How I think this game will play out.

[CodeWarrior]

Great write up. One issue I didn't feel was adequately addressed is Carolina's secondary. They've lost Benwikere and Tillman to injury. That will be huge for this game as their new starting CB opposite Norman is 5'9 Robert McClain, who had been unsigned until the Panthers picked him up before week 15. Compounding this problem is their safety play. Kurt Coleman is a solid player, but starting SS Roman Harper is atrocious in coverage. He wants to play up near the box with a focus on stopping the run. He's slow, so hopefully we can get the speedy Willson involved. I could see Willson having a big day. We need some early read options to Russ or an effective running game in order to force Kuechly and Davis up to the LOS. That will allow us to victimize Harper.

 

[FearTheBlitz]

Nice write up, but I don't think this game is going to be close. The Seahawks are much better than they were last time these teams played and Carolina is worse. Seahawks win by three scores.

Quoted for posterity

As if you'll come back to remind me how right I was... You won't show up until next season after this Sunday.

Where do I send the crow and how do you like it cooked? Just would like to know.. :0190l: :0190l:

 

[PanthersFan89]

Nice write up, but I don't think this game is going to be close. The Seahawks are much better than they were last time these teams played and Carolina is worse. Seahawks win by three scores.

Quoted for posterity

As if you'll come back to remind me how right I was... You won't show up until next season after this Sunday.

Oh, I'll be back when Carolina advances to the NFC Championship on Sunday

 

[PanthersFan89]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

 

[Uncle Si]

Fantastic.

Everyone will be back.

Keep the thread on the topic of the game. The OP did a nice job of providing an x's and o's breakdown of his throughts. Let's follow that lead.

Trash talk in the main forums from either fan base will be moved to the Shack with warnings and potential bans to accompany.

 

[Barthawk]

We also saw what a good offense can do the Panthers defense lately.. Saints 38 and Giants 35 points scored.. stop pretending like your team is invincible...

We match up very well against each other and to think that either of the teams are going to crack the 30 point barrier is lunacy IMO.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

 

[rideaducati]

Nice write up, but I don't think this game is going to be close. The Seahawks are much better than they were last time these teams played and Carolina is worse. Seahawks win by three scores.

Quoted for posterity

As if you'll come back to remind me how right I was... You won't show up until next season after this Sunday.

Where do I send the crow and how do you like it cooked? Just would like to know.. :0190l: :0190l:

You'd have to be here to serve it and it can only be served if the Seahawks lose, so you won't be here serving anything. I do hope you post a fan reaction video... Those mean so much more coming from mouth breathers that absolutely get their World rocked after ignorantly spewing the week prior to the game.

I know I won't be seeing you after Sunday, so I'm saying goodbye now...Bye Felicia.

 

[RussB]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Lol , panthers offense is nowhere near pittsburgs, wich has brown, bryant,wheaton,catching passes from big ben. And we beat them in a shootout.

 

[PanthersFan89]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

Carolina scored more points than any team in football this year. And when the two teams played earlier, Funchess hadn't come into his own yet.

 

[rideaducati]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

Carolina scored more points than any team in football this year. And when the two teams played earlier, Funchess hadn't come into his own yet.

I'm not going to list the defensive rankings of the teams the Prancers have played, but I WILL tell you that if there was a team with a bottom 10 defensive ranking this season, more than likely they played the Prancers.

 

[Polaris]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

Carolina scored more points than any team in football this year. And when the two teams played earlier, Funchess hadn't come into his own yet.

Watch the Pittsburgh game again, and then watch a Carolina game (any of them) recently. What Big Ben does for the Pittsburgh offense is completely different from what Carolina does. Seattle knows Carolina extremely well, and Seattle is a lot better now (esp in the secondary) then they were in October. It's sloppy (and wrong) analysis just to point to raw points and say, "If Pitt can do it so can we". In fact by DVOA, Seattle has a BETTER offense than Carolina.

 

[RussB]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

Carolina scored more points than any team in football this year. And when the two teams played earlier, Funchess hadn't come into his own yet.

Well our secondary has also improved since then, so has our offense. Panthers have just been consistent all year. I think this time around our defense and offense playing better will be the difference.

 

[FearTheBlitz]

We also saw what a good offense can do the Panthers defense lately.. Saints 38 and Giants 35 points scored.. stop pretending like your team is invincible...

We match up very well against each other and to think that either of the teams are going to crack the 30 point barrier is lunacy IMO.

Sure we have gave up points on d, but you also have to remember. Our defense lead the league in take a ways.. Both of these teams aren't the same as week 6... It's silly for both team fans to be sitting here thinking it will be a blow out. Could it happen sure, but will it? I don't know because the game is played on the field and not on the forums...

 

[MontanaHawk05]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

To add to that, Seattle plays the same kind of Cover 3 defense that Pittsburgh does. He was playing against the same philosophy he practices against, as was Seattle. Helps explain their offensive production against good defenses.

