Carolina Secondary?

[hawknation2015]

Outside of Norman, who has played exceptionally at times, the Carolina secondary is the weak spot of their defense.

I think their pass rush is another weakness. Combine the two weaknesses and I expect Russell to have a very good day.

Their outside pass rush hasn't been a big strength for Carolina. But inside, Short and Lotulelei are beasts. Patrick Lewis had a horrible game against them earlier in the year. Short basically had his way with Lewis. And Sweezy and Britt were not much better.

I wonder if there is any way the Seahawks can counter this.

Just focusing on their technique, taking good angles, playing with leverage, and blocking through the whistle. Lewis looked a little rusty in that first start, and he was dealing with an ankle injury in the 2nd half of the game. Britt was still in his period of adjustment and was beaten several times. Gilliam and Okung were overpowered a few times. Carolina has four big, strong guys upfront. They have become accustomed to winning the line of scrimmage this season. They have some great LBs back there too. I just checked and they had more pressure than we did in the previous game: 14 vs. 12.

Using screens to counter that interior pressure will probably not work well because their LBs are so fundamentally sound. You could roll Wilson out more, but that cuts off the field and makes things easier for their secondary. Read option can be effective at times. Russell had a couple nice runs against them earlier in the year. Staying committed to the run game, even if it doesn't generate much, and then getting them to bite down on the play action is the best way to go, IMO.

 

[Cary Kollins]

I'm predicting Lockett has a monster game.

Carolina fans does Norman play the side or do they blanket the opposing #1? I can't remember how they use him.

He generally follows the #1 WR, except when they go into the slot. But Norman has gone into the slot at certain points, specifically after the slot corner (or LB) gets burned a few times.


The loss of Bene Benwikere to a broken leg (during the 4th qt of the 38-0 route of Atlanta) is probably the biggest loss of the season for Carolina, outside of losing Benjamin in the preseason. Bene is a very good second year player, and he was the slot guy.

The loss of Tillman to an ACL tear is huge as well. He was playing very solid this season as the number 2 corner on the outside.

Both of these losses are huge IMO. The Carolina pass rush has not been great down the stretch, and now the number 2 corner is going to be Robert McClain, a guy that tried out for 10 teams after being cut by New England in September.


As far as the question about Tolbert used as a pass catcher, he is very good and shifty for his size. Cam has been able to find Tolbert for big gains on little dump offs a few times this season.

 

[panthers4life]

Banged up is probably an understatement. We've become very exploitable deep and in the slot. It started with Bene Benwikere breaking his leg in the first game against the Falcons, then we lost Tillman to ACL. Coleman also missed time at the end of the season, although he will go this week. That leaves us with Finnegan (who we pulled off the sofa) Lou Young (who we pulled off the practice squad), Tre Boston (you might remember him from our last divisional playoff meeting), and Robert McClain (a retread) as the stop gaps. No question, this is now a group of question and Carolina is going to have to scheme a lot to cover Lockett and Baldwin effectively, not to mention your Luke always seems to make plays on us. It's a scary matchup, Russ is king of extending a play and covering for that long is tough for the best secondaries. Add in that our D-line hasn't gotten pressure without a blitz in about 5 weeks and I'm definitely worried about the defensive side as a whole.

 

[Ozzy]

Good posts guys. Every team has exploitable matchups and the Seahawks have them as well. From my perspective I think Lewis is going to be key. He needs to keep interior pressure to a minimum and if he can slow your inside pass rush the Seahawk will find some success on the offensive side of the ball. This is the game that I think everyone wanted and it will come down to the last couple of minutes. I have a little more faith in Russell in that scenario but if I was a Carolina fan I would probably feel pretty confident in Cam. Going to be a fun one.

 

[Threedee]

Any chance the league is on high alert regarding Norman after the Giants game, and the refs will be too much on his case to allow him to be as effective in the playoffs?

 

[mikeak]

all I know is I am gambling on Over

 

[rideaducati]

all I know is I am gambling on Over

I don't think the Prancers are going to score much. Seattle's defense has allowed 43 points in their last 6 road games and all starters are healthy. Unless you think the Seahawks are getting close to the over themselves, I'd bet the under.

The Seahawks were up 20-7 and Cary Williams isn't in the secondary anymore. The Prancers have guys off the street playing in their secondary. The Seahawks offense has come alive too, so I EXPECT a rather substantial Seahawks victory.

 

[MrHoenhiem]

Strangely enough over on panthers message board there are people also claiming it will be one sided victory for the panthers (talking to you rideaducati).

