Sort of OT: Good Grantland read on Kam Chancellor

With the game coming up, it's always practical to try to get to know the opponent as much as possible. Grantland has a pretty good read on him and just what kind of impact those kind of hits have in a game...

http://grantland.com/features/kam-chancellor-seattle-seahawks-super-bowl/?ex_cid=espnFB

Demaryius Thomas saw him coming. They usually do. No one goes very long without looking for Kam Chancellor. And as Thomas sprinted across the field, there he was — the bad man in the dark visor who lurks in the depths of football’s best defense. Thomas had one thought as Peyton Manning let go and Chancellor let loose: Hold on to the ball.

He did, somehow, even as Chancellor lowered a shoulder and sent him sprawling.

Not that it mattered. It was the Broncos’ first completion, down just 5-0 with nearly 55 minutes left, but for Seattle, Super Bowl XLVIII was already over.

“To me,” says Chris Clemons,1 “that hit solidified the game for us. They didn’t run routes the same.”

Byron Maxwell, only a couple of yards away, had the best view. “I was just lookin’ at Demaryius’s face,” Maxwell says, “and I could see that he’d been hurt. I saw a little pain on there.” Earl Thomas leaped into Chancellor’s arms. Richard Sherman slapped him on the helmet.

“It wasn’t just him making noise,” Demaryius Thomas says about the aftermath of the hit. “It was a couple of other guys making noise. Basically saying they were there, and it was going to be like that all night.”

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Good. Try that on Lafell or Gronk and we'll see what happens.

I am tired of hearing about how physical Seattle is.

The Brandon Five said:

Good. Try that on Lafell or Gronk and we'll see what happens.

I am tired of hearing about how physical Seattle is.

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That's because they're very physical. Tell me you wouldn't want a safety that hits like this...

The Brandon Five said:

Good. Try that on Lafell or Gronk and we'll see what happens.

I am tired of hearing about how physical Seattle is.

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Agreed. I hate saying it because it sounds ****y or over-confident, but they haven't really played anybody in months. Green Bay is a really good team, yes, and they had Seattle on the ropes AT HOME. They just didn't finish. And I don't blame the early FGs, I blame the late game decisions from falling down on the INT, to not being aggressive with 5 mins left. I repeat - GREEN BAY HAD THEM. All they had to do was not **** up. NE passing game is different than GB, but equally effective. Any benefit you'd give GB over NE probably shifts around Rodgers superior mobility, which was negated by injury against Seattle. They moved the ball, they just didn't finish. NE will finish. Why? Because Brady.

Russell Wilson had a great 5 minutes last game. NE just has to make sure that 5 minutes doesn't ****ing matter. That's it. They can move the ball on this team. The DL is fast, but it's small. The DBs are great, but only if they dictate routes and tempo. The short crossing stuff, and the middle of the field, are winnable areas for NE. Gotta play their best, sure. But on roster, matchup, and performance alone...if Seattle hadn't whipped Denver so nasty last year, we'd all have a hard-on saying we're going to pound these pretenders to the throne this Sunday. If Brady threw 4 INTs in the AFC title game, would you be wondering what he was gonna give you? Yeah, of course you would, that's what I thought....Wilson can get ready to back up the truck for his contract either way, but it ain't gonna be based on this game.

NE 45, Seattle 10

KontradictioN said:

That's because they're very physical. Tell me you wouldn't want a safety that hits like this...

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He gets away with a lot of illegal stuff.

Hopefully Browner can provide some punishment in return to his guys.

The Brandon Five said:

He gets away with a lot of illegal stuff.

Hopefully Browner can provide some punishment in return to his guys.

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Agreed but so has Browner from time to time. Hits like that, though they may get flagged, have a very real effect on the opposing O.

KontradictioN said:

Agreed but so has Browner from time to time. Hits like that, though they may get flagged, have a very real effect on the opposing O.

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Tom is pretty good at not letting his receivers get laid out like that, though...no?

I will say that play where Kam took out a right tackle was impressive.

KontradictioN said:

That's because they're very physical. Tell me you wouldn't want a safety that hits like this...

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I think it's redicilous to say that the Seahawks aren't physical, especially Chancellor. I really like Chancellor because he has shown that you can hit very hard in this day and age, and do it with in the rules.

I love the way Seattle plays defense. I also like the way New England exploits the opposing defense and creates favorable match-ups.

The heroes in the media can talk as much as they like but it's really rather simple; win in the trenches and I have faith McDaniels (who appears to have learnt from past mistakes) will design plays to get those match-ups and exploit Seattle's one and only cover 3 D. Use their strength against them with misdirection and da Gronkmonsta.

The key is and always has been put Brady in the best position to win. I trust his decision making implicitly.

ausbacker said:

I love the way Seattle plays defense. I also like the way New England exploits the opposing defense and creates favorable match-ups.

The heroes in the media can talk as much as they like but it's really rather simple; win in the trenches and I have faith McDaniels (who appears to have learnt from past mistakes) will design plays to get those match-ups and exploit Seattle's one and only cover 3 D. Use their strength against them with misdirection and da Gronkmonsta.

The key is and always has been put Brady in the best position to win. I trust his decision making implicitly.

