Walter Jones stumped for Kenny Easley as a HOF candidate. Heres what I wrote about him for the Tacoma News Tribune in 2002 (I found an archived version on chiefsplanet): The most talented Seahawk The News Tribune October 11th, 2002 Lockers for the NFLs annual all-star game were assigned by jersey number. Todd Christensen, the prolific tight end who wore No. 46 for the Los Angeles Raiders, found himself dressing next to the best strong safety hed ever seen. Except the man who wore No. 45 for the Seattle Seahawks wasnt playing safety for the AFC squad that January day. Kenny Easley, the NFLs reigning defensive player of the year, had been moved to cornerback because the Raiders Mike Haynes was injured. To the amazement of Christensen, Easley allowed not a single completed pass for the entire second quarter - against an NFC receiving corps featuring Art Monk, James Lofton and Roy Green. To see this guy go from being that 6-foot-3, 205-pound monster in the middle, then put the glove on somebody out on the corner, I said this is unbelievable, Christensen said. Remember, this is a Pro Bowl. Its not like guys are saying, Oh, yes, Im going to kill myself for 10 grand. You can actually smell the Mai Tais in the huddle. Easley smelled blood. Christensen, still in awe when the players reconvened at their lockers during halftime, served up a compliment. Kenny turns to me and he actually grumbles and says, You know what? I would have done a lot better if Id had smaller shoulder pads, but I have to wear these big ones, Christensen said. And I couldnt believe it. The guy was a stud. I was just so impressed. Fifteen years after Easley played his final game, the 43-year-old NFL legend is returning to Seattle for his induction into the Seahawks Ring of Honor. The ceremony, planned for Seahawks Stadium at halftime of the Seattle-San Francisco game Monday night, was a long time coming. Easley, now co-owner of the semipro Norfolk Nighthawks, did not participate for this story. But his legacy was abundantly accessible through the men who shaped pro football in the early 1980s. Their testimony, coupled with a little-known historical precedent, form an intriguing case for Easley to one day leap from the Ring of Honor to the Hall of Fame. Coaches, teammates and opponents described Easley as one of the top two safeties in NFL history, as good or better than 10-time Pro Bowl choice Ronnie Lott. They said his legacy had been wrongly diminished by his premature exit from the game and the Seahawks inability to reach a Super Bowl during his career. To them, Easley and a few others - namely Lott and linebacker Lawrence Taylor - changed the game by bridging the talent gap that favored offenses for years. Kenny Easley is Hall of Fame material, said Rick Upchurch, former Pro Bowl receiver for the Denver Broncos. Its unfortunate that he had to quit so early. A first-round draft choice from UCLA in 1981, Easley was 29 in April 1988 when his career ended with the revelation he needed a kidney transplant. Easley sued the Seahawks, contending doctors encouraged excessive use of ibuprofen to combat a 1986 ankle injury. Easleys induction into the Ring of Honor helps bring some closure to the broken relationship he had with the team. I think its healed, said Jacob Green, Easleys friend and former teammate. I think with age, with his kids, his son - all that played a factor in him saying, Yes, Ill do it. The occasion provides Easleys fans with a long-awaited opportunity to reminisce. For the uninitiated, its a chance to meet one of the two or three best players in franchise history. I think a lot of times people say great loosely, but he was truly the most talented Seahawk, the best athlete we ever had, said Green, the Seahawks all-time leader with 116 sacks. Easley seemingly excelled at almost any sport. The stories have become part of his legend. Former UCLA coach Terry Donahue, now general manager of the San Francisco 49ers, recalled an incident involving Easley and an impromptu tennis match not far from campus. This was just a team barbecue, Donahue marveled, but I remember where I was sitting watching it. I just said, My goodness gracious, dont let the tennis coach see this. I mean, really, you watched him play tennis and you said, This guy could go be a pro tennis player. Donahue was convinced Easley could have played for the Bruins championship-caliber basketball team. I dont believe that he would have started, but he would have been the sixth or seventh man, Donahue said. He was just too athletic and competitive. He has a fierce zeal for competition. Easley was known to play nine holes of golf before the morning practice during Seahawks training camp at Eastern Washington University. Hours later, he confounded teammates by wearing a long-sleeved nylon jacket under his pads and uniform, as if the 90-degree heat wasnt a worthy competitor by itself. Then, as teammates trudged off the field, Easley would sprint past them, bunny-hopping over a 4-foot fence along the way. When the afternoon practice was over, Easley often found a way to squeeze in another nine holes before dinner and meetings. He was as fine a strong safety as there has been in the National Football League, former Seahawks coach Chuck Knox said. Dominating defensive players make opposing offenses account for them. And then there are players like Easley. I can tell you this: He was so dominating on film that when you were on the field playing against him, you could be on the other side of the field and you could feel him, Hall of Fame receiver Charlie Joiner said. You just had that feeling that he was around somewhere. In 1984, Easley picked off three passes during a 24-0 road victory over Joiners San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football. A week later, the Seahawks returned four interceptions for touchdowns - one by Easley - during a 45-0 pounding of the Kansas City