Seattle Seahawks vs Carolina Panthers Final Grades
By Paul Novak
Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Defensive Line / Linebackers
The defensive line, which was once the key to Seattle’s elite defense has turned into a mediocre unit that rarely generates any pressure on opposing quarterbacks.
Michael Bennet, Cliff Avril, Red Bryant, Chris Clemons, Bruce Irvin and Brandon Mebane were just some of the defensive playmaker that Seattle used last season to wreck havoc on nearly every pass play that Seattle’s opponents ran.
Be it the loss of Clemons and Bryant or something else, the pass rush has been mostly non-existent the first six game of the season. The same was true up until the Panthers’ final drive in the fourth quarter where Cam Newton was under duress on nearly every drop back.
Bruce Irvin finished with two sacks, Mebane one, and Bennett could have made the game less stressful had he completed a would-be safety on Newton in the endzone. Instead the Panthers QB dodged and ducked, barely evading the tackle and extended the Panthers drive.
Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart rushed 16 times for 79 yards but was held without a TD. Cam Newton didn’t find any room to run as his 12 carries resulted in only 24 yards, with a long of 8.
Despite the lack of a rush, Seattle’s run defense remains one of the best in the NFL and contributed greatly to the Panthers only scoring three field goals.
|
Seattle Defensive |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TACKLES | MISC | ||||||
| TOT | SOLO | SACKS | TFL | PD | QB HTS | TD | |
| E. Thomas | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Smith | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Wright | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Sherman | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| C. Avril | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| M. Bennett | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| O. Schofield | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Irvin | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| K. Pierre-Louis | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M. Burley | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Chancellor | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Mebane | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| T. Simon | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| K. Williams | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. McDaniel | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| R. Wilson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Shead | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Willson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| B. Coyle | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Scruggs | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Team | 66 | 34 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Grade: B+ (Some of that fire and swagger was seen in spurts today. Especially in the 4th qtr)