As expected, Seahawks DE Cliff Avril will miss today's matchup with the Panthers.  Seattle will also miss CB Brandon Browner.  Both are dealing with hamstring injuries, and each absence hurts the team D.  If you drafted the Seahawks, you probably need to stick with them as your Week 1 starter.  But Panthers QB Cam Newton presents a dangerous matchup.  Newton, meanwhile, gets a better fantasy football matchup thanks to those injuries.

Seahawks DE Cliff Avril is doubtful for Sunday's opener at Carolina because of a hamstring injury that plagued him through much of training camp.  Seattle will also miss DE Chris Clemons, who's still working back from his January ACL tear, and 2nd-year man Bruce Irvin during his 4-game suspension.  Altogether, the absences might make it hard for the Seahawks to collapse QB Cam Newton's pocket.  If you drafted their D in fantasy, you pretty much have to start them and hope that the secondary and the run defense lock down the Panthers.  The myriad injuries and Irvin suspension were the main reasons we didn't project Seattle's D for the top spot in our preseason rankings.

Despite the acquisition of WR Percy Harvin, the Seahawks have no intentions of moving away from their run-first offense.  "We're gonna do exactly what we wanna do with continuing to send the message about how physical we are, how we attack with the running game and fit off that," HC Pete Carroll said. "This is not a change at all."  Now, Seattle finished 2012 dead-last in pass attempts and 1st in rushes.  They'll certainly throw it more in 2013 with Harvin and an improving QB.  Marshawn Lynch is unlikely to match the 19.7 carries per game he averaged last year.  But he'll remain plenty busy.  And the addition of Harvin should increase Lynch's scoring opportunities.  We still like him as a top-10 fantasy RB.

Seahawks CBs Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner will play against the Bears on Sunday.  The appeal of their 4-game suspensions won't be ruled on before the weekend.  Tough break for QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall.  The former will be just a QB2.  The latter remains a must-start.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reports that both Seattle starting CBs face potential 4-game league suspensions for PED violations. Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are reportedly appealing the rulings, swearing that they are innocent. We've heard that one before. We'll wait to see what happens with the appeals, but even players who have unknowingly consumed banned substances don't tend to go unpunished. Sherman and Browner make up one of the league's best CB tandems -- perhaps THE best in the NFL. Losing both for any number of games. Enough to significantly impact the fantasy standing of the team D? Let's see what matchups might be involved.

ESPN's Adam Schefter is reporting that Seahawks CBs Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner are facing 4-game suspensions for violating the league's policy on banned substances.  They'll submit an appeal, which is expected to be heard this week.  Sherman and Browner have emerged as arguably the best CB tandem in the NFL.  If they're out, it'd turn Seattle from a tough passing matchup to a plus draw.  Their next 4 opponents are the Bears, Cardinals, Bills, and 49ers.

Seahawks RG John Moffit went down last weekend with a season-ending knee injury.  On Wednesday, RT James Carpenter tore his ACL during practice.  The losses obviously aren't good news for the continuity of an offensive line that had paved the way for 2-straight 100-yard rushing days for RB Marshawn Lynch.  But we should also point out that Pro Football Focus rates Moffit and Carpenter as Seattle's 2 worst run-blockers.  It'll be a situation to monitor, but we're not expecting Lynch to be impacted much.  He remains a quality fantasy option against the Rams this Sunday.

The Seahawks should have 2 of their top defenders on hand Sunday. DE Chris Clemons and MLB David Hawthorne both looked iffy after Thursday's practice, but each is listed as probable for the matchup with the Niners. Each is slightly worrisome, in terms of whether he'll play his full alotment of snaps. Hawthorne should be treated as he normally would for fantasy purposes. Clemons missed much of the preseason and would be better to leave on the bench if you can.

Asked about his anticipated role with the Seahawks, new signee S Atari Bigby said Wednesday he'll play special teams and perhaps see some spot duty on defense. "They told me that they have their starters," he told reporters. That's good news for 2nd-year man Kam Chancellor. Bigby, a 29-year-old former Packers starter, arrives for depth rather than a fight. That means Chancellor is set to fill the "thunder" role to FS Earl Thomas' "lightning." Seattle's D will spend plenty of time on the field, which could lead to Chancellor surpassing Lawyer Milloy's 2010 tackle total (88).

NFL Network's Jason La Canfora reports that the Seahawks will go after free-agent WR Sidney Rice. As well they should. The injury red flags are obvious with Rice. The guy won't turn 25 until September, though. He's also just a year removed from a 1,300-yard season. You have to take personnel risks at some point. A speedy 6-4, 200-pound WR who has shown his upside is a better chance to take than, say, Charlie Whitehurst.

According to Dave Mahler of 950 KJR Seattle, the Seahawks offered the Eagles 1st and 3rd-round picks for QB Kevin Kolb earlier this offseason.  This is sort of a shady source, so we'd take the report with a grain of salt.  But if true, the Seahawks may be the new favorites to land Kolb.  We doubt the Cardinals would be willing to top that offer.

The Cardinals are expected to be without WR Anquan Boldin (toe) per ESPN's John Clayton. Larry Fitzgerald (groin) had a better practice Thursday and should try to go. We're adding the Seahawks defense to the top-12 this week. When Arizona visited Seattle last year 5 different Seahawks notched a sack.

Seahawks FS Brian Russell (head), DE Patrick Kerney (oblique) and LB Leroy Hill (hamstring) could all be questionable for Monday night vs. the 49ers. They are three of the best players on this defense, though even without them the Seahawks could still bash the Niners. In two of the last three times they visited Seattle it ended up 41-3 and 34-0 whitewashes. And with LT Jonas Jennings & RG Justin Smiley out there will be merciless blitzing.

With NT Chuck Darby (knee) on injured reserve the Seahawks will turn to rookie Brandon Mebane from Cal to fill his spot. He's a good prospect but he'll get mugged for several weeks until he figures out technique. Start your RBs against Seattle, who was already the 18th ranked rush defense despite a reasonably easy schedule.

Seahawks DT Marcus Tubbs has a torn ACL and will be placed on IR. Ouch, he's a talented clogger in the middle. Except for a few nice home matchups this Seahawks defense is hard to consider for fantasy purposes, especially with the rest of the NFC West ready to pump more points.