I don't think it will be a blowout either way, both teams have changed substantially since last match-up and the circumstances are totally different (playoffs, lose and go home!) . Its quite hard for me to make a prediction on the game other than that it should not be a blowout in either direction.

YES secondary is a huge issue for us. Josh Norman is very good but I have witness him get scored on by Julio Jones , Odell Bekham, and get beat a few times this season and he is not the second coming of Deon like some are making him out to be. Other than him Kurt Coleman has a lot of INTs and is quite good. Besides those two, Bene Benwikere was the starter CB besides Josh Norman but was injured for the season some time ago. Cortland Finnegan was out of football for a while we just pick him up not too long ago , then then picked up 2 more DBs I never heard of more recently. I don't have much faith in whatever side of the field Josh Norman is not on.

If I were seattle I would analyze the ever loving daylights out of the Falcons 2nd game against us and emulate what they had success at. As good as Josh Norman And Kurt Coleman can be, through multiple games this season its quite apparent that the Panthers don't have personel to stop a full fledged passing attack working on all cyllinders.

Our freaking coaches are keep starting and giving lots of playtime to these old DEs (Jared Allen and Charles Johnson) who can't do jack diddly in getting pressure on the QB. So when Kawann Short or Star cant break through the middle it gives other team all the time in the universe to pick apart the secondary in the intermediate pass game whereever Josh norman happens to not be.

We DO have some pretty decent DEs (younger guys) who rush the passer a lot better . However they have a tendency to sort of run in strait line while getting blocked and not actually make it all the way off their man to sack the QB. Sometimes they push their man into or near the qb which cause him to step up and then for Kawann to sack the QB as a result.

Biggest strength of our defense is our Line Backing tandem Thomas Davis Luke Keuchly . They are fast , tackle very well, and have played better in coverage this year too. Luke Keachly very nearly had an INT against Julio Jones on the long touchdown at the last atlanta game was in perfect position way downfield with arguably the best WR in the game and was inch or two too short to catch it.

I'm a Panther fan (casual fan since 2003 , and a hardcore "watches all games" fan since the disgusting 2010 Jimmy Clausen year. Lived in NC most of my life).

Just to give you guys some background, Panthers have not gotten beyond this particular playoff round the whole time Cam Newton has been with us, so its has huge meaning for the Panthers and especially for Cam to show if the panthers and himself are "Real" or not. The Panthers have gotten the shaft alot from many media and a lot of other nfl fans saying "they will lose their first playoff game"

The seahawks have absolutely had Panthers # in years with Cam and if we hadn't beaten you guys earlier in the year Panthers would be at a gigantic mental disatvantage.

There's absolutely no way Panthers are looking over Seattle or underestimate them in the least bit considering last game was close , Seattle beat Panthers in playoffs last year , and the Panthers will be mocked heavily through the offseason if you guys beat the breaks off us at home with us being undefeated at home this season and having 15-1 record.

 

[MrHoenhiem]

Have to also keep in mind starting RB Jonathan Stewart is most likely coming back but I don't think he has been in a single game of practice in 3 weeks to a month. If he does get back for this game I'm hoping he's not rusty.

Ted Ginn is also supposed to be back from his injury for this coming up game . But both their status is still not official yet so still a bit in the air whether they'll be with us on Sunday other than the coach "excpects them to play". Ginn has had a huge problem with drops this year but he's fast as living hell and more often than not outruns DBs on deep routes.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Strangely enough over on panthers message board there are people also claiming it will be one sided victory for the panthers (talking to you rideaducati). .

I could see how them beating us earlier in the year and watching our offense not play well Sunday would lead to Panther fans being over confident.

But I expect a VERY loose and fired up Hawks team ready to roll this Sunday. This is the kind of game our players crave, a Niner-esque grudge match with the new bully who wants to knock us off the mountain.

Should be an epic game.

 

[mikeak]

Have to also keep in mind starting RB Jonathan Stewart is most likely coming back but I don't think he has been in a single game of practice in 3 weeks to a month. If he does get back for this game I'm hoping he's not rusty.

Ted Ginn is also supposed to be back from his injury for this coming up game . But both their status is still not official yet so still a bit in the air whether they'll be with us on Sunday other than the coach "excpects them to play". Ginn has had a huge problem with drops this year but he's fast as living hell and more often than not outruns DBs on deep routes.

Jonathan Stewart will be ineffective since he is coming off an injury but Marshawn Lynch is going to be a beast despite coming off the injury...........

