Legion of Boom

The Legion of Boom was the Seattle Seahawks secondary in the 2010s. The original group that was nicknamed the Legion of Boom consisted of the starters in the Seahawks defensive backfield: Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas, Kam Chancellor, Brandon Browner, Walter Thurmond and Byron Maxwell.
Over time, the nickname grew to encompass the Seahawks defense as a whole, including prominent players such as Bobby Wagner, K. J. Wright, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Malcolm Smith, Brandon Mebane, Frank Clark, Chris Clemons and Bruce Irvin. Other eventual starting members of the secondary included Jeremy Lane, DeShawn Shead, Tharold Simon, Marcus Burley, Bradley McDougald, Shaquill Griffin and Justin Coleman.
During the Legion of Boom era, the Seahawks amassed six consecutive winning seasons, three division titles, two NFC championships, and a Super Bowl victory. They made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons and finished with five consecutive 10+ win seasons, a feat the franchise had never achieved in a consecutive season prior. They also appeared in back-to-back Super Bowls, winning once to secure the franchise's first ever championship.
During the 2012 to 2015 seasons, the Seahawks led the league in scoring defense, allowing the fewest points scored each year for four years straight. The only other team to accomplish this feat were the Cleveland Browns of the 1950s. The 2013 defense led the league in fewest points allowed, fewest yards allowed, and most takeaways, the first team to lead all three categories since the 1985 Chicago Bears. The 2013 unit is widely regarded as one of the best single-season defenses of all time.
Pete Carroll, with the help of defensive coordinators Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn and defensive backs coach Kris Richard, popularized the trend of Cover 3 defensive schemes during the LOB era. The defensive schemes they ran were fairly simple and relied on the athleticism and talent of the members of the secondary. During pregame warmups the players would often chant "Who's got my back? I got your back!" and "We all we got, we all we need!" The team's dominant, physical defensive play and blowout victories, particularly during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, made the defense feared amongst the league.
Some point out that the Legion of Boom forced the NFL to change certain defensive rules and that it changed what other teams look for when scouting talent at defensive back positions. The hard hitting tackling skills of strong safety Kam Chancellor and the sideline-to-sideline, quick and maneuverable nature of free safety Earl Thomas made them one of the most memorable safety duos in NFL history. Richard Sherman was known for his loud trash talking and his highly intelligent ability to read offenses and force interceptions. Sherman was the NFL interceptions leader in 2013. Toward the latter part of Sherman's tenure with the franchise, many teams would avoid throwing to his side of the field entirely, in fear that Sherman may cause an interception. Byron Maxwell had the ability to punch out footballs and force fumbles in a manner similar to cornerback Charles Tillman's signature "Peanut Punch".

Background

Before the 2011 season, the Seahawks drafted cornerback Richard Sherman in the 5th round and cornerback Byron Maxwell in the 6th round of the 2011 NFL draft and signed cornerback Brandon Browner as a free agent from the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League, adding to 2010 draftees free safety Earl Thomas and strong safety Kam Chancellor. They first met during the 2011 NFL lockout at a charity basketball game put on by Jamal Crawford, and played good team defense together from the start. After an injury to Marcus Trufant and Walter Thurmond, Sherman earned his first career start on October 30, 2011, against the Cincinnati Bengals, marking the first time the four original members started a game together. The group's dominating play over the rest of the 2011 season would inspire the nickname. Browner, Thomas and Chancellor would all go on to make the Pro Bowl that year.
On August 2, 2012, safety Kam Chancellor was a guest on 710 ESPN Seattle's Bob and Groz show and asked fans to suggest a nickname for the Seattle Seahawks' secondary. The name "Legion of Boom" was suggested to the show by fans on Twitter and noting the way the secondary "brings the boom". It is also a play on the Legion of Doom supervillain group from DC Comics. Shortly thereafter, Google searches for the term skyrocketed. The term became commonly used in the media by the start of the 2012 season by sources like NFL.com and ESPN commentator Jon Gruden. Nike offered "Legion of Boom" branded apparel as the group grew in popularity. An ESPN feature found the "Legion of Boom" comparable to nicknamed great defenses such as the Purple People Eaters, Monsters of the Midway, Big Blue Wrecking Crew, Steel Curtain and the Doomsday Defense.
The unit's aggressive nature was notable in an era where the NFL had placed particular emphasis on player safety. Kris Richard, who served as defensive backs coach from 2012 to 2017 and as defensive coordinator from 2015 to 2017, helped build the Legion of Boom into a unit that hit hard while staying within the rules. During practice, the receivers ran routes with shields strapped to their chests that ran from neck to mid-thigh, and Richard taught the defensive backs to keep their hits within that area in order to limit penalties for blows to the head. Bleacher Report described the Legion of Boom as a monument both to Richard and head coach Pete Carroll, who was a safety himself in his playing days and a defensive backs coach in his early coaching career. Carroll also studied taller cornerback tandems like Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes when assembling the core of defensive backs.
Following the 2017 NFL season, the release of Richard Sherman and the career-ending injury of Kam Chancellor changed the Seahawks defense. Over seven seasons, the Legion of Boom's core had consisted of Sherman, Thomas and Chancellor, with the comings and goings of the cornerback opposite Sherman. At the start of the 2018 NFL season, only Thomas remained, but in a Week 4 win over the Arizona Cardinals, he suffered a season-ending broken leg, and would eventually sign with the Baltimore Ravens on March 13, 2019, ending the LOB era in Seattle.

