Finish: Far more than a mantra for Seahawks. Now, it’s a must
SEAHAWKS GAMEDAY
CAROLINA PANTHERS (4-0) at SEATTLE SEAHAWKS (2-3)
1:05 p.m. Sunday, CenturyLink Field
TV: Ch. 13. Radio: 710-AM, 97.3-FM, 1030-AM.
The series: Seattle leads the series 5-2, and is 2-0 against the Panthers in the postseason. That includes the most recent meeting, the Seahawks’ 31-17 win in the divisional playoffs in January. This is the fifth meeting since 2012. The Seahawks have played Carolina more than any other non-division team in that span. The last three regular-season matchups have been slogs: 16-12, 12-7 and 13-9 wins for Seattle. The Panthers have not won in four games — two in the playoffs — in Seattle.
SEATTLE’S KEYS TO VICTORY
Finish! It’s all the Seahawks have been saying since the postgame locker room last weekend in Ohio. LB K.J. Wright suggested that complacency and a “we got this” mindset may have doomed Seattle in recent games. If the Seahawks have a lead in the fourth quarter and add on, all the meetings and coaches and soul-searching this week will have been worth it. If not … the Seahawks may end up 2-4.
Live and learn: You can bet all the leaves along Tobacco Road that Carolina will do with tight end Greg Olsen what Cincinnati did last week with tight end Tyler Eifert: Send him down the middle of the field on combination routes, with wide receivers running diversions short in front of safety Kam Chancellor. Defensive coordinator Kris Richard all but admitted the Bengals beat his coverage schemes on those routes and vowed to fix the flaws, perhaps with Seattle’s cornerbacks not having so much deep inside responsibility. The Panthers and Cam Newton will test the Seahawks’ learning on this.
Job sharing: It’s a quandary that Seattle’s never had in the six seasons with Marshawn Lynch — but has now with Lynch returning from two missed games (hamstring): How to give his backup opportunities? After two 100-yard rushing days while Lynch was out, Thomas Rawls has earned more than token appearances in the backfield spelling the starter. Not that this needs to be a 50-50 split, but the Seahawks should give Rawls 10 or so carries to keep his momentum and motivation going. If Lynch gets, say, 18 or more on top of that, Seattle is winning..
THE PICK
Seahawks, 16-9. No one is going to call a game in mid-October a must-win. But this is as close to one that a two-time defending conference champion can have. The defense carries the team — yet again — in another low-scoring slog with the Panthers.
PRIME NUMBERS
CAROLINA | |||||
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Year |
1 | Cam Newton | QB | 6-5 | 245 | fifth |
He’s running more than he ever has. That might be his way to finally beat | |||||
Seattle (he’s 0-3 in his career). | |||||
24 | Josh Norman | CB | 6-0 | 195 | fourth |
NFC’s defensive player of month for September, then had two interceptions in | |||||
first game of October. Has four interceptions — two returned for TDs. | |||||
88 | Greg Olsen | TE | 6-5 | 253 | ninth |
Will attempt to do what Bengals TE Tyler Eifert did last week: Burn Seattle deep | |||||
down the middle. | |||||
SEATTLE | |||||
No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Year |
15 | Jermaine Kearse | WR | 6-1 | 209 | fourth |
Scores a TD almost every time he plays Carolina, which has been often lately. | |||||
Look for him to do it again. | |||||
31 | Kam Chancellor | SS | 6-3 | 232 | sixth |
He’s ticked at what Cincinnati did to him with its tight end. Carolina will try to | |||||
do the same with Olsen. | |||||
72 | Michael Bennett | DE | 6-4 | 274 | seventh |
Owes his team one — or three — after flagged for mauling Bengals QB Andy Dalton | |||||
last week. Must keep Newton from getting outside the pocket. | |||||
gregg.bell@thenewstribune.com
SUNDAY: Carolina (4-0) at Seattle (2-3), 1:05 p.m. Ch. 13, 710-AM,
97.3-FM, 1030-AM
This story was originally published October 18, 2015 at 8:23 AM with the headline "Finish: Far more than a mantra for Seahawks. Now, it’s a must."