How the Legion of Boom Changed the NFL Forever

"Well I'm the best corner in the game, when you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that's the result you're going to get".

... A few more words followed before ending his interview with "LOB!".

Seconds after making the biggest play of his career, with emotions still running high Richard Sherman would break the internet with this post-game interview.

This was the Legion of Boom in its prime.

Never-ending trash talk, with a high-level play on the field.

Who Is the Legion of Boom?

The Legion of Boom was the Seahawk's Defensive Secondary primarily made up of three defenders:

Richard Sherman - Corner
Kam Chancellor - Strong Safety
Earl Thomas - Free Safety

The fourth defender would rotate throughout the years, however, the most important figures included:

Byron Maxwell - Corner
Brandon Browner - Corner

I'll cover all of their accomplishments later on, but the one I can't get out of my head is:

From 2012-2015, the Seahawks led the league in scoring defense, allowing the fewest points scored each year for four years straight.

Only one other team in the history of the NFL was able to do this, the Browns in the 1950s (if you're wondering when the Browns were ever good you're not the only one).

That’s multiple years of 31 other teams having all of the film possible to expose them, but were unable to do so.

Major Accomplishments

Team

Super Bowl Win (& destruction) vs the Highest Scoring Offense in NFL History
2 NFC Championship Games
3 Division Titles
6 Consecutive Winning Seasons

Defensive Unit

2013 - Led the league in fewest points allowed, fewest yards allowed & most takeaways (first team to do so since the 1985 Bears)
Defeated the highest-scoring offense in NFL history 43-8 in the Super Bowl
From 2011-2017, they would only lose by 7 points one time when Sherman, Chancellor & Thomas played together

Points Allowed Rank

2011 - 7th
2012 - 1st
2013 - 1st
2014 - 1st
2015 - 1st
2016 - 3rd
2017 - 13th

Passing Yards Allowed Rank

2011 - 11th
2012 - 6th
2013 - 1st
2014 - 1st
2015 - 2nd
2016 - 8th
2017 - 6th

What Made Them So Good?

Athletic Traits

Make no mistake about it, almost all of the LOB members, were tall and lengthy, with long arm spans.

Richard Sherman - 6'3" 205 lbs
Kam Chancellor - 6'3" 232 lbs
Earl Thomas - 5'10" 207 lbs
Brandon Browner - 6'4" 222 lbs
Byron Maxwell - 6'1" 207 lbs

The size of their Secondary posed a few challenges for teams, as they were physical - no clean releases, and when receivers did catch the ball they were hit hard.

It also created tighter windows when the ball was thrown, as when the LOB defenders put their arms out, they were able to reach the ball that normally wouldn't be touched, resulting in a batted ball or interception.

The only normal-sized human in the Secondary was Earl Thomas, and although he was small, he had all of the range and speed in the world to cover the field.

It was the perfect blend of the two.

Simple Scheme Allowed Players to Play Fast

The Seahawks at that time played extremely simple coverages, primarily Cover 3 (and Cover 1), with a small tweak.

In normal Cover 3, the Strong Safety covers curl to flats, but the Seahawks mixed it up, adding Cover 3 Buzz.

This allowed Kam Chancellor to instead stay in the hook/curl zone to deliver some of his trademark hits, as he buzzed into the alley.

It worked because the simplicity allowed the players to play fast, without needing to think about a dozen checks, or coverage changes, depending on which formation the offense lined up.

Regardless of what the offense did, they were playing one of those two coverages.

It's important to point out that Cover 3 would not have been successful for them if Earl Thomas wasn't the player that he was.

Thomas was able to patrol any deep area of the field, taking away the biggest weakness of Cover 3, the seams.

It forced the QBs to get creative with how they decided to attack or resort to a dink-and-dunk offense.

Continuity

From 2011-2017, Thomas, Sherman, and Chancellor would start 81 games together, and team up to snag 64 interceptions.

Nothing creates more trust for a team than playing with the same players, in the same scheme, game after game, year after year.

This continuity allowed them to grow together, get better together, and trust each other.

The best defenses in NFL history all had players that could trust one another.

