I've said it already in another one of the "Kill the LOB" threads, that the LOB is not a collection of players, it's a defensive strategy and philosophy, that was implemented with a group of players, that all did their part, and were, as a result, pronounced to be members of the Original Legion of Boom.
The Next Man Up, Compete For Your Position, philosophy, and the Seahawk's Defensive game plan, is still alive and well in Seattle. So to think that because of the departure of any or all of the original players, coached in that school of play, would bring an end to the LOB, is pure foolishness, in my mind anyway.
Which is exactly how I interpret most everything that Dione Sanders has to say. That guy, doesn't know the meaning of the word loyalty, friendship, trust, he shoots his mouth off, in most instances long before his brain has had a chance to catch up with what is pouring out of mouth, talks one minute abut how much he loves and respects someone and two minutes later tosses them under the bus without even blinking.
Does it affect the LOB, when some of the members of our defense go out injured? sure it does, it would be foolish to not recognize that it would, but does the Next Man Up, that take the places of their injured teammate, once allowed a little play time to adjust to playing as part of the LOB, not play as well as if not in some instances better than the LOB teammate they replaced?
We lost Cliff Avril, Frank Smith is no second stringer, he stepped up to the plate and has been doing one hell of a job for us. We lost Richard Sherman, and in reality lost about 30% of Richard Sherman before the season ever started, playing with an injury waiting to go off, I think that Byron Maxwell and Shaquill Griffin, have both stepped up and done a great job of filing in for Richard, both making big plays for us, Kam, the enforcer goes down and out, it hurt like hell to loose him, just as much or more than it would to loose Earl, but Next Man Up McDougaled has done one hell of a great job of filling that spot and proven his metal as a member of the LOB so far as I'm concerned.
The biggest obsticle to overcome in each of these sort of transitions, is not the lack of quality in the play of the Next Man Up, it's the necessary time that the players stepping up need on the field with the team to get in sync. Once they have a few games behind them we see them playing like they had been there all along and often times they start to outshine the players replaced. To say that the LOB is dead or dying is assinine so far as I'm concerned, when the Defensive game plane goes in the dumpster that the LOB was founded on , then I would say that the LOB would likely went wtih it.
On a closing note, I'd also say that other teams and former coaches have tried to steal our LOB playbook and make it their own, which is one hell of a compliment and testament to the LOB and our success. but the one thing that none of these other teams have been able to steal or replicate, is the one thing that sets the Seattle Seahawks, as a whole, apart from all those other teams out there, and that is the the big, brightt, beatiful shining spirit that embodies and manifests itself in the Seahawks organization and all of it's fans, that other teams can only wish they had.
How many times have you heard other players coming to Seattle talk about how jealous they were of Seahawk players because of the crazy wonderful loyalty, love and support they recieved from their fans? That is the real magic of the LOB's existance. As long as that spirit lives so lives the LOB.
The LOB is alive and well, Long Live The Legion Of Boom.
Go Seahawks!
