From conference call with Carolina media

[accordion_item open=”true” title=”Seahawks CB Richard Sherman”]RE: How much difference will it make playing at home this time around after playing in Charlotte the last few times?

“I guess we will have to wait and see. This is the first time in my career that we have played them at home, so I’m not sure. It is still the same football game between two great teams so I’m sure it will be another low-scoring ball game. I guess we won’t have to deal with the Charlotte humidity, so that’s one thing.”

RE: How much different are you guys now than when you came here in October?

“We are obviously a lot healthier. I think we were missing four or five starters that day, and now we finally have those guys back healthy with us, and we are playing at the level, we know how to play. I think it makes a big difference when you’ve got your veterans out there ready to play. K.J. Wright isn’t playing out of position, Kam (Chancellor) isn’t hurt, Byron Maxwell is back in the fold, and I think that was Tharold Simon’s second game of the season or something like that so that makes a big difference. Our receiving core is a lot less banged up, and our offensive line is a lot less banged up so it should be fun.”

RE: Cam Newton has had his worst games of his career against you guys, what do you do well against him?

“I think we just gang-tackle, we’ve gang-tackled the backs, and we’ve gang-tackled him. We’ve done our best to make sure we limit the explosive passes. I think that is what it comes down to, tackling, we are a decent tackling football team.”

RE: Have you ever noticed Newton getting a little bit frustrated against you guys?

“Not really, honestly he is always really poised and under control. They’ve been in it in every single ball game we’ve played them up until the end so no I don’t think he’s felt like he was out of it or anything like that.”

RE: How well do you know Newton? 

“I’ve had a couple run-ins with him. I wouldn’t say I know him extremely well, but every time I’ve been around him he’s been a fantastic guy and one of the nicer guys in this league.”

RE: Have you allowed yourself to think about repeating as Super Bowl Champions?

“Not at all because I think to do that would mean to disrespect the teams that are still in these playoffs, and we have no intent of doing that. We understand we are playing great football teams week-in and week-out and that every week is going to be a battle. And this is going to be another tremendous battle against a great team who’s riding momentum and on a nice win streak as well so there are no real thoughts of repeating.”

[accordion_item open=”true” title=”Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll”]RE: How would you describe Luke Kuechly as a player?

“He’s a phenomenal player. Gosh, I mean he does everything. He’s dominant in his presence whether it’s the running game or the passing game and whether it’s inside the game or outside the game, it doesn’t matter.”

RE: What works well for you guys against Cam Newton?

“We have a lot problems to deal with when we play him because of the run threats that he adds to a normal running game and his ability to make plays. We’ve just been scrambling around, holding onto to our tails making sure we can get him. I don’t feel like we’ve done anything special. We’ve just tried to play football and hold on, and we’ve been able to get that done.”

RE: Over the past three years, you’ve limited the big plays by their offense. How critical will that be Saturday and what’s been the key to doing that previously?

“Honestly, we build our defense on that thought – eliminating big plays and making people have to work their way down the field and then working the ball away from them. We are pretty good at allowing explosive plays. So it’s just really staying disciplined on top and making your plays and hopefully being at the right spots at the right time.”

RE: How are you seeing Jonathan Stewart running the ball right now the past five weeks?

“He looks like he did running in high school. He’s just been ripping. I watched him and recruited and tried to get him way back then. I thought he was a great player then. He was terrific in college. He just looks like the Jonathan Stewart we always thought he was. He’s very difficult to tackle, he’s very explosive in contact, he’s got good speed to get away from you and make big plays. When he gets the chance, he can really get out of there. He can change direction in one step, and it causes a lot of problems in his running style. He can catch the ball nicely and blocks well too. He does everything. To me, since he was a young kid, he was a great football player.”

RE: Are you surprised to see Carolina here after what you saw in October?

“No. Shoot, we were lucky to get that game. We were very fortunate to win that game. We thought going into it that they were a championship team as they were the year before as they finished going into the playoffs and all that. So nothing changed in our minds. I would probably say the other way. I would be surprised if they weren’t there.”

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