Week 1 -- Seahawks-Panthers Game Preview

[samwize77]

Wow, thanks Scanner. I just love this kind of post. Theres nothing like a well written, thought out and researched posts like these!! Awesome!

 

[Hawkscanner]

Thanks Samwise.

Well a little over 24 Hours to go before gametime. Any overall thoughts guys on the game, particular match-ups you've got your eye on, etc.?

 

[davidonmi]

maybe just me but when Carp is healthy he needs to start. In the run game he is a road grater. I prefer mcquistan over sweezy but I don't think that's gonna happen

 

[PlinytheCenter]

Yep. Carpenter needs to at least start to get the run game going. Punch em in the mouth a few times right off the bat.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Yep. Carpenter needs to at least start to get the run game going. Punch em in the mouth a few times right off the bat.

I know Cable loves Carpenter, but he just looks slow footed to me at times. Still, I'm game if that's what the coaching staff wants.

Regarding the opening of the game, here's how I would script it if I were Carroll. Everyone knows that Carroll is all about smash mouth football and running the rock. The Panthers are going to be geared up to stop the run, which is why, given the state of the Panther's secondary I would come out throwing on the first series. Put the ball in the hands of Russell and shove it down their throats early. Maybe a 5-6 play quick strike accented with a long bomb TD to perhaps Stephen Williams (they won't be looking for that) or Sidney Rice. That kind of Shock and Awe could have quite an effect on the crowd.

When the Panthers get the ball, I'd look to load up the box with an 8 man front, Sherm on Smith ... Thurmond on LaFell ... and Earl playing center field. I'd preach to these guys to stick to their assignments and look to close off those lanes. You could definitely blitz out of that package or merely look to contain. Give Newton nowhere to really go with the ball and to hopefully force a 3 and out.

On the next set of possessions is when I'd look to go back to Beast Mode football -- after the Panthers are already down 7-0. Make them feel desperate and a bit deflated off the bat. That's how I would play it.

 

[Sports Hernia]

If I'm the hawks I'd have Wilson roll out pass a lot early on. Let the pass set up the run. Don't spend a quarter or more "establishing the run".

 

[Hawkscanner]

If I'm the hawks I'd have Wilson roll out pass a lot early on. Let the pass set up the run. Don't spend a quarter or more "establishing the run".

Precisely. Pass to set up the run.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Overall, I would look for Carroll and the Hawks to come out and do the unexpected in this game -- especially since it's on the road. For those who might have missed it, Pete Carroll was on with 710 ESPN’s Brock and Salk after the 49er game on Christmas Eve last year (12/24/12) and gave some fascinating insights not only on the Seahawk Offense … but on his mentality/philosophies as a coach and play caller …

Fantastic stuff ...

Huard: “… and you watch those plays last night. Those are some of the same plays -- tell me if I’m wrong here. Was the touchdown to Baldwin not the same similar concept as the throw to Charlie Martin Week 1 on the corner route in Arizona? Are they some of the same concepts and plays you’re running?”

Carroll: “Yeah, you’d be surprised how similar those are. I mean, there’s subtleties on how we move stuff around. There’s splits and things like that. But, yeah – had we, we’re so much better now – we would have won the Arizona game. They wouldn’t have been able to keep us out on 3 shots to get in – I mean, there’s just no way. We’re so much more efficient. That’s a great throw by Russell. You know, they’ve got a little combination coverage there on the guys right there. They jumped the heck out of Golden because he’s caught the Chicago touchdown and he caught one – you know, Carolina – caught a couple of those and made some big plays on that route. Which, it’s just a matter of reading it out for the quarterback. And on the combo they wind out inside of the corner route and they couldn’t catch up – he throws a great throw to the back flag – and a great catch, you know. So, that’s just getting better – them improving and understanding – they’ve thrown hundreds of those now. When we used to throw about 10 or 20 of them – now we’ve thrown hundreds, so it makes a difference in our ability to execute.”

Huard: “So in some ways that is the essence of efficiency right?”

Carroll: “We can’t make up new plays week in and week out across the board. There’s just no way. There’s little things that we do – little wrinkles that you put in and stuff, but basically you continue to function with your basic stuff. We’ve run inside-outside zone forever. Those are the same blocking schemes forever and ever and ever and we try to – when the defense breaks down, we make a big play because we’re so consistent. And that’s what makes Tom [Cable] such a big difference on our team because of his commitment to the running game in that fashion. And so, you’re seeing the same plays. You’re seeing the same calls for the most part – with wrinkles and formations and shifts and motions and things to make sure that the opponent doesn’t know that they’re coming.”

Salk: “The fact that you’re running a lot of the same plays and different formations – does that give you some of the time to work on the Pistol and develop that? Does it give you a little extra time?”

Carroll:“Yeah a little bit. A little bit. But we still don’t have that much time. One of the things that you really want to do in football is you want to have things that your opponent knows that you like. You want them to have to stop things because when they have to make their efforts to stop things – they become vulnerable. Until YOU know what you know -- and THEY know what you know – you can’t get to that level. Now that may have been confusing, but that’s really what you WANT people to understand what you’re trying to do – and they try to stop it – and you go ahead and do your things to take advantage of that. So, sometimes you’re not even good enough to get to that point. We are now, so it’s helping us and we’ll continue to grow with good fortune.”