Chiefs. The Seattle defense was at its peak and Easley was the catalyst. The guy was a force, Joiner said. I just dont know very much more I can say about him. Great football players choose their adjectives carefully in describing their peers. But they dont hold back when the subject turns to Easley. Kenny could do what Jack Tatum could do, but he also could do what Mike Haynes could do, Lott said. He was not only a great hitter and great intimidator on the field, but he was a great athlete. Kenny, Lawrence Taylor and those guys changed the game of football on the defensive side because they were not just big hitters. Now, all of sudden, you were seeing guys who were big hitters, but also as athletic as anyone on offense. Easleys matchups with Christensen and Chargers tight end Kellen Winslow were eagerly anticipated in the AFC West. Kellen caught some passes on Kenny, but Kenny dogged him, said Ralph Hawkins, the Seahawks secondary coach at the time. We also put Kenny on Christensen and that was a battle - man, that was a battle. Christensen averaged better than 87 receptions per season during a four-year stretch ending in 1986; Winslow was named to the NFLs 75th anniversary team in 1995, the year he entered the Hall of Fame. Both commanded double coverage from opponents. Easley was often good enough on his own. The thing that I always respected about him is that when they went single coverage in those days, it wasnt as if he had linebacker help, said Christensen, who averaged 4.3 catches for 53 yards in 14 career games against Easley. Christensen caught 11 passes for 152 yards during a classic 38-36 loss to the Seahawks in 1983. He was limited to one catch for 21 yards during Seattles 13-7 playoff victory over the Raiders the following season. Winslow caught 21 passes for 270 yards in five match-ups. Its not fair to say I caught all of those 21 passes against Kenny, Winslow said. Maybe 50 percent. The key to our offense was taking advantage of mismatches and because I played wide receiver and tight end, I was quicker than linebackers and able to use my body against safeties. Winslow stood 6-foot-5 and weighed 250 pounds, attributes he used to catch 541 passes for 6,741 yards and 45 touchdowns. But he never found the end zone against Easley. The guys I had problems with were guys like Kenny and (Oaklands) Mike Davis, Winslow said. They were big enough, strong enough and quick enough to give you trouble. I had to use basketball skills to post them up and keep my body between them and the ball. The 1986 Washington Redskins were the only team to truly neutralize Easley before the onset of kidney failure began to extract an increasing toll in 1987, Hawkins said. The Redskins lined up two receivers near one sideline while splitting a tight end to the other side. Seattle later regretted leaving Easley on the tight end. “If the cornerback remained on the receiver, the Redskins ran the ball. If the corner cheated to the inside, they threw downfield.” The formula produced a 19-14 victory for Washington. The Redskins, like many opponents, went out of their way to avoid Easley. I remember a game where we played them and I flexed out 10, 12 times for the sole reason of getting him out of the running game, Christensen said. He was that good as the eighth man in the box. Easley was clearly among the most feared and respected players of his era, yet he always resisted talk about the Hall of Fame. What would please me is to be remembered as a guy who really played hard all the time, Easley told The News Tribune in a 1990 interview. That would be enough for me. That Easley played in only 89 NFL games - for the sake of comparison, Lott played in 192 - hardly disqualifies him from consideration. Former Detroit Lions safety Jack Christiansen was enshrined in Canton after playing 89 games from 1951 to 1958. He picked off 46 passes, scored eight times on punt returns and was All-NFL six times. Easley finished with 32 interceptions, five Pro Bowls and two defensive player of the year awards (NFL, AFC). He averaged 12.1 yards per punt return in 1984, when he also led the NFL with 10 interceptions. At his peak, Easley arguably set the standard for safeties - including Lott, a first-ballot Hall of Famer. It goes without saying what Ronnie did in his career, Christensen said. But in all candor - and this is no knock on Ronnie - Kenny Easley was a better football player. SIDEBAR: From Kenny Easleys peers . . . . There is not a football game that goes by where you dont see a defensive back drop an interception. This guy made catches. His weakness was the fact that he would play so hurt. Todd Christensen, Raiders tight end, 79-88 * There was a game back at San Diego that stands out. ... He grabbed me around the collar and it was like one of those rodeo events. Calf roping. For about three seconds, it was one of the most unpleasant times in my life. Wes Chandler, Chargers receiver, 81-87 * Hed be a Hall of Fame player (had he played longer). Maybe he still is. He was that good. Bill Walsh, 49ers coach, 79-88 * Nobody hit like Easley. Nobody. He should be in the Hall of Fame. Ralph Hawkins, Seahawks DB coach, 83-88 * I dont think we really saw all the talent Kenny Easley had to offer. But having had the chance to really see him in person, he was a fine athlete. He could play in any era, any time with any team and could make a difference. He was an impact ballplayer. Rick Upchurch, Broncos receiver, 75-83 * Thats one of those things in sports: A great, great player that because of not winning or going to the Super Bowl, he isnt put in that (elite) category. And yet the guys who go to the Super Bowl want to be like him. The guys around the league want to be like him. Thats what you take away. Ronnie Lott, 49ers defensive back, 81-90
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 12:56:49 +0000
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