Appreciating Kam Chancellor from a Philadelphia Eagles fan’s perspective
Even as a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, you have to tip your cap to Kam Chancellor.
For the Philadelphia Eagles fan, the Seattle Seahawks were, for a while, the team to look at and envy. They had their franchise quarterback, Russell Wilson, a man the Eagles have yet to beat or stop when they’ve played him. They had won their Super Bowl (yes, it should have been two of them). Then, there was that defense. It was the type of defense most Philly fans wanted, stout and intimidating.
The man patrolling the back of that secondary, affectionately known as ‘The Legion of Boom’ was safety Kam Chancellor.
Let’s take a look back at the not-so-distant past.
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The Seahawks haven’t provided much to smile about in the recent memory of the Eagles fan. Six of the last seven meetings between these two have gone the way of the guys from the Pacific-Northwest. Each loss has been painful and full of bad memories.
There was a loss in prime time as snow fell at Lincoln Financial Field. Then, there were the times Marshawn Lynch seemingly ran over the entire defense and the time a long touchdown run by Zach Ertz was called back because Nelson Agholor couldn’t line up properly.
As bad as some of those moments were, the respect Eagles and their fans had for the Seahawks grew each time. Chancellor was a big reason for that. You’re all aware of how last season ended for him, with a neck injury that ended his 2017 campaign.
Now, thanks to a report from NFL.com and a tweet from Chancellor’s official Twitter account, we’ve learned Chancellor has decided that it’s in his best interest to call it a career after eight seasons.
Take a look:
https://twitter.com/KamChancellor/status/1013556290700836864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1013556290700836864&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nfl.com%2Fnews%2Fstory%2F0ap3000000939170%2Farticle%2Fkam-chancellor-believes-hes-played-last-game
It’s time to tip our hat to a legend (or two).
Sometimes, the NFL athlete doesn’t get to go out on his own terms. It’s been a joy to watch Chancellor play, and we don’t want to minimize his career by making stale comments like ‘this is what they signed up for’, but it does feel like, as a football fan, that eight years wasn’t long enough. Perhaps, stories like this help us appreciate what we, as Eagles fans, got from Brian Dawkins.
From 1996 to 2008, Philly was afforded the opportunity of placing their free safety on the field and knowing they had nothing to worry about. To play as long as Dawkins did and play at the level he did is uncommon. Too often, we see what happened with Chancellor, great players ushered out while still in their prime.
For his career, he racked up 606 tackles, two sacks and 12 interceptions. He’s also credited with 44 pass deflections and nine forced fumbles.
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We may have seen Chancellor for the last time in an NFL jersey, but his impact will never be forgotten. We, at ITI, wish him the best in his future endeavors.