In theory, as the Seattle Seahawks begin the defense of their NFL crown this weekend hosting the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night at CenturyLink Field in a Divisional Playoff game, Earl Thomas and the Hawks have drawn the most favorable matchup they could’ve asked for.

The Seahawks have defeated the Panthers in Carolina each of the last three seasons, and the Panthers were also the only team to make the postseason this year with a losing record. Despite defeating the Arizona Cardinals last week in a Wild Card game on their home turf, the Panthers still sit at just an even .500 (8-8-1) for the year.

In practice, however, ET III and his Legion of Boom brethren are well aware that the NFC South champion Panthers present a dangerous challenge for the defending champion Seahawks and he assured this week that Carolina will not to be taken lightly as the two teams prepare to meet for the fourth time in the last three seasons.

Earl noted in his weekly press conference on Wednesday that Carolina quarterback Cam Newton presents a particularly daunting task for the Seattle defense to take on.

“I just think the speed [of the game] is slowing down for him,” the All-Pro safety said of Newton. “He’s an athlete, he relies on his legs and we know what type of player he is. I just think every year, no matter what position you play, you’re going to grow, and that’s what he’s done.”

The Seahawks have had a first hand look at the growth of Newton and the Panthers over the last three seasons as Seattle has paid visits to Carolina during each of the past three regular seasons and emerged victorious each time, thanks to the stout play of their defense.

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Their most recent meeting was in Week 8 of this season when Seattle pulled out a 13-9 victory in Charlotte. No. 29 displayed his tackling prowess as he tallied a team-high nine total tackles, including one tackle for a loss. The Panthers mustered just nine points, all on field goals, and just 266 total yards. The Legion of Boom limited Carolina to 152 passing yards and intercepted Newton once.

Even still, the Panthers had the Hawks on the ropes late, but Russell Wilson led a gutsy game-winning drive and hit tight end Luke Willson on a 23-yard touchdown reception with just 47 seconds to go to give his squad the 13-9 victory.

The win was just the latest in a string of them for Seattle over Carolina. They also picked up a season opening 12-7 victory over the Panthers to kick off last season’s Super Bowl run.

That game again saw Carolina establish an early lead thanks to a touchdown pass from Newton from Steve Smith, but a scoring pass from Wilson to Jermaine Kearse early in the fourth stood up thanks to the Hawks defense, which limited the Panthers to just 253 total yards and forced a pair of turnovers. Newton completed 16 of 23 passes, but Carolina registered just 125 yards through the air as the Legion of Boom completely shut down the quarterback’s downfield options.

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That was also the case in 2012 in the first meeting between the two current incarnations of the teams, a 16-12 Seahawks win in Charlotte during Week 5 of the regular season. The Panthers scored their only touchdown of that contest on defense when Captain Munnerlyn picked off Wilson and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

But Wilson bounced back with a touchdown pass to Golden Tate and the Hawks held on to win despite a late safety forced by Carolina. Newton was again limited to just 141 yards passing and the Panthers offense as a unit finished with just 190 yards.

But, despite their history of success against the opponent, the Seahawks are taking Saturday’s battle with the Panthers very seriously by giving the matchup the respect and attention it merits rather than looking past a team they believe to be a dangerous opponent as many outsiders are.

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After pouring over hours of game tape on Carolina, ET III said a lot of the Panthers’ success on offense comes from a complex game plan that makes defenses expect something far different than what is actually run.

“They’re dynamic in a lot of ways,” ET said. “A lot of window dressing, trying to get you to run this way and they’re really trying to go the other way. And obviously Cam Newton, he’s a threat, run or pass. It just calls for us to be on our keys and play disciplined football. It’s a lot of game-planning when you play quarterbacks like this.”

Although Carolina finished the regular season just 7-8-1, the Panthers have reeled off five straight wins, and their offense seems to finally be clicking in time for the postseason showdown with the Hawks.

Newton, who Earl compared to San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, had a regular season that was slightly below his career average, but still threw for more than 3,000 yards and ran for another 539, despite missing two games and fracturing two vertebrae in his back in a car accident just a month ago.

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The quarterback is also playing some of his best football over the last month despite that injury, which caused him to miss a Week 16 win over Cleveland. When he has played of late, Newton has been exceptional and has seven touchdowns passes and three rushing scores over his last four games.

They ended the season seventh in the NFL in total rushing yards, with 2,036, and have averaged 197 rushing yards per game during their current win streak. That’s thanks to the emergence of running back Jonathan Stewart, who has proven to be the real star of Carolina’s late-season surge.

In his last six games, Stewart has amassed 609 yards on 5.3 yards per carry, including three games of 120 or more yards. Between Stewart, Newton and other backs such as Fozzy Whittaker, opposing defenses have looked exhausted and confused when trying to stop Carolina’s high-powered running attack.

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ET III has an explanation for the Panthers’ success running the ball, and he knows just how the Seattle defense will stop it.

“It’s a little bit of Stewart,” he offered as part of the reason for the big numbers. “Also, poor tackling. People are not tackling now. It’s late in the season, this is where you show who you are. We’re a great tackling group, so we expect a challenge and we’re looking forward to it.”

No. 29 knows a little something about tackling. With 97 combined tackles in the regular season, he finished third on the Seahawks and just 10 behind leading tackler K.J. Wright. He was also second on the team in solo tackles with 71 while locking down Area 29 in all 16 games. In his five seasons as a pro, the electrifying safety has still never missed a game.

ET III will aim to harness those skills Saturday night, as the Hawks attempt to take the first step toward defending their crown.

Throughout this season, Seattle has come through with their best performances in their biggest games—which was also a major part of its Super Bowl run last season. Earl has been the epitome of that, highlighted by his clutch goal-line forced fumble in Week 16 to seal a victory over the St. Louis Rams.

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Individually, Earl credits his success in big moments to simple visualization.

“Me, personally, I’m all imagination and creativity, so this is right up my alley,” the Pro Bowler said. “You just visualize everything, you see yourself making those plays. Even when you’re at your locker, you just sit there and close your eyes. I might go in and out, just see myself making routine plays that everybody else thinks are great.”

Carolina and Seattle will square off at CenturyLink Field at 8:15 p.m. EST on FOX.

RELATED LINKS

  • Earl Thomas press conference (Seahawks.com, January 7, 2015)
  • Earl Thomas’s outburst key to Seahawks turnaround (ESPN, January 8, 2015)
  • Earl Thomas develops relationship with Marshawn Lynch (Seahawks.com, January 7, 2015)
  • Earl Thomas makes AP All-Pro Team again (Seahawks.com, January 2, 2015)
  • Earl Thomas “paper hawks” in The Seattle Times (The Seattle Times, January 8, 2015)