 "He can make plays like nobody can." -- Seattle coach Chuck Knox "[He is] extremely aware of trying to get the football away from the other guy, constantly looking for that opportunity." -- Seattle defensive coordinator Tom Catlin "I just have a lot of confidence in what I'm doing." -- Kenny Easley "One of the most vicious tacklers ever. I mean, he lathers the ball carrier." -- Seahawk guard Reggie McKenzie "I'd have to think a long time before I could come up with the name of another starter who ever volunteered to run back punts." -- Seattle Coach Chuck Knox about Kenny Easley
Source: Sports Illustrated Seahawks fans remember the heartbreakers CNNSI.com looked at a few of the transactions that made Seahawks fans shout, "Say It Ain't So." Then we opened the mailbag and let users vent on those and other dirty deals from over the years. Here is a sampling of your reactions: How about the Seahawk trade of Ahman Green for Fred Vincent. Green rushed for 1,400 yards for the Packers and will be their starting RB this season. Vincent spent his whole career injured and was injured when Holmgren traded for him. He was released this spring never having played a down for the Seahawks. The releasing of fullback John L. Williams was also one of the saddest day in Seahawk history. A man that gave his heart on the field every week and never really recieved the credit he deserved. A Pro Bowler and Seahawk record holder, I believe his place belongs int the Ring of Honor. Kenny Easley was not the most popular Seahawk. That was always Steve Largent, Curt Warner, Dave Krieg/Jim Zorn, Dr. Dan Dornick, Daryl Turner and so on. But, Easley was the favorite of all the real fans. The ones that know the difference between strong side and weak side, what a clip is, and why Ken Behring was evil. In 6th grade, we learned how to write a business letter and were told to write to anyone of our choosing. Most of the kids choose Reagan or Largent. I choose Easley. We sent off our letters and we waited. In two weeks, letters started to return. Reagan sent out brochures on the Whitehouse, Largent an autographed picture, I got nothing. In two months time everybody had recieved something but me. I was bummed. In June, three days before the school year ended, I got a big manila envelope with the Seahawk emblem. It was from Kenny Easley. In it was an autographed 8x10 saying "Best Wishes, Kenny Easley", a letter apologizing for the delay in response, a signed football card, Jacob Greene's, Joe Nash and a couple of other defensive players. I was the happiest kid. I bragged and showed. I said "Largent only sent you a picture, I got a ton more stuff then that." I still have all that stuff. It is not valuable. Becketts doesn't put a price on it and Easley was gone from the team in a year's time. In two years no one rembered him. No more jerseys, posters, no more talk about the Enforcer. No one cared that this man would return punts, when Bobby Joe Edmonds got hurt. That he was a team captain. That we was the team Union rep, in this so called union town. That team negligence had cost him his career, his health and almost his life. Nothing.
I still love Kenny Easley, as much for the letter and picture, for his fearless hitting. This town has not replaced him.
October 30, 1984 SAN DIEGO, Oct. 29, 1984 -- Dave Krieg passed for 282 yards, Steve Largent caught three touchdown passes, Kenny Easley had three interceptions and the Seattle Seahawks easily beat the San Diego Chargers, 24-0, tonight. The Seahawks sacked Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts six times and forced three turnovers as San Diego suffered its first shutout since a 7-0 loss to Denver in 1979. Seattle improved to 7-2, good for a second-place tie with the Los Angeles Raiders, one game behind the Broncos in the AFC West. The Chargers played without injured receivers Kellen Winslow and Wes Chandler and used No. 2 tight end Pete Holohan sparingly. San Diego fell to 4-5, all the losses against AFC West opponents, and severely hurt its playoff hopes. Krieg, who entered the game with a 53 percent pass completion rate, completed 23 of 29 passes against San Diego's inexperienced secondary. He directed touchdown drives of 96, 81 and 63 yards. Largent, who has caught passes in 100 straight games, caught scoring passes of 11, 13 and 16 yards. His first touchdown catch was his first reception of the night, the fifth straight game he has done that. Easley, a fourth-year pro from UCLA, squelched three drives. He intercepted passes at the Seahawks' four-yard line in the first quarter, the six in the third and the eight in the final period. Twice Krieg passed to Largent for touchdowns in the first half, and Norm Johnson kicked a 42-yard field goal for a 17-0 lead at intermission. Largent's third touchdown pass came on the team's second possession of the third quarter, after Easley had intercepted Fouts at the Chargers six and returned it 32 yards. San Diego's offensive line collapsed around Fouts. The Seahawks got 47 yards in sack losses against Fouts, who managed to complete 24 of 39 passes for 200 yards.