Ted Ginn - what is the O/U on number of drops? 6?

 

[carolinablue]

Have to also keep in mind starting RB Jonathan Stewart is most likely coming back but I don't think he has been in a single game of practice in 3 weeks to a month. If he does get back for this game I'm hoping he's not rusty.

Ted Ginn is also supposed to be back from his injury for this coming up game . But both their status is still not official yet so still a bit in the air whether they'll be with us on Sunday other than the coach "excpects them to play". Ginn has had a huge problem with drops this year but he's fast as living hell and more often than not outruns DBs on deep routes.

Jonathan Stewart will be ineffective since he is coming off an injury but Marshawn Lynch is going to be a beast despite coming off the injury...........

Ted Ginn - what is the O/U on number of drops? 6?

I think you guys are better off without Lynch versus us. I don't think he's really had any big days against us anyway.

 

[Hawks46]

I wonder if there is any way the Seahawks can counter this.[/quote]

Just focusing on their technique, taking good angles, playing with leverage, and blocking through the whistle. Lewis looked a little rusty in that first start, and he was dealing with an ankle injury in the 2nd half of the game. Britt was still in his period of adjustment and was beaten several times. Gilliam and Okung were overpowered a few times. Carolina has four big, strong guys upfront. They have become accustomed to winning the line of scrimmage this season. They have some great LBs back there too. I just checked and they had more pressure than we did in the previous game: 14 vs. 12.

Using screens to counter that interior pressure will probably not work well because their LBs are so fundamentally sound. You could roll Wilson out more, but that cuts off the field and makes things easier for their secondary. Read option can be effective at times. Russell had a couple nice runs against them earlier in the year. Staying committed to the run game, even if it doesn't generate much, and then getting them to bite down on the play action is the best way to go, IMO.[/quote]

Good post. It's hard when a team gets good natural interior pressure on a pass rush. You really can't help out much; if you block down, you leave your Tackles vulnerable.

The best way to slow down a pass rusher is to run at them. Repeatedly. Wear them down, and they lose their explosion. We can't run them sideline to sideline as their LB corps is way too good for that.

 

[MrHoenhiem]

Strangely enough over on panthers message board there are people also claiming it will be one sided victory for the panthers (talking to you rideaducati). .

I could see how them beating us earlier in the year and watching our offense not play well Sunday would lead to Panther fans being over confident.

But I expect a VERY loose and fired up Hawks team ready to roll this Sunday. This is the kind of game our players crave, a Niner-esque grudge match with the new bully who wants to knock us off the mountain.

Should be an epic game.

Yeah hopefully its a good game! I personally don't have anything against the Seahawks and I like the fact Russel Wilson went to NC State for a time I had a lot of good friends from high school that went to school there ( I went to UNC-Chapel Hill). I hate the saints and I played the Lynch beastmode run over and over again was so satisfying to see that with saints fans still riding high at the time.

It would be the definition of idiocy if the panthers overlook the seahawks given they did the very thing against the falcons and got handed a loss because of it. If they didn't learn from that then Panthers don't deserve it IMHO.

 

[rideaducati]

I just look at these two teams and I see the Seahawks being better than the last time the two teams met and the Prancers as not being as good. With the Seahawks playing their worst football in four years, they still had a 20-7 lead against the Prancers. The current Seahawks defense isn't going to let that kind of lead get away and the current offense is a LOT more explosive.

Uninformed and ignorant Prancer fans are calling for the Seahawks to be blown out. For one, the Seahawks haven't lost a game in a blowout since Russell was drafted. Secondly, the trajectories in regards to injuries for both teams has gone in different directions with the Seahawks being in much better shape. The Seahawks are also more experienced and battle tested. The Seahawks lost games this year, but they led every game in the fourth quarter against good competition...and those losses came when they were playing their WORST football in a very long time.

Like I said, enjoy your week because the enjoyment comes to a screeching halt for you on Sunday...unless you're like your QB and celebrate the little things like first downs... The Prancers will get a few first downs for you to celebrate.

 

[carolinablue]

LOL. I absolutely LOVE this guy...prancers? I've seen you trying very hard to make this some kind of thing and I gotta give you credit, you are persistent.

Just don't call me honkey.

 

[Burnplant]

Solid input from a couple level headed Panther fans, thanks for that, some things to think about.

We know Ginn all to well from him single handedly raining on Wilson's first visit to the Niners. He's also Cam's fave non-TE target, right?

Good times, Panthers Hawks playoffs again.