 

[Polaris]

We also saw what a good offense can do the Panthers defense lately.. Saints 38 and Giants 35 points scored.. stop pretending like your team is invincible...

We match up very well against each other and to think that either of the teams are going to crack the 30 point barrier is lunacy IMO.

Sure we have gave up points on d, but you also have to remember. Our defense lead the league in take a ways.. Both of these teams aren't the same as week 6... It's silly for both team fans to be sitting here thinking it will be a blow out. Could it happen sure, but will it? I don't know because the game is played on the field and not on the forums...

Yes but if you look at the advanced metrics, Seattle has improved more on both sides of the ball than Carolina has. That said Football Outsiders still (DVOA notwithstanding) slightly favors Carolina (by 0.3%) because it's at home for Carolina. I won't predict a blow-out mainly because Seattle-Carolina games always seem to be close. I do think Seattle wins because I think Seattle has improved much more than Carolina did since their last meeting AND it's very hard to beat the same team twice if both are any good at all (and both definitely are).

 

[Sgt. Largent]

We saw in the Pittsburgh game what a good offense can do the Seahawks. This one will be dependent upon Carolina making plays on defense when it has to. 34-21, Panthers.

Bad comparison.

1. Cam is NOWHERE close to the accurate passer that Rapelessberger is. Ben is #3 in completion percentage this year. Cam? #28.

2. Ben has 3-4 elite level receivers that gave our defense problems. Panthers have 1 elite receiver, Olson.

The Hawks know how to slow Cam and your offense down, they've done it for 4 years.........and if not for the LOB losing their minds earlier this year without Wagner, we'd be 5-0 against Carolina.

Can your D stop our offense? THat's a conversation worth having. But to compare your offense to the Steelers dynamic and complicated passing offense? Dumb and totally inaccurate comparison.

Carolina scored more points than any team in football this year. And when the two teams played earlier, Funchess hadn't come into his own yet.

You're making the same mistake most fans make, thinking that past matchups and games matter in the playoffs.

They don't, the playoffs is it's own animal, and as we found out ourselves last Sunday, it's just not the same.

So thinking beating us back in October when players were hurt, playing better/worse, etc. has ZERO to do with this Sunday.

Carolina is a good team, maybe even great. But so are we, so I expect a very good game.........but I like the matchup.

 

[Uncle Si]

Man I wish this was the Super Bowl...

a. two best teams in the NFL

b. 2 weeks of these threads instead of 1

 

[FearTheBlitz]

We also saw what a good offense can do the Panthers defense lately.. Saints 38 and Giants 35 points scored.. stop pretending like your team is invincible...

We match up very well against each other and to think that either of the teams are going to crack the 30 point barrier is lunacy IMO.

Sure we have gave up points on d, but you also have to remember. Our defense lead the league in take a ways.. Both of these teams aren't the same as week 6... It's silly for both team fans to be sitting here thinking it will be a blow out. Could it happen sure, but will it? I don't know because the game is played on the field and not on the forums...

Yes but if you look at the advanced metrics, Seattle has improved more on both sides of the ball than Carolina has. That said Football Outsiders still (DVOA notwithstanding) slightly favors Carolina (by 0.3%) because it's at home for Carolina. I won't predict a blow-out mainly because Seattle-Carolina games always seem to be close. I do think Seattle wins because I think Seattle has improved much more than Carolina did since their last meeting AND it's very hard to beat the same team twice if both are any good at all (and both definitely are).

I am just glad this game is being played on the field and not by any numbers,stats or wish casting. I said it on another post. Our (Panthers) run game has to click. Keep you guys defense on the field and wear them down. Which our run game does to teams. Also can't be scared to take shots down the field.. Ginn,Brown, Funchess and Bersin will play a big part in some way. Ginn,Brown and Bersin are our speed guys. Funchess has the height on any of your db guys... Glad he has came into his game as of lately... Might be the x-factor in this game who knows....I didn't forget Olsen as well... He will have his game... I am sure some of you are worried about wearing down after playing last week. It's rough playing 10 games without a bye.. Don't get me wrong. I also hope we don't come out float like a few years ago and lay a egg... Here is to a great game...

 

[byau]

Great post

As far as using stats and previous events, you could likely twist any of them how you want to support either team. It'll be that good a matchup.

My eye tells me that the Seahawks win only if they punch the Panthers in the mouth hard, early, and often, like Week 17 vs Arizona. I don't think the Panthers have the resilience to handle that.

Likelihood of that happening? Very very tough. Panthers are very gifted athletically and very confident. On paper, I think they are the better team.

Seahawks advantage is the playoffs are a different beast and this team's baseline for survival has only increased every year under the PC/JS regime. And it comes down to that resilience and grit which is the main advantage I see the Seahawks having which is why they need to punch the Panthers out early to have a chance.