JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennettwouldn't say a word about how Seattle plans to get after Peyton Manning on Sunday, so we voyaged up the food chain for clues on how this team will attack the Denver Broncos quarterback.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn told Around The League that Manning has been hit less than any other passer this season because of his patented quick release. Peyton might have cement in those shoes, but his ability to move the ball in the nick of time is unmatched.
"He has just great mental quickness and knows where to go with his eyes," said Quinn. "This is going to sound obvious, but he throws to the guy that's open. It's not quite that easy, but how does he keep getting it to the right spot, to the right guy?"
Coach Pete Carroll said Thursday that the Seahawks"need to move" Manning early, but Quinn pointed less to the pass rush and more to Seattle's potent man-to-man and press coverage as the best way to keep receivers out of open spaces, essentially closing down Peyton's immediate options.
Said Quinn: "If we can hold that extra click, that's what we know is important to us."
It's a hint that Seattle isn't going to veer away from what it's done all season long. Without a weak link in their nasty secondary, the Seahawks defensive backs have the ability -- more than any team Denver has faced -- to win one-on-one matchups with Denver's dangerous collection of pass-catchers.
Quinn talked about the secondary holding its ground as more important than sending a "physical message" to Manning in the pocket.
"We really take pride in the style that we play in," Quinn said. "We don't really try to say, 'Well, this game we gotta play this way and this game we gotta play this way.' At the end of the day, we have a real style that we want to play with week in and week out whoever we play. That's not a disrespect to them. When we play our brand of football, it's already physical."
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