absence wasn’t a big factor is simply naive. Since his return, the Hawks have allowed merely 10 points over the two games. Granted one of those games was a shutout against the lowly Bears, but the Hawks allowed 34 points to the Rams and they are not exactly an offensive juggernaut.
Chancellor is the linchpin of the stout Seattle defense. Look no further than his play this past Monday. He helped limit Calvin “Megatron” Johnson to 56 yards receiving. He also lit up Johnson, one of the most imposing receivers in the league, with a bone crushing tackle. Later on, Chancellor forced a fumble, from Johnson no less, to help seal the win for the Hawks.
With Chancellor back and making plays for Seattle again, Seahawk fans should be optimistic about the future of the season. There are still question marks, will Lynch be back to help keep the offense afloat? Will Graham and Wilson develop a rapport soon, or at all? And will the O-Line be able to keep Wilson safe? While the team is far from playing its best football, just getting Chancellor back is a huge step in the right direction.
The Hawks may have started slow this year, but they did the exact same thing last year too. Assuming this team can answer some of the current question marks, expect Seattle to dominate the NFC West, and quite possibly the rest of the league.
Jimmy Sheldrup is a sports writer for The Beacon. He can be reached at sheldrup18@up.edu or on Twitter @CJSheldrup
