Seattle vs. Green Bay: 5 things Seahawks must do to beat Packers, defend Super Bowl title

The Seattle Seahawks have "it" again. You watch the tape and they seem to be jumping off the screen, playing at a different speed than their opponents, and oozing belief and confidence.

Russell Wilson is playing with great efficiency, Marshawn Lynch is in full-on Beast Mode, Kam Chancellor is leaping, bounding and pounding, and Richard Sherman is snagging interceptions.

It's tough to fathom that Green Bay could fly cross-country and go toe-to-toe with Seattle in front of the 12th Man and edge out a victory given the way the Seahawks have been playing.

But, if any team can, it would be one led by Aaron Rodgers. His performance in the divisional playoff round last weekend against Dallas was both admirable and awesome in light of his injured calf.

Eddie Lacy is running rampant against defenses behind an improved offensive line, and the defense has been wreaking havoc on opposing quarterbacks.

Here are five things the Seahawks must stop against the Packers to keep their run at a repeat alive.

DEFEAT THE DRAW

The Packers shredded the Lions -- the league's top rushing defense -- on the ground when they ran for 152 yards in the regular-season finale. They also rushed for 119 yards against the Cowboys last week. Establishing and maintaining the run will be vital for Green Bay, but that's much easier said than done against the Seahawks.

Seattle allowed just 81.5 rush yards per game, good for third-best, but the Seahawks did just let the Panthersrun for 132 yards (granted, 37 were by Cam Newton) in their divisional playoff game last weekend.

Over a third of the Panthers' total on the ground against the Seahawks last week came on draw plays, and the Packers run the draw as well as any team in the league.

Defeating the two-back draw -- a play called "Paint" -- is fairly simple in theory. As long as the two linebackers (or sometimes a safety) get to the lead blocker properly, there should be a minimal gain. The key for the Packers is fullback John Kuhn. There's a reason he's reached Pro Bowl status -- the guy is good.

Even when linebackers try to soak up his lead block correctly, he's able to get leverage on them and create a seam for Lacy. Let's take a look at how Paint is drawn up.

In the first photo, you can see how the Packers' two-back draw is designed, and how the Dallas linebackers (white circles) were supposed to fit Kuhn (No. 30) last week. The linebacker to the strong side is supposed to "hammer" the ball back to his other linebacker who, in this play, is the "free hitter" and should make the tackle for a short gain.