Super Bowl appearances

The Legion of Boom's crowning achievement was their team's 43–8 win in Super Bowl XLVIII, a blowout victory over the 2013 Denver Broncos, who were considered the best single season passing offense of all time and one of the best offenses in league history. The Seahawks became the fastest team to score in a Super Bowl when they had a safety 12 seconds into the game. They also became the first team to ever score with a safety, interception return for a touchdown and kickoff return for a touchdown in a Super Bowl. They led the game for 59 minutes, 48 seconds, which is the longest lead in Super Bowl history. It was the 3rd largest point difference in a Super Bowl which was just one point less than the lead the Chicago Bears finished with in Super Bowl XX.
The season following the Seahawks' first Super Bowl victory, they made it back to Super Bowl XLIX but lost to the New England Patriots by four points when Patriots' rookie cornerback Malcolm Butler intercepted the ball with the Seahawks one yard from scoring the go-ahead touchdown and only 20 seconds remaining in the game. Former LOB starter Brandon Browner was playing for the opposing New England Patriots and was instrumental in jamming up the play and forcing the interception. Sherman, Thomas and Chancellor were all plagued by injuries before and during the game along with slot cornerback Jeremy Lane and defensive end Cliff Avril suffering injuries during the game.

Members

Original LOB members

Richard Sherman, at 6 ft 3 in, 205 lb, was the starting left cornerback, and most vocal member of the Legion of Boom. He started gaining notoriety in 2012 when he intercepted Tom Brady in an October 14, 2012 matchup that the Seahawks won 24–23. After the game, Sherman posted a picture of himself on Twitter looking at a seemingly dejected Tom Brady with the caption "U Mad Bro?". This encounter gave the Legion of Boom one of their first big wins and solidified the reputation of the defense for the first time. In 2013 Sherman led the league in interceptions and other teams started to take notice of his uncanny talent at cornerback. During the 2013 postseason, Sherman attained national attention after the 2013 NFC Championship Game when he made a game-saving pass deflection that was intercepted. After the game, he conducted a highly emotional interview with Fox Sports' Erin Andrews where he called out 49ers Receiver Michael Crabtree. The tipped ball Sherman caused that turned into an interception and won the game for Seattle became known as "The Tip" and is considered one of the most important moments in Seahawks fan history. Beyond Sherman's vocal personality, he was generally considered to be one of the best corners in football and was briefly the highest paid corner in football when he received his new contract from the Seahawks in 2014. Since coming into the league in 2011, Sherman had 30 regular-season interceptions, including 2 interceptions returned for touchdowns, 321 tackles, 89 passes defended, 1 sack, and 5 forced fumbles. He also recorded 2 interceptions in the playoffs. He had not missed a game in his NFL career until November 9, 2017 when he was out with an Achilles rupture. He was later released at the end of the season and signed with divisional rival San Francisco 49ers, with whom he made Super Bowl LIV.
Kam Chancellor, at 6 ft 3 in, 232 lb, was the tallest and heaviest safety in the NFL and was known for his hard-hitting tackles. He was taken with the 133rd overall pick in the 5th round of the 2010 NFL draft. During the Legion of Boom's run, strong safety Chancellor recorded 529 tackles, 12 interceptions, 41 passes defensed, 2 sacks, and 8 forced fumbles. Over that same span, he also has 3 postseason interceptions, including 1 returned for a touchdown. A 2017 neck injury sustained against the Arizona Cardinals would end his playing career. After implying his retirement in July 2018 and missing the entire 2018 season, he was formally released in May 2019.
Earl Thomas was the shortest member of the Legion of Boom at 5'10", 202 lb. He was described by Sports Illustrated as "a great cover safety from anywhere to anywhere on the field, able to take ridiculous angles and read plays with microscopic precision". He was selected with the 14th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2010 NFL Draft. From 2011 to 2018, Thomas had 554 total tackles, 23 interceptions, including 1 interception returned for a touchdown, 56 passes defended, 9 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery returned for a touchdown. Thomas also has 2 interceptions in the playoffs. He suffered a season-ending injury during a game on December 4, 2016, breaking his leg in a mid-air collision with teammate Chancellor. On September 30, 2018, Thomas suffered another fracture, in the same leg he broke in late 2016, after a touchdown by the Arizona Cardinals. It was then declared by Pete Carroll that his season was over. On his way back to the locker room on a cart, he proceeded to give the finger, seen as a comment towards the Seahawks organization, and indicating that his days as a Seahawk were over. Thomas would eventually sign with the Baltimore Ravens on March 13, 2019, as an unrestricted free agent, marking the official end of the Legion of Boom era.
Brandon Browner, at 6 ft 4 in, 221 lb, signed with the Seahawks as a free agent in 2011 after a notable CFL career. He was the starting cornerback, along with Richard Sherman, in 2011–2013 and started in 36 games during that span for the Seahawks. Unfortunately, he was unable to play during the Seahawks' Super Bowl playoff run due to a suspension. Browner would leave the Seahawks and move to the New England Patriots in the 2014 season winning a Super Bowl against the Seahawks. The following season, Browner would join the New Orleans Saints. Browner briefly returned as a hybrid safety during the 2016 preseason, but was cut prior to the regular season.
Byron Maxwell, at 6 ft 1 in, 207 lb, Maxwell was drafted by the Seahawks in 2011 and was used primarily as a backup cornerback and on special teams from 2011 to 2012. He became an integral part of the secondary during the Seahawks' 2013 season and filled in for Brandon Browner during their playoff run which culminated in a victory in Super Bowl XLVIII. Maxwell started 17 games for the Seahawks and appeared in 47 before departing for the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 2015. He returned to the Seahawks in 2017. Maxwell forced 12 fumbles in his NFL career, tied with Earl Thomas for most among LOB members.