High Football IQ From Film Study

LOB had all of the physical traits to be dominant, but they had the mental traits as well.

They were known for being cerebral players, studying everything about their opponent every week.

From what plays they liked to run in every personnel package, what their go-to plays were depending on the down and distance, to how the offense reacted when teams gave them different looks.

To put this into perspective, the Seahawks would destroy the highest-scoring offense in NFL history, in the Super Bowl (Denver Broncos).

No quote explains their attention to detail from studying film like the one right after their Super Bowl win.

Sherman would say:

All we did was play situational football. We knew what route concepts they liked on different downs, so we jumped all the routes.

Had the Broncos run double moves, they might’ve been able to fool the Seahawks, but that’s easier said than done.

If doing a certain thing has made you become the best offense in NFL history, then you’re going to continue doing this same thing, which in this case was a timing-based Peyton Manning offense.

Trash Talk

The LOB's trash-talking was finally introduced to the world after beating the Patriots by 1 point.

During their ultra-competitive game, the trash-talking would come from both sides.

Tom Brady would ask Sherman and Earl who they thought they were, and to see him after the game.

Sherman (largely unproven at the time and only in his 2nd year) ended up doing just that and then would post a picture of the exchange with the following caption.

How Each Player Was Used in the Scheme

Kam Chancellor wasn't nicknamed "Bam Bam" for any reason. He was the enforcer of the Defense who delivered the most soul-crushing hits of the era during his career.

However, he could also cover like a Safety. This allowed Seattle to use him as an extra Linebacker in the run game, and a Safety in the pass without ever needing to substitute a player out.

Richard Sherman's job was simple. Eliminate the entire side of the field that he was on, and if a QB decided to throw it in his area, pick it off.

Earl Thomas patrolled the middle of the field, and although he was the smallest LOB member, his insane speed and range allowed him to intercept any deep passes, and/or deliver a hit to cause an incompletion.

Browner & Maxwell had one of the most noticeable underappreciated jobs, as teams would routinely go their way, to avoid the other 3 members of the LOB.

Their main job was not to give up the big play and don't give teams more of a reason to target you.

Browner used his large frame to be as physical as possible against these receivers, forcing them to deal with physicality for four quarters (sometimes resulting in penalties).

Maxwell was an absolute natural at getting the ball out, by punching through the receiver's hands and forcing fumbles.

What Gave the LOB Their Edge?

It came down to two things.

Feeling disrespected that they were drafted late, giving them the permanent 'chip on their shoulder'.
Watching so much film on their opponents, that they could figure out exactly which plays to expect on certain down, based on formation and personnel

Draft Status

Richard Sherman - 5th Round
Kam Chancellor - 5th Round
Earl Thomas - 1st Round
Brandon Browner - Undrafted
Byron Maxwell - 6th Round

Other than Earl Thomas, all of the Legion of Boom members were late-round draft picks, or even went undrafted.

It's rare for late-round picks to become good players, and it's crazy to think that both Sherman and Chancellor would not only become All-Pros for multiple years but win a Super Bowl and lead one of the greatest defenses in NFL history.

Why and How the Legion of Boom Ended

Father Time and Injuries

Kam Chancellor would suffer a serious nerve injury in his neck and ended up retiring shortly after.

While Sherman was still playing at a high level, he was no longer his lock-down version of himself, and the Seahawks would let him test free agency, eventually signing with the 49ers.

Earl Thomas was involved in a contract dispute with the Seahawks but ended up breaking his leg in week 4 of the season, and signed with the Ravens the following season.

Brandon Browner received a PED suspension but was ultimately reinstated by the NFL and left to sign a multi-year contract with the Patriots.

Byron Maxwell left to sign a massive multi-year deal with the Eagles, who would end up trading him to the Dolphins after only 1 year (thanks Chip Kelly).

Clips From the Legion of Boom

If you're curious about videos of the Legion of Boom's best plays, you'll find plenty on the Defensive Clips Instagram, as over a dozen have been posted just this week.

If you missed the last newsletter, you can find it here.

Defensive Clips