Carolina Panthers: Must Stop Run (Marshawn Lynch)
Marshawn Lynch is practicing with the Seahawks as they prepare to take on the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte on Sunday.
The Carolina Panthers take on the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and a lot of eyes are on the activity of one Marshawn Lynch. Last week at this time, Lynch was at practice with speculation that he was going to play against the Vikings. He was suddenly declared inactive the day before the Minnesota game and did not go to the cold bowl.
Now Lynch is once again practicing with the team. He is a week further into his recovery. It will not be six degrees in Charlotte on Sunday. All expectations are for him to make the game. If he does, he becomes priority one for the Panthers despite the play of Russell Wilson over the last few weeks.
In the last game against the Panthers, Lynch was kept largely under wraps. He did have some drive sustaining runs early, but in seventeen carries he only had 54 yards. That average is 3.2 per carry. The Panthers defense will be essentially the same this weekend (+ Charles Johnson). Lynch has been out since November 15, so if he is ready he should be something close to fresh legs.
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One Seahawk that the Panthers will not face is Thomas Rawls. The rookie had some big performances as a fill in but he was lost for the year. The best performance by a backup runner not named Rawls has been Christine Michael who has averaged almost five yards a carry in action since Rawls’ week 14 injury.
The Seahawks are still built on running the football first. The Panthers still need to stop that element in order to shut down the Seahawks offense. Stop the run and keep Wilson in the pocket. The Panthers will have the advantage of not seeing Jimmy Graham (140 yards receiving vs Panthers) on the field. It will take pressure by the defense, but smart pressure so as not to give Wilson any escape paths.
So Lynch is practicing, and the assumption must be that he will play. Even if he doesn’t the assumption must be that Seattle will run the ball first anyway. It sounds so easy, stop the run and control the ball. We’ll see how it plays out on Sunday.