Keep the Pass Rush Coming.

One way to secure a win on Sunday is to have the pass rush push up the middle. If we can eliminate Cam from stepping up we can hit him and strip the ball. Look for Avril or Irvin to cause a sack fumble that will be a game changing moment.

And this is a game that Frank Clark will leave his mark. But most importantly we must use the blitz more often and get off the field on 3rd down.

It seems like the problems in the past have been when we get a nice rush but don't contain on the outside.

Carolina has been very stout in protection up the middle all season long, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. That said, they can be beat with a speedrush around the edge. I hope we see a lot of pash rush reps for Irvin across from Avril. Both of them have shined bright against the Panthers in the past.

Carolina has a pro bowl center and guard and keep Cam much cleaner than the sieve that is Seattle pass blocking.

A big day from whoever is lined up inside on passing downs could be huge.

kearly":y8o8p7xa said:

Carolina has been very stout in protection up the middle all season long, so I wouldn't get my hopes up. That said, they can be beat with a speedrush around the edge. I hope we see a lot of pash rush reps for Irvin across from Avril. Both of them have shined bright against the Panthers in the past.

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Yep, they are very stout in the middle. Still, that have to be ready for the freak that is Bennett. I we can put the raps on Stewart, we might be able to disrupt their routine. Bennett can be stopped on occasion, but not consistently. I we end up in the Nascar package for most of the game, I don't think their OL will have an easy time on the edge, OR in the middle.

RW92":3vbkxw7s said:

One way to secure a win on Sunday is to have the pass rush push up the middle. If we can eliminate Cam from stepping up we can hit him and strip the ball.

...most importantly we must use the blitz more often and get off the field on 3rd down.

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Disagree. Above all else, against a QB like Cam, the pass rush needs to be balanced, synchronized, and symmetrical. If your inside rushers get ahead of the ends, or if you overload the middle with a blitz, Cam will squirt out of the pocket and burn you to the outside with his legs. If your edge rush gets ahead of your interior pressure, he will find an inside gap to burn you with his legs. We have a much better chance of stripping the ball if we can keep him immobile in the pocket. It will be important that all rushers work together to keep Cam hemmed in while the pocket collapses.

A successful attack probably won't generate much in the way of sacks. Maybe a few hits here and there, but the key will be just to disrupt the timing of the passing game by forcing Cam to hurry his passes as the pocket collapses around him. Keep him in a collapsing pocket and we win.

Thankfully, this strategy plays well to the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. Our dominant edge rushers should have no problem keeping the sides of the pocket intact and collapsing against their weaker edge protection. It will be take longer to develop pressure from the middle as that is their strength and that is how we are built. This is ok as it will give our edge guys time to get home. Just keep Cam contained and make him win with his arm.

He is fully capable of generating wins with his arm, but I like the matchup of Cam's arm vs our secondary.

Contrast this to a guy like Brees who will pick you apart from the pocket. You want to get pressure on him any way possible. Unbalanced attacks work well against a QB like Brees who can't escape the pressure. You'll see Bennet and Avril line up on the same end of the line against a Brees, Manning, Foles, but not against a Newton or a Kaepernick

I'm looking for disciplined play on the defensive front. And hoping Bennett figures out how to line up somewhere on his side of the neutral zone, for crying out loud.

-bsd

One knock cam has is when being rushed he sometimes will run backwards just like Wilson... Both do this and you can't say Wilson doesn't. Cam isn't easy to tackle either, so better hope they tackle him or he will be off to a big gain.

FearTheBlitz":2u6kuvo6 said:

One knock cam has is when being rushed he sometimes will run backwards just like Wilson... Both do this and you can't say Wilson doesn't. Cam isn't easy to tackle either, so better hope they tackle him or he will be off to a big gain.

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Get pressure on Cam and his mechanics get all out of whack too. Lots of back foot slinging.

We will need to put pressure on Cam, but stop with the running past him and letting him rush with the ball. Keep containment.

Reading the posts in the Panther site - they are scared of Bruce Irvin blitzing Cam.

"Honestly, I have just come to accept that Irvin owns us. The same way Forte owns us no matter how good we are. "

It would be nice to see Irvin have a monster game - might help keep him here next year. Be nice to see Lynch $$ go to Bennett and Irvin.

:thfight7:

ZornwasaleftY":2vtalcog said:

Reading the posts in the Panther site - they are scared of Bruce Irvin blitzing Cam.

"Honestly, I have just come to accept that Irvin owns us. The same way Forte owns us no matter how good we are. "

It would be nice to see Irvin have a monster game - might help keep him here next year. Be nice to see Lynch $$ go to Bennett and Irvin.

:thfight7:

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Irvin averages 2 sacks a game vs. Carolina. I don't know how many pressures and hits he gets, but he does really well against Carolina's Tackles.

I'm really not too worried about Cam hurting us with his legs. The biggest damage he does to us is running in the red zone, in goal line situations. He's literally unstoppable there, but overall he averages something like 31 yards per game rushing against us for his career. Not earth shattering or game breaking.

Brock Huard brought that up in this weeks Chalk Talk as well, Bruce has just been great against Carolina in the past, an I think we'll have a much better pass rush this time than we did the last game.

With the OLBs rushing and Wags spying, we should be able to contain and/or get to Newton. Sacks are sexy, and certainly desirable, but what is needed most is pressure, containment, and disruption, coupled with world class coverage on the back end. I think the LoB should be able to cover well enough, although we have had that TE problem that crops up from time to time. But if Cam escapes and can scramble, much like Russ he can burn us.

Bottom line, I wouldn't mind zero sacks if we actually get disruption and cause some bad throws from Cam. He's had a pretty good year, so our work is cut out for us.

Will be an interesting game.

I've always seen Cam escape laterally along the line. Usually towards his left. Once out of the pocket, he always look to run as he can't pass while running (he can but makes awful decisions - across his body, in the dirt, etc.) Perhaps, he grown past it but habits are hard to change.

I would rather Seahawks flush him out of the pocket and let K.J., Wagner or Irvin run him down. His pocket passing has been very good this year. He's been throwing in tight windows all year.