Seahawks defense still has chops to excel in 2018
By Cody Rivera
The Seattle Seahawks defense can still be plenty deadly in 2018, despite losing many of its Legion of Boom superstars.
In Seattle, the “Legion of Boom” is no longer what it once was.
For a handful of years, the Seahawks struck fear into opposing offenses with one of the most dominant defensive units in NFL history. The vaunted Legion of Boom took Seattle to back-to-back Super Bowls in 2013 and 2014, winning the first and coming up just a yard short of winning the second.
Over the last few years, however, the legendary group began to disintegrate piece by piece. This offseason, Seattle’s defense suffered major blows with the departures of Richard Sherman, Michael Bennett, Sheldon Richardson and Cliff Avril.
The 2018 season will offer up a less stacked look for the Seahawks on the defensive side of the ball. They might not possess the same star power that the fervent fans in Seattle are accustomed to at this point, but they still have a number of experienced guys that will be plenty capable of getting the job done on the field.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner isn’t short on confidence in the guys that the Seahawks do have, according to an article on NFL.com.
“For me, I think a lot of people are sleeping on the talent that we have in the room,” Wagner said during a radio interview. “A lot of people are saying it’s a fresh start. No, it’s just kind of that mentality. We had guys that left for whatever reason and it’s the next-guy-up mentality.”
Wagner himself has already spent six years with the Seahawks, going to four Pro Bowls and playing on the teams that went to consecutive Super Bowls. Alongside Wagner, Seattle will also be bringing back defensive end Frank Clark and free safety Earl Thomas. With any luck, the Seahawks could also get back strong safety Kam Chancellor, who is recovering from a neck injury, but the jury is still out on that one.
Thomas and Chancellor have both been with Seattle since 2010, combining for 10 Pro Bowls and playing on the teams that went to back-to-back Super Bowls. Meanwhile, 24-year-old Clark joined the team in 2015, and has had the privilege of learning alongside some of the best defensive players in the game. These guys are experienced, and they know what it takes to play at a competitive level in the NFL.
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This might not be Richard Sherman’s loudmouth Legion of Boom anymore, but Seahawks fans can rest easy, because the Legion is not completely dead.