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I was very impressed with their gameplan design back at SEA in 2012, although of course that was before Seattle was Seattle.

One concern that I have is that I believe SEA will really focus on Gronk, therefore forcing some of the other guys to step up and make plays. I don't think we'll see as much of Gronk being Gronk as we'd like, so I hope that Belichick and JMcD are well prepared in devising a game plan to overcome that (assumed) issue.

The Brandon Five said:

I will say that play where Kam took out a right tackle was impressive.

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You talking about the plays where he jumped over the RT to try and block the FG? That stuff was nuts.

At first I thought it would be a "leaping" penalty, but then they explained why it wasn't. Craziness.

I do think Sherman is an elite CB, but I always have felt the heart of Seattle's D is their safety play. They have a modern day Rodney Harrison in Chancellor and the second coming of Ed Reed in Thomas.

If/when Gronk and Chancellor collide on Sunday, the world is going to shake, but I do think that's a favorable matchup towards Gronk.

AzorianPats said:

I do think Sherman is an elite CB, but I always have felt the heart of Seattle's D is their safety play. They have a modern day Rodney Harrison in Chancellor and the second coming of Ed Reed in Thomas.

If/when Gronk and Chancellor collide on Sunday, the world is going to shake, but I do think that's a favorable matchup towards Gronk.

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I've always been of the opinion that Earl Thomas is the best player on Seattle's team. If he's hobbled, that is a major advantage to the Patriots.

In truth, I'm not that concerned about Chancellor. Even at his size, Gronk will be too big, too strong and commands a catch radius far greater than anything Chancellor and co. have defended.

Gronk is the biggest match-up nightmare in the NFL for a good reason. Ironically, one of those reasons is his athleticism, which is critically underrated.

ausbacker said:

I've always been of the opinion that Earl Thomas is the best player on Seattle's team. If he's hobbled, that is a major advantage to the Patriots.

In truth, I'm not that concerned about Chancellor. Even at his size, Gronk will be too big, too strong and commands a catch radius far greater than anything Chancellor and co. have defended.

Gronk is the biggest match-up nightmare in the NFL for a good reason. Ironically, one of those reasons is his athleticism, which is critically underrated.

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I agree. Thomas IS the best player in Seattle, at least on defense. Sherman gets the attention because of his mouth.

supafly said:

You talking about the plays where he jumped over the RT to try and block the FG? That stuff was nuts.

At first I thought it would be a "leaping" penalty, but then they explained why it wasn't. Craziness.

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No, in Kontra's video in the OP there is a play where Kam knocks a RT on his butt and blows up a run play.

supafly said:

One concern that I have is that I believe SEA will really focus on Gronk, therefore forcing some of the other guys to step up and make plays. I don't think we'll see as much of Gronk being Gronk as we'd like, so I hope that Belichick and JMcD are well prepared in devising a game plan to overcome that (assumed) issue.

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I am of the opinion that if Seattle really focuses on Gronk, he will be split out wide. He is talented enough (and healthy enough) to handle any routes outside the hashes and this will put the Seattle D in an unfamiliar place and make them do something they don't want to.

The more articles I've read this week on how Seattle likes to play the more convinced I am the Pats will split out either Gronk or Vereen wide to move Chancellor and Wright\Wagner out of the middle of the field. Seattle knows that's where Brady is most efficient and they're going to funnel everything to the center and try to beat up the Pat's receivers like they did the Broncos. Having an effective running game to keep the LBs shallow will also be key. If Seattle stays in cover-3 getting somebody out of the middle will be very important. If Seattle goes cover-1 they have to push the seam with Gronk.

PP2 said:

I am of the opinion that if Seattle really focuses on Gronk, he will be split out wide. He is talented enough (and healthy enough) to handle any routes outside the hashes and this will put the Seattle D in an unfamiliar place and make them do something they don't want to.

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It will also test out Sherman's elbow. Harder to press Gronk than Edelman or LaFell.

Not sure how to post gifs, but here's Jimmy Graham running away from Kam Chancellor in favour of getting hit by 6,4 250lbs KJ Wright for a smaller gain. http://cdn.makeagif.com/media/7-15-2014/taj2fN.gif

His physicality isn't something you can dismiss, admittedly I can't see anyone laying a decent hit on Gronk, but anyone else looking to catch a ball over the middle should keep their head on a swivel.

You guys know how important BB can be as a tone setter. I bet you've witnessed the receiver's hearing footsteps. I've always had respect for the Pats toughness ever since Wes Welker got abused by Browner a couple of years back and kept getting back up, and while I don't expect your guys to go hiding like the Broncos did, you'd be foolish to dismiss Chancellor, and I know most wont.

I expect a few hits like the one on Thomas from Kam in this game. Brady is better than Manning at not hanging his receivers out like that, but if he wants to win this game he's going to HAVE to attack the middle at some point. So the hits will be there, but I do think that our receivers have a better chance of bouncing back from it and not letting it get in their heads than the Broncos receivers did. Those guys are soft as cupcakes. Even Amendola, who has a reputation as injury prone, is a tough SOB who won't let a knock keep him from going over the middle.