The bad health news keeps rolling in for the Seahawks: Multiple national sources reported Saturday that not only will SS Kam Chancellor miss Monday’s game against Atlanta, he will be placed on the injured reserve list with a neck stinger and miss the rest of the season.
Chancellor, 29, was taken from the field on a cart late in the Nov. 9 game at Arizona. He has not practiced since, undergoing tests and seeking multiple opinions on options. The Seahawks have avoided being specific about the seriousness of the injury.
A source who spoke to Chancellor told ESPN that he is “still looking to play” next season.
However, coach Pete Carroll, speaking to reporters after practice Saturday, said no decision has been made regarding Chancellor other than not playing Monday.
“We’re still looking at what our options are, and we’ll continue to do that and re-evaluate what’s going on,” he said. “We’re working very closely with him on that. That’s it.”
Asked about the reports saying he’s destined for injured reserve, Carroll said, “I don’t even know where that’s coming from.”
He did say that the injury was “not the same” as the one that has kept out DE Cliff Avril, “but it’s a similar kind of circumstance right now.”
As to whether the injury may end Chancellor’s season, Carroll said, “We’ll wait and see . . . just trying to talk our way through it and not have to do anything any faster than we have to.”
The four-time Pro Bowl selection has been the heart of a defense that has been at or near the top of the NFL’s rankings for the past five seasons. He joins CB Richard Sherman, out after surgery to repair an Achilles tendon ruptured in the same Thursday night game, on the sidelines Monday night.
Avril has been out since Oct. 1 against Indianapolis. LB Michael Wilhoite (calf) is the fifth starter from the No. 1 defense who will sit out Monday.
Bradley McDougald, who started at free safety last week in place of Earl Thomas (hamstring), will take Chancellor’s place at strong safety. Thomas is returning to play Monday, the only remaining member of the original Legion of Boom, which also included Brandon Browner, now retired.
With Thomas and McDougald at the safety spots, Jeremy Lane and rookie Shaquill Griffin will start at cornerback and Justin Coleman will be at nickel. They will be backed up by newcomer Byron Maxwell and Neiko Thorpe.
Listed as questionable is another starter, DT Jarran Reed (hamstring). On offense, LT Duane Brown (ankle), is also questionable. If Brown can’t go, Matt Tobin, a five-year veteran, will make his first career start at left tackle. A rookie, Ethan Pocic, remains at left guard because veteran starter Luke Joeckel will miss his fifth game in a row after arthroscopic knee surgery.
“We’re going to go right up until game time with (Reed and Brown),” Carroll said. “Jarran got pretty good work today, a little bit more than Duane did at this time. We’re just kind of waiting all the way through the entire break here and see if we can max it for Duane.”
A secondary impact is that all the second-team players advancing to starting jobs has helped deplete special teams.
“It’s a challenge weekly to keep your guys going,” Carroll said. “Guys like Michael Wilhoite are a big factor on special teams. It becomes a hole there, when you lose a guy that you have been counting on. When you take (McDougald) off of special teams as he’s starting to play more, you lose a guy there somewhat.
“(The Falcons) in particular are a really good challenge. These guys are really good, they’re really well equipped — kickers, returners, the whole thing. It’ll be a really good match-up for us.”
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I don’t see them beating Atlanta. I think they’ll play hard and well. But I don’t think they’ll win. It isn’t just the players missing. There’s an edge missing. A certain drive.
Admittedly, the idea of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones going against our depleted secondary is more than a little scary. And if Duane Brown can’t go then the nightmare is similar on offense (Tobin will end up being a revolving door unless we scheme to give him help on almost every play).
That said, we do have the #2 passing offense and if we can avoid our typical first half sluggishness, this could turn into a fist fight with the Seahawks prevailing 38-35.
They still have plenty of talent, as multiple bloggers on the ESPN site have said. They have enough to beat LA and win the division and win the first game, at home. But then they would likely go on the road and that’s where I think they’re done. They have never beaten an elite QB on the road in the playoffs, never in their history. And they seem to lack a resolve in the Legion of Boom this year and that was evident even when they were pretty healthy.
I understand your point about the Hawks having “never beaten an elite QB on the road in the playoffs.” However ….
(1) There’s a first time for everything.
(2) The past is largely irrelevant in team sports.
(3) What “elite” QB will the Seahawks be facing on the road in the playoffs?
The Eagles have all but locked down the NFC and Carson Wentz is having a great season but you can’t really call him “elite” in his second year, with zero playoff starts to his name.
The Vikings are currently led by Case Keenum and I don’t think there’s a single person on the planet, including members of his family, that could legitimately argue that he’s “elite.”
