The most dominant player ever to wear the Seahawk blue has finally been enshrined into pro football’s Hall of Fame. Cortez Kennedy was no more a man, than he was a defensive ogre.
At 6’3” 305 lbs, the “Tezmanian Devil” spent all of his 11 NFL seasons in Seattle. He also spent those seasons sending opposing offensive lineman to therapists specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder. This pigskinned specimen truly had tiger’s blood and Adonis DNA.
Defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy was the number 3 overall pick in the 1990 draft out of Miami, and went on to record 58 sacks & 568 tackles. He would be an 8 time Pro Bowl selection, 4 time All-Pro, a member of the NFL 1990’s All-Decade Team, Seahawks Ring of Honor, the 1992 Defensive Player of the Year, and now a 2012 inductee into the Hall of Fame. Wow.
When I started watching football at age 7, I was introduced to Cortez Kennedy. I honestly don’t know how to describe him without saying the word “monster.” He was a monster. He was a defensive tackle that took up residence in the offensive backfield. When the ball would snap, Kennedy would consume the offensive guard/tackle into his body, gaining their power, then proceed to flatten the running back for a 3-yard loss. Should the gambling opposition decide to run a pass play, Cortez would blow through the line like a wrecking ball, grab the fullback and chuck him into the quarterback like a bowling ball earning the sack. Absolute monster.
Kennedy anchored Seattle’s defense for 11 years. Aside from his rookie year, he started in all 16 games 8 times, and 15 games once. Longevity and durability at the defensive tackle position to that magnitude is unheard of. Cortez Kennedy’s bruising mentality lives in folklore and wives’ tales in defensive tackle camps across the country. Conversely in offensive lineman camps, he exists as sort of a phantom beast lurking in the shadows of the night, stalking fat offensive lineman who dog it in their drills, and devouring them on gameday, or at least relegating them to the Arena Football League.
Tez joins Steve Largent as the only two true Seahawks enshrined at the Hall of Fame, but more will come. Congratulations to the best defensive Seahawk of all-time, sackmaster Cortez Kennedy.
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