Seahawks bottle up Smith in blowout win

SEATTLE -- The Seattle Seahawks did what nobody else in the NFL could this year: stop Steve Smith.\nThe Seahawks clamped down on Carolina's top playmaker, forcing the Panthers to search all over the field Sunday for someone else to step up. One problem -- Smith has been their only weapon all year and without him, they didn't stand a chance in the NFC championship game.\nSmith, the NFL's leading receiver during the regular season, was held to five catches for 33 yards in Carolina's 34-14 loss to Seattle. His lone score was on a suspect 59-yard punt return that appeared to be called back, then wasn't.\nThe Panthers thought they saw everything from opponents fruitlessly trying to cover Smith this season.\nThen they got a look at Seattle's schemes.\nUsing double, triple and even quadruple coverage on the speedy receiver, Seattle gave Smith little room to break free. The Seahawks' most effective scheme was moving a linebacker over to guard him, usually Kevin Bentley, who could quickly break away if the play wasn't going to Smith.\nWith Smith bottled up, quarterback Jake Delhomme had few other options.\nSmith has been his No. 1 target all season, sometimes to the detriment of Carolina's other, young receivers. Keary Colbert and Drew Carter combined for 30 catches during the regular season compared to Smith's NFL-leading 103.\nIt didn't help that the Panthers had no running game, either. Forced to start Nick Goings because Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster were out with injuries, Goings joined them on the sideline after a vicious first quarter helmet-to-helmet hit left him wobbly.\nSo Delhomme often looked panicked when he couldn't find Smith, leading to three interceptions and two sacks.\nSmith, meanwhile, looked furious most of the game.\nHe stamped and sulked his way up and down the sideline, forcing coach John Fox to calm him down midway through the second quarter when Seattle built a 17-0 lead.\nSmith responded with his one big play, his punt return in the second quarter that even he thought didn't count because the referees threw a flag. But what was at first thought to be a block in the back that would have negated the touchdown was waived off, giving Smith his only score of the game.\nIt was a frustrating end to Smith's comeback season -- he missed 15 games last year with a broken leg and no one was sure he'd be the same receiver when he returned.\nHe wasn't. He was faster, stronger and much more determined to become the best receiver in the NFL. He finished the regular season with an NFL-best 1,563 yards and 12 touchdowns, while breaking nine team records and earning All-Pro honors and a trip to the Pro Bowl.\nSmith's success carried into the postseason, where he had a combined 22 catches for 302 yards and three receiving touchdowns in wins over the New York Giants and Chicago Bears.\nHe never came close to duplicating it in the NFC championship. The Seahawks were too good to let it happen.