An argument could be made that Drew Brees is “elite” (and I wouldn’t argue against that assertion). However, he’s barely over .500 in the playoffs (6-5 for his career) and while the Saints have been red hot of late, they were HORRIBLE at the beginning of the season and it’s unlikely that they’re going to win out which means there’s at least a chance that it would be a HOME game if we play them.
Assuming we win our division, games against the Panthers (Cam Newton), the Cowboys, (Dak Prescott), or the Rams (Jarod Goeff). Cam is 3-3 in the playoffs, including a win against the Seahawks in 2015. Dak is 0-1. Goff is 0-0. As with Wentz, calling Dak or Goff “elite” is a stretch in their second season and Cam is … well, you either love him or you hate him and if you love him then you’ll argue that he’s “elite” but ….
Of all the QBs currently projected to be starting for an NFC playoff team, Russell Wilson has the best record overall (62-26-1) AND the best record in the playoffs (6-3). And he’s tied with Brees for Super Bowl wins (1 each).
As mentioned above, I don’t really think the past is relevant in team sports and it’s not just the QB that’s responsible for playoff wins and losses. But if we’re trying to define “elite” then we have to start somewhere and with 3 of the 6 teams currently projected to make the playoffs in the NFC having 2nd year QBs … (and one of the other ones having Case Keenum) ….
I’m not sure it’s going to be an issue – especially if the Seahawks get on a roll.
“What’s past is prologue”, as Shakespeare said. But let that be. The real problem with the hawks has always been road play when they don’t have the screaming 12’s in back of them. It’s just not the same bite in the dog. The last two road wins, if memory serves, were against Minnesota, when the Vikes kicker missed a six inch field goal (now the Hawks karmic issue). And against a Washington team when the QB had a broken leg.
The Hawks lost at home to the Skins this year because the QB is a damn good one, elite or not. They’ll wind up facing one or two of these fellows on the road in the playoffs IF they make it. They are NOT beating the Eagles this year, at Qwest or in Philly. That team is destiny’s child. They are likely to lose to New Orleans if they get them in the playoffs. Tough D and Brees and whatever killin’ home cookin’ they seem to come up with will win the day. If they get the Vikes in the cold again that will likely doom them.
But first things first. Beat Matty Ice tonight at 5. Then we can talk. Good luck!
Too bad, this looks like full on rebuild time for the Hawks, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing IMO (the Pats do it every other year it seems). No more reverse engineering wins with our defense. Now its time to give the young-uns some starting time on the D, and open up the offense. Its 100% Russ’ team now, and they’ll go as far as he can take em. Plenty of talent on the team to make it happen, the coaching just needs to make the best of what we’ve got. Besides, the LOB has been going at it for over 5 years, thats alot of time playing full tilt. Their success has covered alot of deficiencies that will now need to be fixed stat!
An opportunity for Tedric Thompson and Delano Hill to take advantage of.
This hurts. But “next man up” has worked in the past and should work again. McDougald started for Thomas last week and will slide into Kam’s slot this week. Shead could also return at some point. The new guys will be tested (early and often) but the team is still positioned for a deep playoff run if the backups do a serviceable job.
Plus, John S. is a magician and I feel like he still has a few rabbits in his hat. I would not be at all surprised if the team brings in Revis for a workout next week and, assuming he’s healthy, I could see the team signing him for the rest of the season and giving him the chance to extend his career by making the necessary transition from cornerback to safety. Not sure I “like” the idea of Revis in our locker room but with the trade deadline in the rearview mirror and the free agent options as slim as they are, signing him may be a necessary risk. Plus, as mentioned, us giving him a chance to extend his career (via an extended “tryout” for other teams to watch, i.e. game footage at the safety position) …. maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.
And now it comes the final curtain……… so many injuries and the old man syndrome has caught up with the LOB hate to see it come but arrive it has and the ones waiting in the wings must soar. We’ll see just how this team solidified as well as the last five years has. Russell will have his hands full but I will be hollering as a proud 12th man can even if it’s in my living room GO HAWKS!!!
The Hawks get a lot of credit for their drafting in the 2011-2012 drafts but they haven’t duplicated that success since and it’s caught up with them. The only player of significance from the 2013 draft for example is Luke Willson. Only Paul Richardson and Justin Britt remain from the 2015 draft. I imagine due to the club’s success they’ve lost some of their scouts and they’ve lost coaches since the Super Bowl win. Bringing in free agents to fill holes on the roster is only a stop gap measure. They need to change their draft failures in order to right things and overcome the aging of the roster.