Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving yo! For this holiday weekend, I am on a plane to New Orleans - drankin on Bourbon Street, taking in a little Jazz, checking out some swamps and the wonderful Cajuns that live there, and enjoying a fine Lake Pontchartrain view from my hotel. As thus, I will be pretty much (read: completely) AWOL from Field Gulls until Tuesday. Rest assured though that Thomas, Charlie, Jacson, Kenneth, and all the FG writers and editors will have you covered, as always. Go Hawks! 

First round mock draft: 23rd November " Seahawks Draft Blog
Today I am publishing my first projection for the 2012 NFL draft. Regulars will know how it works – the concept of the mock drafts on Seahawks Draft Blog are to create discussion and look at many different possibilities over the coming months.  The draft isn’t an exact science, unexpected things happen and we’ll be looking at many different scenarios between now and April. You can see the mock draft below, scroll down for further analysis on why I left out certain individuals and why I chose a linebacker for the Seahawks.

The lesson of a gradual draft class and how contending teams get better " Seahawks Draft Blog
The apparent beginnings of a second half surge by the Seattle Seahawks has ignited the "lose to win"  debate among fans (which in my imagination, is sung to the tune of Paul Stanley’s "Live to win").  Its a topic that in the past was shied away from and avoided, but in 2011 its taken off to a level I’ve never seen before.  Even radio personalities like Mike Salk have openly advocated for losing games for draft position.  For some reason, perhaps fueled by the long overdue acceptance of moving beyond Matt Hasselbeck, the nearly undeniable requirement for a franchise quarterback to make the playoffs and the well documented success-rate of first round quarterbacks, the subject has ceased to be completely taboo.  I’m guessing a lot of fans were looking at Andrew Luck after getting crushed by Pittsburgh for an 0-2 start and thought, "if we’re going to be bad, lets be bad enough."

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes: Where Seattle Seahawks And Miami Dolphins Fans Wonder What Went Wrong - SBNation.com
After eleven weeks of the 2011 NFL season, the Indianapolis Colts have taken a commanding lead for the No. 1 overall pick. We look at how things changed though for the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins.

32 Teams, 32 Observations, Week 11 | ProFootballFocus.com
Seattle Seahawks: Punt returner (and backup halfback for this team) Leon Washington has 326 punt return yards, which is by far the most by a returner without a run of at least 40 yards.

Robert Griffin III vs. Matt Barkley | National Football Post
Who is the better quarterback prospect?

Why are the Patriots' Tight Ends a matchup issue? | National Football Post
Looking at Gronkowski and Hernandez in the N.E. offense.

Prospect of the day: Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins | National Football Post
Is he a potential starter or reserve only in the NFL?

Why I Like Pete Carroll | November
To illustrate why I like Pete Carroll, let me compare him to two other football personalities: quarterback Jim Plunkett and coach Bill Walsh.

17 Power, A Seattle Seahawks Blog: Winning by Reputation vs. Just Beating Bad Gameplans
It's being said that the Seahawks' defense is now shutting down teams by mere reputation. In the last two weeks, the team has beaten two teams - Baltimore and St. Louis - who abandoned the run very early on after a token showing, then turned around and placed the game on the shoulders of their QB. If offensive coordinators are planning even before the game to abandon facets of the offense that won't be effective in Seattle, then hey, we must be pretty good.

Grossman: "This whole thing just sucks." | Seahawks Insider
When talking to Seattle-area reporters via conference call this morning, Washington quarterback Rex Grossman was blunt in his assessment of how the season has gone so far for his team. At the beginning of the season Grossman boldly predicted that Washington would win the NFC East. And a quarter of the way through the year his prediction looked pretty good. The Redskins sat atop the division at 3-1, and were one of the surprise teams in the league.

Rice, Obomanu and Branch to sit out today | Seahawks Insider
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said receivers Sidney Rice and Ben Obomanu (knee/ankle) will not practice today.

Seahawks Blog | Tarvaris Jackson and his hope chest | Seattle Times Newspaper
Tarvaris Jackson would prefer a busier work week. "I always want to be out there practicing," Jackson said.

Seahawks.com Blog | Up next: Washington Redskins "
Star power: Ryan Kerrigan and Brian Orakpo. If you want to settle on just one of these outside linebackers you’ll to flip a coin, because their statistic certainly do very little to separate them – and their importance to the Redskins’ defense. Kerrigan, the team’s first-round draft choice this year, has 49 tackles and six sacks. Orakpo, the first-round pick in 2009, has 43 tackles and 5½ sacks. Forced fumbles? Four for Kerrigan, two for Orakpo. QB hits? Kerrigan 21, Orkapo 18. Needless to say, these two have had a huge – and almost equal – impact on any success the Redskins have had this season.

Seahawks confident for run at playoffs | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
Playoffs? Playoffs?!? Believe it or not, the Seattle Seahawks still think they have enough gas in the tank to make a run at the postseason.

Seahawks just aren't going to make the playoffs | HeraldNet.com - Sports
Be as optimistic as you want, but really, no matter how you spin it, Seattle's season ends Jan. 1.

Seahawks | Are we there yet? A progress report on Pete Carroll's Seahawks | Seattle Times Newspaper
Two Seahawks victories have people sounding like a second-grader in the back seat, asking the driver if the destination is around the corner.

Ten Yard Fight: Winning Games Is the Only Way We Will Learn How to Win Games - Hogs Haven
I feel like I have been writing the same series of Tuesday columns for the last few years. This is the point of the season where I say that there is no such thing as a good loss. Granted, I was entertained throughout our tilt with the Cowgirls, and I did take comfort in some of things I saw on the field. As Mr. Mackey would say though, "Losing is bad, mmmmmkay?"

Trent Williams vs DeMarcus Ware (and other Cowboys). - Hogs Haven
There's been a lot of talk recently about the possibility of moving 4th overall pick of the 2010 NFL Draft Trent Williams to the right side to play right tackle. Sure, he could play right tackle at an extremely high level (he played there in college) , but this would be a backwards step for the franchise in my opinion. To move Trent to the right side would mean we would have to spend big money on a free agent left tackle (and usually the good ones don't get to free agency) or we would have to draft one. Williams was drafted to play left tackle and he showed on Sunday against the best pass rusher in the league that he can be a dominant left tackle at the highest level.