NFL-Contract dispute proving costly for Seahawks and Chancellor

Sept 20 (Reuters) - After giving up 34 points to St Louis in the season opener, Seattle's much-vaunted defense was torched for 27 by Green Bay on Sunday as the Seahawks continue to struggle without Pro Bowl safety Kam Chancellor. Chancellor, one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, is in the midst of a contract dispute with the Seahawks and has refused to report to the team, who fell to 0-2 after Sunday's 27-17 loss to the Packers at Lambeau Field. The Seahawks, Super Bowl champions in the 2013 season and runners-up last season, are bottom of the NFC West. "You can't quantify (what his absence means), he isn't here," Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman told reporters. "At the end of the day, I have to play and tackle better. That's all you can do." Chancellor has reached three Pro Bowls in his five years with the Seahawks as his special blend of size and strength proved indispensable. In Seattle's season-opening 34-31 loss to the Rams, Chancellor's replacement, Dion Bailey, gave up a late game-tying score. Despite his value to the defense, the Seahawks have not budged from their position and maintain they will not give in to the demands of a player already under contract. The 27-year-old signed a five-year contract extension worth nearly $30 million in 2013 but has since watched the Seahawks splash the cash on quarterback Russell Wilson, rusher Marshawn Lynch and linebacker Bobby Wagner. His standoff has proved costly for both sides -- the Seahawks losing two in a row and Chancellor forgoing some $2 million in wages. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said the situation was disappointing. "Nothing has changed. It really has never been a negotiation; it's been conversations," said Carroll ahead of Sunday's game. "I'm just disappointed, like I know he is and everybody is, that it hasn't found a way to get him here." (Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Rutherford)