The Seattle Seahawks enter this year’s NFC Championship game on a roll. They‘ve won 12 of their last 13 games with their sole loss coming in the season finale when they rested many key starters. Their opponent in the NFC Championship game, the Carolina Panthers, have two consecutive road playoff victories, and hope to make it three, but they emerged from their divisional battle a little banged up.
This week, the Panthers face the task of traveling all the way across the country to play in front of a hostile crowd without starting running back DeShaun Foster and possibly defensive end Julius Peppers. Foster broke his ankle in the second half of last weekend’s contest with the Chicago Bears, and is out for the remainder of the playoffs, which means Nick Goings will be thrust into the starting role. Goings is a solid back and a hard runner who has been productive when given playing time, but he lacks the playmaking ability and the speed of Foster.
With the less-explosive Goings carrying the ball, Seattle should be able to get away with playing just seven men in the box. The Seahawks linemen do a good job of controlling the gaps and rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu fills the holes with authority. With Foster out of this contest, it will allow the Seahawks to play their safeties back so they can concentrate on trying to control dangerous wide receiver Steve Smith.
Smith, who is coming off a huge day against the Bears, is really the only legitimate offensive threat quarterback Jake Delhomme has to work with. Regardless, the explosive receiver is tough to shut down. He seems to have a knack for finding holes in the defense, and Delhomme does a good job getting the ball to him where he can make plays with his blazing speed. A big key to this game rests on how successful the Panthers are at getting the ball into Smith’s hands.
The Seahawks have concerns of their own at running back with Shaun Alexander missing most of last weekend’s divisional matchup with the Washington Redskins because of a concussion. He says he’ll be ready to play, but you have to wonder what kind of shape he’ll be in and how willing he will be to take a big hit Sunday. The Panthers have a formidable defense, and won’t make things easy on him in the early going.
But fortunately, the Seahawks have a very balanced attack, and they’ll be able to use their passing game to loosen up the Panthers’ run defense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will spread the ball around to a variety of weapons, which should help open some running lanes. Also look for Seattle to test RDE Mike Rucker‘s ability to hold the point of attack against left tackle Walter Jones in the run game. The Panthers might also be without their other starting defensive end Julius Peppers because of a shoulder injury suffered in the Chicago game, so look for Seattle to attempt to exploit both ends in this contest.
Carolina has a talented and deep secondary, and will most likely show a lot of man coverage early so they can focus on stopping Alexander. But if they don’t pressure Hasselbeck, he’ll eventually find an open receiver. Wide receiver Darrell Jackson has come on strong after battling back from injury, putting up 143 receiving yards against the Washington Redskins. But the Seahawks have three other capable receivers who will make it tough for Carolina to key on just one player.
The Panthers just have too much going against them this week. The travel, the injuries, and the consecutive road games put them at serious disadvantage. The Panthers are playing good ball and should play the Seahawks tough, but Seattle’s overall balance should prevail in this contest. The Seahawks also have not lost a game at home all season. Look for them to keep their record clean and advance to Super Bowl XL.
This week, the Panthers face the task of traveling all the way across the country to play in front of a hostile crowd without starting running back DeShaun Foster and possibly defensive end Julius Peppers. Foster broke his ankle in the second half of last weekend’s contest with the Chicago Bears, and is out for the remainder of the playoffs, which means Nick Goings will be thrust into the starting role. Goings is a solid back and a hard runner who has been productive when given playing time, but he lacks the playmaking ability and the speed of Foster.
With the less-explosive Goings carrying the ball, Seattle should be able to get away with playing just seven men in the box. The Seahawks linemen do a good job of controlling the gaps and rookie middle linebacker Lofa Tatupu fills the holes with authority. With Foster out of this contest, it will allow the Seahawks to play their safeties back so they can concentrate on trying to control dangerous wide receiver Steve Smith.
Smith, who is coming off a huge day against the Bears, is really the only legitimate offensive threat quarterback Jake Delhomme has to work with. Regardless, the explosive receiver is tough to shut down. He seems to have a knack for finding holes in the defense, and Delhomme does a good job getting the ball to him where he can make plays with his blazing speed. A big key to this game rests on how successful the Panthers are at getting the ball into Smith’s hands.
The Seahawks have concerns of their own at running back with Shaun Alexander missing most of last weekend’s divisional matchup with the Washington Redskins because of a concussion. He says he’ll be ready to play, but you have to wonder what kind of shape he’ll be in and how willing he will be to take a big hit Sunday. The Panthers have a formidable defense, and won’t make things easy on him in the early going.
But fortunately, the Seahawks have a very balanced attack, and they’ll be able to use their passing game to loosen up the Panthers’ run defense. Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will spread the ball around to a variety of weapons, which should help open some running lanes. Also look for Seattle to test RDE Mike Rucker‘s ability to hold the point of attack against left tackle Walter Jones in the run game. The Panthers might also be without their other starting defensive end Julius Peppers because of a shoulder injury suffered in the Chicago game, so look for Seattle to attempt to exploit both ends in this contest.
Carolina has a talented and deep secondary, and will most likely show a lot of man coverage early so they can focus on stopping Alexander. But if they don’t pressure Hasselbeck, he’ll eventually find an open receiver. Wide receiver Darrell Jackson has come on strong after battling back from injury, putting up 143 receiving yards against the Washington Redskins. But the Seahawks have three other capable receivers who will make it tough for Carolina to key on just one player.
The Panthers just have too much going against them this week. The travel, the injuries, and the consecutive road games put them at serious disadvantage. The Panthers are playing good ball and should play the Seahawks tough, but Seattle’s overall balance should prevail in this contest. The Seahawks also have not lost a game at home all season. Look for them to keep their record clean and advance to Super Bowl XL.
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