RENTON, Wash. _ If you were at Seahawks training camp Monday, you would have heard songs such as "Hotline Bling," "Cut it," and D.R.A.M.'s "Broccoli" blaring from the speakers. But if all you saw was Kam Chancellor's news conference, you might have thought "Kumbaya" was on the playlist, too.
Asked what he thought this year's team was out to prove, the strong safety didn't mention any football-related accolades. His focus, instead, was on "brotherhood."
"Guys are out to prove that the brotherhood is still there," Chancellor said. "A lot of people think that the closeness, the camaraderie, the togetherness isn't there anymore. We want to show we're still a tight-knit group."
In a vacuum, this might seem like a florid, Disney Channel response from an otherwise fierce defensive back. No coach has ever rallied his players before a game and yelled, "Let's go out there and show them we're BFFs!"
But if you took a closer look, you'd see that Chancellor essentially was making a confession. In this case, "we" might as well have been "I" _ and now he's trying to make good.
Last year, Kam's holdout appeared to disrupt the brotherhood he emphasized. It came out of nowhere and left a clear void on the field.
The Seahawks started 0-2 and endured myriad breakdowns in the secondary during Chancellor's first few games back. And as Seattle struggled, Kam's locker-room standing slid.
You have to think Chancellor would handle the situation differently had he known it would play out the way it did. He ended up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and the respect of copious 12s.
But there is nothing he can do about misguided decisions of the past. He does, however, seem intent on not letting teammates go down a similar path.
"I let them know how important it is to stick together," Chancellor said when asked if he has shared his experiences with the team. "Like I said, the brotherhood. The brotherhood is most important."
A lot of people conveniently place the blame for last year's shortcomings on Chancellor, but that isn't entirely fair. When a team leads the NFL in fewest points allowed for the fourth consecutive season, you can't point to a member of the defense and say, "This is all your fault."
Plus, there were two _ two _ instances in which Kam might have single-handedly saved the Seahawks' season. The first came when he stripped Detroit's Calvin Johnson on the 1-yard line to prevent Seattle from falling to 1-3 (which could have easily turned into 1-5 with losses to the Bengals and Panthers), and the second came when he stripped Adrian Peterson to set up the go-ahead field goal in a playoff game at Minnesota.
Along with Russell Wilson's bad-snap-turned-miracle-first-down vs. the Vikings, those were the biggest plays of the year for the Hawks. But let's be honest _ Chancellor wasn't quite right for most of last season.
Look for him to fix that.
Chancellor didn't officially admit to wrongdoing, but there was contrition in his voice. There was also a renewed sense of optimism, with Kam saying the Hawks' training-camp vibe reminds him of the one he felt going into the Super Bowl.
Granted, nobody has ever said, "The training camp's vibe is that of a 9-7 season," but in this case, his words seemed sincere.
Saturday marked the first time in three years there were no holdouts at the start of training camp, which coach Pete Carroll praised. He then mentioned the "learning experience" the franchise went through with Chancellor last year before lauding Kam's resolve. According to Carroll, Chancellor has been critical in helping others understand the importance of unity, which is an undertaking Kam seems to embrace.
"What have you learned in the last year?" a reporter asked.
Said Chancellor: "I learned that this is a new year."
If the Seahawks are to regain their reputation for having an impregnable defense, Chancellor's play must return to elite status. And though we won't know if this will happen until the season starts, he is taking the appropriate steps.
Off the field, Chancellor seems committed to reminding people what happens when you put yourself before the team. On the field, he seems committed to reminding people that he is one of the game's best.