Krieg directed two long touchdown drives in the first half and the Seahawks turned two San Diego turnovers into 10 points. Fouts took the Chargers to Seattle's 39-yard line on the team's second series, but a flea-flicker from Lionel James to Bobby Duckworth was stolen by Easley at the four. Krieg got the team to the 27 with a 13-yard completion to Byron Walker, then threw a perfectly placed 60-yard pass to Darryl Turner, who beat defenders Gill Byrd and John Turner and came down on the San Diego 13. Two plays later, Largent beat Byrd for an 11-yard touchdown. Seattle and San Diego both were limping. The Seahawks, who lost running back Curt Warner in the season opener, have seen wide receiver Paul Johns, defensive back Don Dufek, tight end Pete Metzelaars and linebacker Michael Jackson go down with injuries.
Kenny Easley: The Ball Stops Here Easley is the spiritual and physical leader of the gang that led the NFL with 25 fumble recoveries and 38 interceptions - the most in the NFL since 1961 - for 63 takeaways, just five short of a 23-year-old record. Their plus-24 turnover difference led the league. That's why they went 12-4 and made the playoffs. When it was time to choose the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, Easley was a natural. He represents all that is good about the Seahawk defense. Easley plays with the fury that makes him an ideal catalyst for such an up-from-nothing team. At UCLA, he was the team's intimidator. He shaved his head before each season. He was not given assignments so much as he was unleashed. He played every game as though he had just escaped from a sealed jar after 700 years. Easley was athletic enough to turn down basketball scholarships from Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference schools. He played junior varsity basketball at UCLA, which has a fair tradition in hoops. Scouts compared him with Marques Johnson. The Chicago Bulls picked him in the last round of the NBA draft. When he played quarterback at Oscar Smith High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, he was the first player in the state to gain 1000 yards both running and passing on one season.
Webmaster's Note: Aren't we fortunate that the Kenny Easley made his peace with the Seahawks and accepted the honor of his rightful place in our Ring of Honor. Please keep that in mind as you read the next article.
Source: Sports Illustrated In a matter of months, Kenny Easley went from being the Seahawks' biggest star to being cast off in a trade to being out of football forever and fighting for his life. He later underwent a transplant for a degenerative kidney allegedly caused by pain-relief medication from his playing days. A lawsuit against the Seahawks was settled out of court and perpetuated his alienation from the team to this day. Start to finish, it might be one of the saddest stories in Seattle sports. In a seven-year career, Easley picked off 32 passes, including 10 in 1984 to earn NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. That went up next to his 1981 award as the AFC Defensive Rookie of the Year and his 1983 award for AFC Defensive Player of the Year. His production tailed off, and after the 1987 season, Seattle tried to cash in on the five-time Pro Bowler by sending him to Phoenix for 23-year-old holdout quarterback Kelly Stouffer. But Easley failed his physical when tests showed kidney damage already in alarming stage. The Seahawks ended up trading a slew of picks for Stouffer and Easley was left to retire in the uniform of a team he knew had tried to get rid of him -- not to mention the embarrassment of having another team's doctors find the cause of his ill-health instead of the team for which he had been risking his life. Stouffer, by the way, was a bust for the Seahawks, throwing seven TDs and 19 INTs in five years.
Source: Inside the Seahawks, Vol 1 No. 12, October 24, 1986-October 30, 1986
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