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There are only two former Hokies in this round and with only one starting, you can guess the focus of this post.
Kam Chancellor, S Seattle Seahawks -- Kam had some big plays for the Seahawks, including an interception of San Francisco QB Colin Kaepernick with the Seahawks up 20-17 with under 8 minutes to play in the fourth quarter. Kaepernick tried to force the ball into a small window to Anquann Boldin, but Chancellor was in front of Boldin the whole play and popped up to pick the pass off.
Chancellor also had a touchdown-saving tackle in the first half as Kaepernick took off running and beat the spying linebacker. Kam got knocked down on the sideline, got back up and chased Kaepernick down from behind to prevent a touchdown and end the run at 58 yards. The 49ers would later score, but Chancellor showed a lot of effort to get there and bring Kaepernick down.
Just before the 2-minute warning, Chancellor came up on Michael Crabtree on a 3rd-and-2 play and broke it up to force a crucial 4th-and-2. Kaepernick converted that 4th-and-2, but threw another interception that was a hell of a defensive play by Richard Sherman and intercepted by Malcolm Smith.
Statistically, Kam finished the game with 11 tackles with five as solo efforts, an interception and two passes defended. And he's heading to the Super Bowl.
BamBam laid this monster of a hit on Vernon Davis in the third quarter, forcing a San Francisco punt:
This time, he didn't get penalized like he did for a big hit on Davis a year or so ago.
Vinston Painter, OL Denver Broncos -- Painter was signed to the active squad after spending the entirety of the regular season as a member of the practice squad. Painter drew interest from the 49ers, who were in need of an O-lineman, and the Broncos wanted to protect Painter by moving him to the active roster. Good for Vinston to be on the sidelines for the win and let's hope he gets some playing time down the road. So Painter will be in the Super Bowl in his first year. Also, good pay bump for him this week as his salary went from $5,000 a week to $42,000 (according to the linked report).