What the heck is up with Kam?

[Rocket]

pay him...then he might decide to show up...otherwise its 1st gear for him...

If your auto mechanic screws up do you pay him twice as much to fix it right the second time?

I don't believe he is tanking on purpose, he's just got part of his head out of the game.
The NFL is cerebral, baby.

 

[sutz]

I've heard some talk that "it isn't his fault" but it sure looks like TEs are running by him and he's just standing there time after time. Is this possibly caused by our weakness at RCB, causing Kam to have to take on too much responsibility? IDK.

It's been a sore area all year, though. I'm not much in for the amateur sports psychology buffs around here, but I will admit that there may be something to all that. There does seem to be something amiss with the LoB, and Kam's holdout certainly didn't help at all.

Today they were decent, at least. Not world-beater classic LoB, but decent. Yeah, I know, Blaine Gabbert. Hopefully they can build on it.

 

[Tech Worlds]

It's Kam's fault that we have had a poor season so far. He threw the wrench in the works from the beginning. Our team hasn't been the same.

 

[peppersjap]

So is Kam's attitude and seeming lack of effort the reason TEs have killed us up the seam this year rather than teams figuring out the cover-3?

I have a hard time believing that 'tight end runs straight ahead' was the secret weakness of our defense the last three years. It's clearly different this year, and other than Kam seeming out of position every time, the only other major difference is Kris Richard.

I agree the big difference is Kris Richard. The tight End thing is definitely not all on Kam. And as far as Kam being involved he had 18 tackles last week, I haven't seen the tackle totals for today.

 

[joeseahawks]

How is Dan Quinn doing in Atlanta? hasn't he lost like 4-5 games in a row now?
Leave Kam alone ... Without him, we would have lost to Detroit ...

 

[mikeak]

I thought of this early in the year. He wanted more money maybe due to his physical style and he knew he wouldn't be in the league for very long. Maybe he's whining. Maybe he's playing scared? Doesn't want gain a career altering concussion? Wants to get paid before he throws his body around? Although the lack of effort decreases his value unless he believes JS will overpay out of fear he's the best we'll get regardless? Very odd.

You are presenting speculations as facts. Where did he say that he wanted more money because his body won't last for long? I think he felt that he deserved more due to his value to the team

Separately in general to the thread -- we do play a zone system. It is sometimes very hard to determine who is at fault. A player can let someone go and just "stand there" because in a zone system he is supposed to remain in his zone

 

[Sgt. Largent]

pay him...then he might decide to show up...otherwise its 1st gear for him...

I'm glad you're not the GM.

This dude's a shell of his former self, let's pay the guy!

 

[RussB]

Agreed. He just isnt hitting hard this season like he used to. He still makes tackles alot, but just doesnt seem to be laying those huge htis anymore except for that one on Calvin against detroit and when he layed the o lineman out against AZ. Also has been pretty bad in coverage.

 

[ZagHawk]

How is Dan Quinn doing in Atlanta? hasn't he lost like 4-5 games in a row now?
Leave Kam alone ... Without him, we would have lost to Detroit ...

and with him, Hawks probably would have won in STL, had he showed up week 1 (or through camp) maybe the whole defense would have been better practicing with their starting unit rather than being in Limbo the entire preseason.

 

[Lords of Scythia]

TE's are big strong bastards for a db to cover -- not little WRs prancing around out there. Maybe he was punked-out from covering Gronk in the SB.

 

[Seymour]

pay him...then he might decide to show up...otherwise its 1st gear for him...

Try that in the real word. "Excuse me boss, please give me a $2.00 hr raise and I promise to work much harder and show up every day."

Awaiting results.....

 

[peppersjap]

Agreed. He just isnt hitting hard this season like he used to. He still makes tackles alot, but just doesnt seem to be laying those huge htis anymore except for that one on Calvin against detroit and when he layed the o lineman out against AZ. Also has been pretty bad in coverage.

That might be because those hits are drawing penalties now. What is your proof he has been bad in coverage? We are being burned by TE's but Pete came out and said it wasn't on Kam earlier in the season. I can not sit at home or in the stadium and know what his responsibility is on a certain play. He had a horrible game against Antonio Gates last year and they called him out on it, I have not seen him called out this year. There is a problem with the Defensive leadership. Kam completely screwed the team over by holding out but once he is on the field I can not believe someone would question his effort. He was involved in 18 tackles last week, maybe they weren't the "Vernon Davis hits" but I believe a tackle means the runner went no further down the field and 18 is a "HUGE" number!

 

[peppersjap]

Agreed. He just isnt hitting hard this season like he used to. He still makes tackles alot, but just doesnt seem to be laying those huge htis anymore except for that one on Calvin against detroit and when he layed the o lineman out against AZ. Also has been pretty bad in coverage.

That might be because those hits are drawing penalties now. What is your proof he has been bad in coverage? We are being burned by TE's but Pete came out and said it wasn't on Kam earlier in the season. I can not sit at home or in the stadium and know what his responsibility is on a certain play. He had a horrible game against Antonio Gates last year and they called him out on it, I have not seen him called out this year. There is a problem with the Defensive leadership. Kam completely screwed the team over by holding out but once he is on the field I can not believe someone would question his effort. He was involved in 18 tackles last week, maybe they weren't the "Vernon Davis hits" but I believe a tackle means the runner went no further down the field and 18 is a "HUGE" number!

 

[Willyeye]

I think that Kam is playing fine. I don't even see how there could be a "Let's get down on Kam" topic just 7 days after his 18- tackle performance against the Cards. Did he have a great game against the 49ers? Maybe not. But I believe the guy is doing what he can. There are extenuating circumstances. For them to be successful, the LOB is dependent on other defensive groups. I explain all this in a post titled "What's wrong with our D?"

 

[Mick063]

What a dumb thread.

 

[chawx]

It's obvious that Kam and/or Earl are having to cheat to help Cary Williams in coverage and it's blowing up the whole scheme. For the LOB to work properly, they have to trust that each man can do his job well enough to not need excessive amounts of help. When Cary got burnt and benched, it felt like we were gelling out there a little bit better. When is Lane coming back? Honestly, a healthy Lane is going to be like throwing gasoline on the kindling flame that is the LOB right now.

1-0 each week, fellas. But I have a good feeling about how this can all turn out now that Cary Williams might not see the field for the rest of the season.

 

[NorCalSeahawk]

I think Kam is doing ok, but he seems to be a step slow this year. Maybe it's the past (and current) injuries catching up, maybe it's having to overcompensate for some of the other DB's that are lacking (Williams, Shead, and all the other backup type of DB's), maybe it's a bit of a scheme issue with a new(ish) DC, or maybe he just knows something we don't and he isn't as "all in" after his contract issues.

I'd would guess it's a mix of all those things and maybe a few more things that we don't see. I'm glad the team didn't bend over backwards for him on his contract (for many reasons) and after seeing a bit of a decline this year, I'm sure the team is glad they didn't bend for him. Hopefully he picks up his game the rest of the year and beyond, if not I could see him moving on in the next year or two, just another position to look at in the offseason.