Paging John Fox...the NFL has kindly requested that you return the smoke and mirrors.
After a hard fought victory the Panthers will limp onto a plane to trek across the county to face a Seahawk team that's well rested and cruised in their first playoff game. The Cat's running game is crippled with the lost of Foster and will have to rely on a 3rd string back. Add to that the injury of one of the most feared defensive linemen in the league and we're looking at a blowout. I'd run thru a matchup of the players by position, but they would all favor the Seahawks save the WR1 position which would be a slight advantage to the Panthers. Surely the Seahawks will have seen enough film to cover Smith. The superiority of the Seattle offense doesn't merit further discussion. I would have considered the defenses about equal until I saw Rex freaking Grossman march up and down the field at will with WRs that pail in comparsion to what Seattle has.
History alone will tell you that a team doesn't win four consecutive must win games. No team has ever beaten three division winners as a wildcard to advance to the Super Bowl. When you add up the league's MVP + Walter Jones + a huge home field advantage to the equation, you better make sure the hotline to your man is open to load up on Seattle. Early line is +4.5...who scheduled Christmas in January this year?
Final Score: SEATTLE 38, CAROLINA 17
Let's try to keep this thread focused on the game unlike the Shick! merged thread that has turned into a discuss of superheros and Smoo fantasties.