Kam Chancellor’s Modified Role Improves Entire LoB, Takes Defense to New Level
Kam Chancellor’s pass coverage these last two weeks has improved considerably. On an early 2nd and 7, Chancellor played deeper than he was accustomed (which is sometimes so close he’s on the heels of the linebackers). As a result, he was still in position to contain outside if Fitzpatrick had chosen to throw to his side. Midway through the 2nd, on 2nd and 20, Kam stayed back again, then he passed on the big hit to contain. While allowing this wiggle room did give up underneath throws, it stabilized a defense that was frequently playing too aggressively and, quite frankly, was selling out Earl Thomas on the back-end.
Richard Sherman was tested early and often, and like all great players, he eventually responded; however, Sherman may have had such a workout because his counterpart, DeShawn Shead, was bullet-proof. (Eric Decker did not dress). Shead played the press perfectly and even his coverage hand-offs were beautiful. His mental game was so sharp that his body stayed loose and receptive, resulting in little-wasted motion. Unfortunately, this particular hand-off didn’t fully make it on screen, but last season, Shead would’ve hung onto his first assignment, afraid to let it go.