Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Wednesday

HUMPDAY!!! 

Don't overreact to Whitehurst's performance, either - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
Earlier this season I wrote about quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. I took his side and called anyone blaming him for the Seahawks' 0-2 start "amateurish." Now I know this may have been a little heavy-handed and some commenters and colleagues of mine got a little sensitive over it. Ahhh, I'm sorry.

NFP Week 7 rookie report card: Seahawks-Browns | National Football Post
Taking a look at some first-year players from the Seattle-Cleveland contest.

Injuries Taking A Toll On Seahawks’ Shaky Offense | Seattle Seahawks
Physical status of several offensive starters remains vague as the Seahawks (2-4) prepare to play Cincinnati Sunday; Whitehurst has to overcome emotionally his worst performance.

More insanity from the NFL, Part III - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
It wouldn't be right if I didn't take this opportunity to accuse Roger Goodell and the NFL league office of destroying the game that I love.

NFL -- Kickers reaching new heights - ESPN
Q: Who was the best offensive tackle, when healthy and in his prime, in the NFL in the past 20 years? Stephen from DeKalb, Ill. A.Walter Jones. There are other guys like Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace who were excellent as well. But I always believed, and I know a lot of other linemen in the league did as well, that Jones was a notch above both of them, especially in the run game. Unfortunately, because he never played on a Super Bowl champion and didn't play in prime time a lot, I'm not sure he ever really got the credit he deserves. And since you said "when healthy and in his prime," I'll add that I was a huge Tony Boselli fan. He played the game with an edge that I loved. It is a shame his shoulders were so bad and he had to retire early.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 7 DVOA Ratings
Here's a look at the stats for the four teams in Sunday's games, including both DVOA (adjusted for opponent) and VOA (not adjusted for opponent). The special teams rating is the same for both, as I've never been able to get special teams opponent adjustments to work well.

Seahawks.com Blog | Photoblog: Mistakes by the Lake "
The Seahawks came off their bye week looking for a second straight road win, this time visiting the Cleveland Browns.

Seahawks.com Blog | Up next: Cincinnati Bengals "
Burning question: How much will the Bengals miss Cedric Benson? The Bengals’ leading rusher has been suspended for this game because he violated the league’s personal conduct policy. Benson has two 100-yard rushing efforts as part of his 458 yards. Bernard Scott will start against the Seahawks, and he is averaging 2.8 yards on 30 carries. He’ll be running into a Seahawks’ run defense that is allowing a league-best 3.2 yards per rushing attempt.

Monday notes: Seahawks would be picking 8th " Seahawks Draft Blog
I’m a little bit confused by the way people are reporting Matt Barkley’s pro-potential.

Robert Griffin III (QB, Baylor) vs Texas A&M " Seahawks Draft Blog
This is actually the most impressed I’ve been with Griffin, this felt like a more complete performance than the TCU game in week one which was essentially a cluster of big plays.

Draft Breakdown — Pac-12 Mid-season Awards
Freshman of the Year: Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE, Washington Oregon’s De’Anthony Thomas has been electric this year for a top-10 team, but for me, Seferian-Jenkins is the pick. OK, I’m admittedly biased because I live in Seattle, but when I watch the 6’7", 250 lb. TE play, I see NFL potential written all over him. Already amassing 20 catches and 4 touchdowns on the season, Seferian-Jenkins has been a huge security blanket for Washington QB Keith Price. He has rare size, athleticism and body control, and combined with an NFL-caliber body, Seferian-Jenkins has future 1st round potential. Watch for him to be even more of a factor in UW’s offense as the season progresses. Honorable mentions: De’Anthony Thomas, RB, Oregon; Scott Crichton, DE, Oregon State; Sean Mannion, QB, Oregon State.

Seattle Seahawks Blog - Hawk Blogger: Spending Wisely On Defense
Imagine shopping for linebackers. You see a deal that gets you 99 tackles, two sacks, three tackles for loss, and 1 interception that will cost $1,960,000. On the other shelf, there is a choice to get 29 tackles, no sacks, no tackles for loss, and no interceptions. You check the price tag and see a whopping $5,076,250. For less than half the price, the first option provides more than triple the production.

Seahawks’ Bryant says Browns’ cheap shots got under his skin | ProFootballTalk
"He was talking the whole game," said Bryant. "He was taking cheap shots at me. That’s what guys do when they can’t block you. He did a great job of getting in my head. I should have been smarter than that."

From the sidelines: Seahawks at Browns
The margin in a three-point loss at Cleveland feels both narrow and wide as the Seahawks fall to 2-4.

Handing out the Week 7 Sunday game balls | National Football Post
K.C.'s Brandon Flowers, DeMarco Murray, Brees and more.

Top five rising prospects | National Football Post
Here are five prospects who are seeing their stock rise through the first half of the season…

Breaking down Cam Newton and the 'read option' | National Football Post
Using video from Auburn and Carolina to look at the QB's production in the spread scheme.

Whitehurst demonstrates why he’s the sub | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
All those Seahawks fans fomenting a quarterback controversy in recent weeks likely spent much of Sunday afternoon united in a common sentiment: Get well soon, Tarvaris. Please.

Writing off a QB after three NFL starts - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Charlie Whitehurst was, by all accounts, horrible as the Seattle Seahawks' quarterback during a 6-3 defeat at Cleveland in Week 7. "It was a hard go," coach Pete Carroll told reporters Monday. "I think that's the toughest time Charlie's had in the games he's played in."

College Quarterbacks: How Much Attention Should We Give Their Stats? - Mocking The Draft - Just over three months from now, Super Bowl XLVI will be in the books and a new NFL champion decided. Almost immediately thereafter, draftniks, NFL pundits, analysts and the like will start dissecting the next wave of rookies to enter the league.  Leading the way will be the Class of 2012 QB's, guys like Andrew Luck, Landry Jones, Matt Barkley, Nick Foles, Robert Griffin III and a few others. College gametape will be broken down endlessly, results from the scouting combine will be analyzed and re-analyzed and college stats will be thrown around as fodder for discussion (and perhaps used at the the basis of some lazy scouting reports). What, if anything, can we learn about these young quarterbacks' chances of NFL success from looking at their college stats? 

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