#45 YIPPPPPEEEE - yay KENNY

[Hawk Sista]

Kenny is IN!!!!

[c_hawkbob]

Woohoo!!

[Rambo2014]

Who?

Sorry but never heard of him!

BTW what time do the Seahawks play tomorrow? Oh?

[mykc14]

Way to go Kenny!! Well deserved!

[mykc14]

Way to go Kenny!! Well deserved!

[savvyman]

Who?

Sorry but never heard of him!

BTW what time do the Seahawks play tomorrow? Oh?

Here is an article about him from your teams local paper in 1985 - Tell me what other NFL player is describe in such explosive language by an opposing team newspaper?

http://articles.latimes.com/1985-12-13/sports/sp-16915_1_kenny-easley


>>>>>>>>There are some people in the National Football League who would contend that Kenny Easley, the Seattle Seahawks' strong safety and arguably the best defensive player in the league, never really graduated from dynamite pigskin.

He is in his fifth pro season and he went to the Pro Bowl after the last three. He was a consensus All-American after his last three seasons at UCLA. Yet, as he prepares for Sunday's game with the Raiders, bad ankle notwithstanding, there is concern that Easley, this rogue defensive back, is still very much playing his own game.

And, some say, it's not always pretty.

The talk began after last year's AFC playoff game, in which Easley, who had just been named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, sent Miami receivers Mark Duper and Bruce Hardy to the sidelines with bell-ringing tackles.

It continued this season when Cincinnati receiver Mike Martin, failing to yield the pigskin even out of bounds, got blasted--somewhat gratuitously, it was thought in some quarters.

One magazine called Easley "the cheapest of cheap-shot artists." Seattle reporters noted the violence, as well, and the hometown columnists admonished him to employ his talent in less homicidal ways.

Other reporters across the country picked up on it, and before you knew it, his interception totals--he has averaged six a year and had 10 last year--were no longer the subject of discussion. His abilities to stuff the running game, the way good linebackers do it, and nullify the passing game, the way good free safeties do it, were overlooked. The subject was now Easley's intimidation, the make-my-day flair he brought to the game. Dynamite pigskin, made even more explosive in the nuclear age of the NFL.

To tell the truth, Easley had somewhat cultivated that image. For the Seahawks' highlight film, he once stared into the camera and said, "Let's face it, I'm vicious." He liked being known for his aggressive and physical brand of football. "Any player on the defensive side of the ball would like that said of him," he said.

His colleagues backed that up, celebrating his runaway-train style. Said then-teammate Reggie McKenzie: "He's one of the most vicious tacklers ever. He comes up and shaves a man's butt."


Isn't that the idea? As his position coach, Ralph Hawkins, told his detractors, "That's the game. If they don't want that, they'd play two-hand touch, below the waist."

But the image got out of hand. Easley knew it had gotten out of hand when his mother called from Chesapeake. "She was, uh, excited and upset," he said. "It was the kind of thing, 'I didn't raise my boy to behave like this.' It took awhile to calm her down."

So, Easley decided to go easy with that image and refused to talk to the media, not so much because he blamed them, but he just wanted to give this all a chance to die down.

"As far as being violent, I'm not playing the game to hurt anyone physically or put them out of commission," he said in only one of two sitdown interviews he has given this season. "I don't think anyone wants to be remembered like Jack Tatum, a fine football player who will always be associated with (the paralyzing of) Darryl Stingley."

It would be a pity if Easley, 26, is not remembered as one of the greatest defensive backs of his time, the kind of guy you fear, but for all the right reasons. Denver Coach Dan Reeves once said: "You have to know where Kenny Easley is on every play. If you don't, you're in all kinds of trouble."<<<<<<<<<<<<

[savvyman]

Who?

Sorry but never heard of him!

BTW what time do the Seahawks play tomorrow? Oh?

Ali's famous quote of"'Float Like a Butterfly and Sting Like a Bee" also perfectly describes the play of Kenny Easley.

[savvyman]

Very Nice video where you really get a good idea of the Player & Man that Kenny Easley was\is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4A0Yl4gyeM

[ACES 13]

Sorry but never heard of him!

So, you ARE 12 yrs. old! That explains a lot.

Congrats Kenny!!! Long overdue!

[RiverDog]

Fantastic! That makes 4. I only wish he would have been admitted two years earlier. I visited the HOF in October of 2015 and got to see Largent, Tez, and Walt's busts.

[obiken]

Very Nice video where you really get a good idea of the Player & Man that Kenny Easley was\is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4A0Yl4gyeM

Savvy, KE didn't sting like a bee, he hit like he was shot out of a gun!!
I am so happy, I never thought he would make it due to the longevity issue. But he's IN!!!!

[Agent 86]

Was a little too young at the time to fully appreciate how good Easley was, but I remember having his poster up in my room next to the Largent and Kreig ones.

Great news, congrats Kenny!

[RiverDog]

I never thought he would make it due to the longevity issue.

The longevity issue was the ONLY rap on his resume, and one can lean back on some very recent precedent to justify the selection. HOF inductee Dwight Stephenson played 8 seasons was selected to 5 PB's and 5 AP teams. Fellow HOF inductee Earl Campbell also played in just 8 seasons and was selected to 5 PB's and 3 AP teams. Easley played in 7 seasons and was selected to 5 PB's and 4 AP teams. All 3 players played in almost exactly the same years, Stephenson '80-87, Campbell '78-'85, Easley '81-87.

So the only difference is the fact that Easley played in just one season less than the other two. Otherwise, he had just as good of credentials as the other two, and I think one can argue that he had just as much impact on the game, if not more, as Campbell did and more of an impact as Stephenson did, taking away nothing of what the other two achieved, that trumps that one season.

So please remember these FACTS when you are approached by a Cowboys fan or a Packers fan, as I occasionally am, that's looking to disrespect our guy and use them to hone your retort.

[Hawktawk]

Its a great honor and deservedly so. I do think the overall cachet of the Hawks the last 10 years with multiple division titles,3 SB appearances and a Lombardi helped him to get a second look.
Whatever the mechanism hes a great Hawk. probably our best defensive player ever and one of the best athletes ever to lace them up for Seattle.
Way to go Kenny!!!!

[burrrton]

How did I not hear about this? I suppose my complete disinterest in anything NFL played a part.

Congrats, Kenny- well deserved- and thanks Sis for letting us know.

[Zorn76]

Long overdue, but at least it happened.

Congratulations on the Gold jacket, Mr. Easley.

[Seahawks4Ever]

Congrats #45 Kenny Easley!!! I KNEW he would be in the HoF someday. Leave it to the Veterans Committee who KNEW just how much of a difference maker he was out there on the field. Ronnie Lott? Steve Atwater? Yeah, #45 rates right up there with those guys. In fact, he even got votes in the league MVP award, a ward that Never (or almost never) goes to a defensive player. Yeah, he was THAT GREAT!!!

Shout out to the late great P-I poster SOE (Son Of Easley)! He made it MAN!!! HE MADE it!!!!!

[RiverDog]

Easley's contract demands were quite simple: He wanted to be paid $1 more than Ronnie Lott.

[ACES 13]

Ronnie Lott said during their playing days that Easley was the best. Smart man!