Source:
Pete Carroll on with 710 ESPN’s Brock and Salk – 12/24/12

 

[MontanaHawk05]

START.

A.

BLOG.

 

[hawk45]

Scanner I hate GM, coach, and player interviews because I feel like nothing ever gets said (and Carroll is a master of saying nothing), but that interview with Brock was legitimately interesting, thanks for posting that.

I am for opening it up with it in Russell's hands, as long as we mix in a good amount of shorter stuff with YAC or underneath throws with an option to go deep if a guy is just crazy open. I do not want to start off with low percentage passes however. Yeah, we can throw the bomb if we get it across the 50. We do need to avoid a quick 3 and out on the opening series that hands all the momentum to the opposing team on the road.

Fully agreed though that the "pass to set up the run" approach is what I want to see. What makes our offense dangerous is Russell Wilson being involved and calling the shots, period. I'll chew my remote if we see anything remotely like the playcalling of last year early. Thankfully it's clear from the moves JS made and the way Pete is that they expect to start this year in 5th gear and have no doubts about their franchise guy.

I want to see Beef Moe get the ball on 2nd and 3 after we've hit a 7 yard pass to a TE or off a roll-out. Because Lynch can get 2 or 3 even if initial contact is back in the locker room, but if he does get a hole he can rip off 5 or more yards easy.

 

[Hawkscanner]

START.

A.

BLOG.

Ahhh ... but doesn't Hawkblogger own the corner market there?

No seriously, I had given that some thought ... but in the end decided against it, as I don't truly have time to devote to maintaining a blog to the level that I'd truly like.

As I said, I'm planning on switching the format of these previews up fairly dramatically. I'm planning on boiling away a lot of the dross and just making it a lot more bullet points. I'm going to probably start previews early in the week and will post various facts, stats, insights, injury reports, etc. daily as we build up to kickoff. I'd really like to see these preview threads be more of a community effort, where other posters can feel free to post stuff as well and to share their overall thoughts and reactions throughout the week. I don't want these to just the mad ramblings of one mere evil scientist. That's my vision for these previews and what I'm shooting for.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Scanner I hate GM, coach, and player interviews because I feel like nothing ever gets said (and Carroll is a master of saying nothing), but that interview with Brock was legitimately interesting, thanks for posting that.

I hear you and feel the exact same way about those kinds of interviews generally. However, that interview with Carroll was pure gold ... and you can listen to that interview by clicking on the link if you choose to. That interview really gave me a lot of insight in to the mind of Pete Carroll and just how crazy like a fox that he truly is. You want your opponent to understand what it is that you're trying to do ... because that's when the head games and all the fun truly begins. What a chess master.

 

[rideaducati]

Does Carolina run the read option or is it the plain old option where the QB runs til someone is going to hit him and then he pitches the ball? I don't recall much of the read option against the Seahawks, but I fondly remember Browner forcing Cam to pitch the ball and then he stripped and recovered the fumble on a plain old option play.

 

[rideaducati]

Does Carolina run the read option or is it the plain old option where the QB runs til someone is going to hit him and then he pitches the ball? I don't recall much of the read option against the Seahawks, but I fondly remember Browner forcing Cam to pitch the ball and then he stripped and recovered the fumble.

 

[Largent80]

They have been lining Newton up under center a LOT in pre season. If they do this during the game we will blow them out.

 

[Largent80]

They have been lining Newton up under center a LOT in pre season. If they do this during the game we will blow them out.

 

[Hawkscanner]

Does Carolina run the read option or is it the plain old option where the QB runs til someone is going to hit him and then he pitches the ball? I don't recall much of the read option against the Seahawks, but I fondly remember Browner forcing Cam to pitch the ball and then he stripped and recovered the fumble on a plain old option play.

Yeah that fumble was on an option play ... and most certainly the Panthers employed a lot of Read Option in 2012 -- and I'd say probably more than anyone else. As far as this year is concerned, there appears to be some confusion as to what direction they're going to go, as Ron Rivera talked some about going away from it and employing more of a traditional running attack. Here is an interesting article from back in July that details the Panthers Read Option (they actually ran over 5 different versions of it) ...

http://www.catscratchreader.com/2013/7/9/4508740/the-truth-about-the-carolina-panthers-read-option

 

[davidonmi]

the key is to not beat ourselves, I mean I thought the panthers would gain an advantage with our injuries but they're equally beat up.
No penalties
No turnovers
Keep contain on Newton
And we win
simple as that.

Also we should play a little pitch and catch, sorta like what UW did vs boise, Carolina has small CB's
we win something like 20-13

 

[jake206]

i'm kinda worried these guys aren't taking this game seriously. Panther D is not to be joked around with. They have some decent players. Star L., Luke K....are good players. Their defensive backfield stinks, but their 7 upfront could give Russell & co, alot of headaches. On the other side, Cam Newton is 1 year more experienced... He won't make the same type of mistakes like last year.

 

[davidonmi]

i'm kinda worried these guys aren't taking this game seriously. Panther D is not to be joked around with. They have some decent players. Star L., Luke K....are good players. Their defensive backfield stinks, but their 7 upfront could give Russell & co, alot of headaches. On the other side, Cam Newton is 1 year more experienced... He won't make the same type of mistakes like last year.

their front 7 is my only concern that's why I want to play pitch and catch on their small CB's. And they better be taking them seriously, especially in week 1 where everyone has a clean slate