Carolina Panthers not afraid to face Seattle Seahawks

When Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missed a short field-goal attempt Sunday that would have sunk the Seahawks, many in the Carolinas groaned. Seattle, the two-time defending NFC champs and former Panthers' nemesis, had survived and advanced to this week's divisional playoff in Charlotte.

To many, the Seahawks -- who have now won seven of their last eight -- are the hottest team in the league. Yes, somehow even hotter than the 15-1 Panthers. But on Monday, it was hard to find someone running scared inside the Carolina locker room.

When asked to describe his initial reaction when he found out the Seahawks were coming to town, Panthers safety Kurt Coleman said:

"Great!"

Safety Roman Harper added:

"I didn't want to play anyone else."

And when it was suggested to Josh Norman that some felt the Panthers would rather play anyone other than Seattle, the cornerback was incredulous.

"Why? Why would you want anything in life that is easy? Shoot, man, if you don't go for it head on, then how can you say you are the best at anything? I think that is the way we are in our society. We want things the easy way and stuff to be given to us. We don't want to work for it. We want things to be handed to us. I don't think that's the way it should be done," Norman said.

"I think the way it has been set up is the right way. Go through it the hard way. Challenge yourself to be the best. If you can be the best, beat the best."

Seattle has won the last three meetings at Bank of America Stadium, but that was before the series took a turn in October. The Panthers' come-from-behind win at CenturyLink Field snapped their five-game skid in the series and provided the biggest confidence booster of a historic season.

"To me, they were the elite of the NFC and going there and being able to win really helped validate who we are as a football team," coach Ron Rivera said. "We still have a long ways to go, but I think the best part about it more so than anything else is we've proven to ourselves we can do it."

And now that they have, the Panthers don't see any reason for fear. According to Norman, he even told the Seahawks after that game:

"We'll see you in the playoffs."

Three months later, as fate would have it:

"It's ironic that we're seeing them again in the playoffs," Norman said.

"Hey, it's cool, man. Fate gives you these chances to prove yourself worthy. And as we'll see come Sunday at one o'clock, we're going to see who's worthy."

--The Panthers' secondary may have lost its motivational baseball bat, but the tenants haven't yet been kicked out of the neighborhood.

Actually, they still run the place.

"This is the Thieverhood. Y'all are just on the main street of Thieve Ave.," cornerback Teddy Williams said.

That apparently became official Monday when a makeshift street sign popped up above the secondary's section in the Panthers' locker room.

Some residents could see it as an unnecessary addition to the community, but this was a unit that led the league with 24 interceptions during the regular season.

All this may sound like a lack of focus for a team that will host the two-time defending NFC champion Seahawks in less than a week, but in a way, the sign stuff is part of the preparation.

During a practice in 2014, the defense was going through a takeaway circuit -- a set of drills when position groups rotate through work with different coaches. Suddenly, defensive line coach Eric Washington blurted out what would become the rallying cry of the league's most productive secondary.

"I said that one day, and then the next day when I didn't say it, they were like, 'Why didn't you say it?'" Washington recalled.

"(Takeaways) are a huge part of our identity and we've been working on that every year I've been here."

In Washington's first season in Carolina, the 2011 Panthers ranked 18th with 24 takeaways. This year, they forced 39 turnovers, six more than anyone else.

But there was one game when the Panthers didn't force a single turnover. Despite that, they still managed to win in Seattle.

So excuse the secondary's mess this week. They have some work to do.

"You guys come back tomorrow, we're going to have this thing right," said safety Roman Harper, looking at the Thieve Ave. sign.

"We're going to get this thing corrected and we're going to be better because of this."

--RB Jonathan Stewart (foot), who sat out the Panthers' final three regular-season games, is expected to return to practice Wednesday.

--RB Fozzy Whittaker (high-ankle sprain) is looking like a long shot for Sunday's game with the Seahawks. If he doesn't play, Whittaker's game-day spot will be filled by rookie Cameron Artis-Payne.

--WR Ted Ginn (leg) is expected to practice Wednesday, but he could be limited. "He's going to build up to it and see how it feels," coach Ron Rivera said.

--LB A.J. Klein (hamstring), who was injured in the third quarter of the regular-season finale, should be ready to return this week.

--S Kurt Coleman (foot) will practice Wednesday after he was held out of Week 17 as a precaution.