RENTON — When the Seattle Seahawks take on the Carolina Panthers on Sunday in the NFC divisional playoffs, they’ll be facing what Seattle coach Pete Carroll described as the most diverse running game in the NFL.
Therefore, it will be good for the Seahawks that they’ll have their No. 1 run-stopper available this time around.
Seattle middle linebacker Bobby Wagner did not play when the teams squared off in Week 6, a game won by Carolina 27-23. The Seahawks are hoping the presence of Wagner, who sat that game out with a pectoral injury, will help tilt the scales.
“It’s going to be great,” Wagner said about being able to face Carolina this time. “I’ve got an opportunity to actually make plays in the game. Last time I had to watch and it’s definitely hard to watch your brothers out there. I wanted to help them, but you can’t, so I’m going to be able to get out there and help them.”
With Wagner, who finished second on the team with 114 tackles and received his second Pro Bowl nod, available, the Seahawks will be back in their normal configuration. In Week 6 against the Panthers, weakside linebacker K.J. Wright took Wagner’s normal spot in the middle, with Kevin Pierre-Louis playing in Wright’s position. That meant the Seahawks essentially had back-ups at two of their three linebacker positions. Everyone will be back in their normal spots Sunday.
That’s good news for Seattle, as the Seahawks will need all hands on deck to deal with Carolina’s rushing attack. It all begins with quarterback Cam Newton. Newton led the NFL in rushing among quarterbacks, gaining 636 yards on 132 carries and scoring 10 touchdowns.
The Panthers are also expecting running back Jonathan Stewart back Sunday. Stewart, a native of Lacey, missed Carolina’s previous three games because of a foot injury. However Stewart, who gained 989 yards in route to being named to the Pro Bowl, has returned to practice and should be able to play against the Seahawks.
Add in Pro Bowl fullback Mike Tolbert and you get a Panthers running game that finished second in the league in rushing at 142.6 yards per contest.
“There’s nobody that does more stuff, and it’s basically because the quarterback is such a dynamic part of it,” Carroll said. “They’re willing to run the quarterback inside, outside, lead plays, powers, all of the read stuff as well. This is the most difficult offense that we face, and it’s really because Cam is such an adept player. A lot of teams have some plays that they use, but nobody relies on the quarterback to run like they do. He’s got 10 touchdowns rushing this year, and those aren’t quarterback sneaks at the goal line. They’re from all over the place. It’s the most challenging.”
The Panthers ran for 135 yards against the Seahawks in Week 6, which is 53 more yards than Seattle allowed on average this season. The Seahawks are hoping having Wagner back helps reduce that number in the rematch.
Carroll on Rams move
The NFL’s owners voted Tuesday to approve the Rams’ relocation from St. Louis to Los Angeles beginning next season. Carroll, who has ties to the Los Angeles area from his time coaching at USC, sounded pleased about the move.
“I think it’s an exciting thing,” Carroll said. “It’s an exciting time for the people in Southern California, for one. I’m sure people are excited for the future of the franchise and all that. It’s an extraordinary transition that they’re going to make, and not knowing the next level of it, too, it’s still fascinating. I think it’s an enormous challenge, we’ll watch and see how that goes.
“For us, I think it’s great,” Carroll continued. “I love that we’re playing in the West, and for all of the California guys it’s fun to have a chance to play down there in our division. We’ll enjoy that part of it. It’s been coming for so long, they needed to just get it done. It’s been 20 years or something it’s been out there. It’s amazing that it’s finally come all the way through it. It sounds like an incredible plan that Mr. (Stan) Kroenke has going. It’s going to be enormously valuable for the area, too, for jobs and people working, all that kind of stuff. It’s a really big, big thing. It’s unfortunate for the people of St. Louis, I’m sure.”
Injury update
Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch was a full participant in practice for the second straight day. Lynch has missed eight straight games because of an abdominal injury that required surgery. He practiced in full all last week, but unexpectedly did not make the trip with the team when it traveled to play Minnesota this past Sunday. The team is describing Lynch as day-to-day. The only Seattle player who didn’t participate in practice Thursday was fullback Will Tukuafu (hamstring).
Carolina, meanwhile, is also relatively healthy. Cornerback Charles Tillman had to be placed on injured reserve after suffering a torn ACL in his knee during the Panthers’ season-ending 38-10 victory over Tampa Bay. However, in addition to Stewart, Carolina is also expecting to get receiver Ted Ginn (knee) and safety Kurt Coleman (foot) back from injuries. Back-up running back Fozzy Whittaker (ankle) is the only player listed by the Panthers with an injury.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Seattle Sidelines blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/seattlesidelines, and follow him on Twitter at @NickHPatterson.
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