And generally brush the dirt of their shoulders.
It’s no secret to fantasy owners everywhere (like myself) who drafted Kelvin Benjamin that he is so much more than a pretty face; he has emerged as the key receiver for the Carolina Panthers. He has 461 receiving yards and five touchdowns this season, leading all rookies in both categories. He’s Cam Newton’s favorite target, with good reason. Jerricho Cotchery has yet to put a TD on the board and only has 283 yards receiving so far. Green Bay held him to a single reception last week in the first half. Meanwhile, Benjamin had three catches for 61 yards and a TD against the Packers with a concussion. Benjamin is listed as probable this week, which given that he played last week, is pretty much a yes.
Jonathan Stewart is also listed as probable on Sunday (DeAngelo Williams isn’t set to return until the following week against the New Orleans Saints) with a knee injury. The seventh-year running back out of Oregon only has 138 yards and one TD this season, though he did rush for 55 yards on 14 carries last Sunday in their loss to the Packers, who’ve been one of the most impressive teams in the NFL over the past four weeks. He’s well below his career average of 4.6 yards per carry, averaging only 3.3 this season.
What does this mean this week?
Last week, the Seattle Seahawks pass defense was bad, but not as bad as the statistics suggest. It was the highest pass completion percentage ever against a reigning World Champion team, going 18-for-21 for a total of 152 yards (Russell Wilson had over twice that yardage). Unfortunately, given that and the bizarre fumble situation that ended the game, Wilson’s monumental achievement of being the first everquarterback to rush for over 100 yards and pass for over 300 yards went relatively unnoticed and underpraised. If Russell can keep this momentum, the Seahawks will have a good chance against the Panthers, even if Cam and Benjamin have a decent game. Carolina is second in the league for most passing and rushing TDs allowed.
That said, Wilson’s supporting cast must show up to play, too. So long as the offensive line can get their penalties under control (hurry back soon, Max Unger), angry Doug Baldwin should be able to pick up substantial yardage. Jermaine Kearse, who was not much of a presence in St. Louis, should also help pick up first downs. Also, the Hawks need Paul Richardson, the rookie out of the University of Colorado, to step up and shine like he did in practice camp—both this week and long term. Percy Harvin’s trade may not make much of a difference, but I can’t help but feel like I miss Golden Tate. Finally, with Zach Miller still out, the young tight end Cooper Helfet will hopefully continue add to his impressive first career TD last week. With Luke Wilson also out last week, Helfet proved the versatile target that Russell likes to throw to, whereas I can’t recall many impressive receptions by Wilson thus far.
Given Stewart’s condition, I’m not concerned that he will be much of a force as the Seahawks have been doing just fine stopping the run. With Bobby Wagner still out with turf toe, KJ Wright again will slip into his spot. Wright doesn’t have the same hustle that Wagner can pull off, but he’s had to fill some big shoes with Byron Maxwell out as well. Wright had nine tackles against the Rams.
Yes, injuries are plaguing us right now. The Seahawks went from this year’s Super Bowl favorites to the NFL’s biggest “disaster” despite a .500 record with all the losses being within one possession. I guess this is what happens when people actually start paying attention to your team (it was only a couple years ago, the Seahawks were listed as the least nationally cared-about team in the NFL next to the Jacksonville Jaguars – oh how I miss those days), they all of a sudden care when you’re not living up to incomparable magical season and yelling “SUPER BOWL HANGOVER” and “MADDEN CURSE IS REEEEEEEAAAAALLLLL.” Oh, and apparently our QB isn’t black enough? What does that even mean?! That’s a rhetorical question, by the way. Well, whatever. San Francisco looks pretty awful right now (although they will be getting Alton Smith back soon barring any future airport rage or Schoolboy Q hangouts), and the Arizona Cardinals have had a pretty easy schedule that’s landed them at the top of the NFC West. So, instead of talking Super Bowl, I’d prefer we look at our playoff situation first. Remember, we made it there with a losing record, and wouldn’t be surprised if that happened again. So, as long as we get a healthy team back together and play good football the next couple of weeks, the Seahawks panic police will eventually mute themselves.
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