Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Friday

TGIF!

Chalk Talk: Doug Baldwin's 29-yard touchdown catch - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
Doug Baldwin made three key plays in the first five minutes of Monday night's win over the Rams. If that wasn't enough, the Seahawks' undrafted rookie receiver led the team with seven catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. In this week's edition of Chalk Talk, Brock Huard shows how Baldwin's adroit route running and the effects of attrition in the Rams' secondary were factors in Baldwins' 29-yard touchdown catch.

Thoughts on Nick Foles and game tape vs ASU " Seahawks Draft Blog
I’m not a big fan of Nick Foles. I’ve seen an awful lot of Arizona tape over the last three years and I feel like I’m watching the same player now that was on view in 2009. Opinion is generally mixed – some tout him as a potential first round pick, others don’t see a future in the NFL. At the National Football Scouting meeting last summer, Foles was given a 7th/UDFA grade – a grade I agree with.

Thiel: Credit Seahawks for switching gears | Seattle Seahawks
The no-huddle, up-tempo offense seemed like a way to help shaky QB Tarvaris Jackson. Turned out it wasn’t. Credit Carroll and his coaches for being willing to change.

Lovie Smith is determined not to let Sam Hurd situation become a distraction | ProFootballTalk
Bears receiver Sam Hurd allegedly is a real-life Heisenberg. His coach is determined to prevent the situation from turning the team’s season into the Hindenburg.

Questioned by feds a day before signing with Bears, Hurd allegedly kept trying to buy cocaine | ProFootballTalk
I’ve had a chance to fully digest the five-page criminal complaint filed today against Bears receiver Sam Hurd. The document reveals that Hurd submitted to a consensual interview with federal authorities in July 2011 — but Hurd allegedly kept on buying and selling cocaine and marijuana, in large amounts.

Sports Radio Interviews " Blog Archive " Mike Leach Settles in as Head Coach at Washington State
Mike Leach joined KJR in Seattle with Ian Furness and Jason Puckett to discuss if he’s realized that he’s back yet, if anything has surprised him at this point, his quarterback options, what he likes to see in a quarterback, his defensive philosophy and what he’s planning on doing on the recruiting trail.

The Shutdown Corner Week 15 Preview Podcast with Greg Cosell - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports
We're back with another weekly podcast featuring our favorite X's-and-O's analyst — Greg Cosell, the longtime NFL Films maven, who's also the executive producer of ESPN's "NFL Matchup." As always, we go through this week's upcoming games with a scout's eye and Greg in control of the All-22 tape.

The Possible Destinations for One Peyton Manning - The Triangle Blog
When we wrote about the Suck for Luck campaign before Halloween, we suspected that the Miami Dolphins would end up with Andrew Luck, either by producing the worst record in football or via trade. Since then, though, the Dolphins have gone 4-3, pushing them away from the Luck sweepstakes. The Colts had a 33.2 percent chance of getting the first overall pick when we wrote our initial piece, but heading into Week 15, Football Outsiders estimates their chances of holding the first overall pick at 91.1 percent. If the Colts want Andrew Luck, they're going to get him.

The Shutdown Corner Podcast: Peter King of Sports Illustrated - Shutdown Corner - NFL Blog - Yahoo! Sports
We were very happy to welcome a special guest to the Shutdown Corner Podcast on Thursday: Peter King, the longtime NFL writer for Sports Illustrated and SI.com. You can also see Peter on the "NBC SportsTalk" show on the Versus Network, and on NBC's "Football Night in America" telecasts every Sunday evening through the football season.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Scramble for the Ball: Strength of Schedule
Tom: With the playoffs approaching, we're now in "figuring out the tiebreaker" season. And one of those tiebreakers that figures heavily, both for the draft and for the playoffs, is strength of schedule. Mike, what do you make of the NFL's use of strength of schedule?

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Houston's Zone Stretch
The votes are in, and the Houston Texans edged out the Denver Broncos in last week’s poll for which team I'll add to coverage in Word of Muth. Since I’m playing catchup with the Texans, I’ll probably write about them two weeks in a row. For this first Houston column, I watched the Texans’ last two games (against Cincinnati and Atlanta) as well as Matt Schaub’s final game (versus Tampa Bay) to see how much the Texans have changed their protections with T.J. Yates under center. Not much changed, actually, though they are using max protect a little more often. After three games, it is safe to say that I am a fan of Houston’s offensive line.

Signature Stats Snapshot: Offensive Tackle Pass Blocking Efficiency | ProFootballFocus.com
We say it every year, but if there’s one aspect of play that gets consistently overlooked, it’s what happens on the offensive line. While other positions have easy-to-understand stats that paint a picture in the ball park of what has been going on, there’s nothing really tangible for those big guys doing all the grunt work.

Sam Bradford dealing with latest ankle setback | National Football Post
Kellen Clemens could start Sunday vs. Bengals

An inside look at the Packers' 'Spot Route' | National Football Post
Four TEs? A creative way to run a base concept.

NFL.com Blogs " Blog Archive Tale of the Tape: Run-stuffing Ds focus on QBs in San Fran "
In a game featuring two top-notch defenses, the fate of the Steelers and 49ers might rest upon the two signal callers who have to stare back at them.

NFL.com news: Gurley rejects Vikings' roster spot for Packers' practice squad
For those men tucked away on an NFL team's practice squad, the obvious goal is to get on the field and make an impact. If another team comes calling with an offer to join the active roster, it's a no-brainer. Unless, of course, you're Packers wide receiver Tori Gurley, who turned down a spot on the Vikings' roster this week to remain with Green Bay's practice squad.

NFL.com news: Business just as important as football for future NFL GMs; notes
This is the third year I've done a "Future GM" column. And this time around, there's a distinct message I've heard from guys who already have those positions and were helping me unearth guys who could eventually join their ranks.

WR Baldwin returns to practice, CB Sherman new to injury report | HeraldNet.com - Seahawks blog
Rookie receiver Doug Baldwin returned to practice Thursday after sitting out a day earlier with an ankle injury, a good indicator that the team's leading receiver will be fine for Sunday's game in Chicago.

Seattle Seahawks Blog - Hawk Blogger: Things I Think, 13 Games In
Sit back for a moment and soak in this 2011 Seahawks season. A season that may have never been had the lockout lasted much longer. A season that has delivered nearly unprecedented player development despite a complete lack of off-season.

17 Power, A Seattle Seahawks Blog: DVR Run Analysis - St Louis @ Seattle; 12-Dec-2011
The first play of the game was great, but for most of the first half, the blocking was tentative. No surprise as this is McQuistan's first game at LT. It's also Jeanpierre's first start at RG and his first game playing next to Giacomini. In the second half, the line gained confidence, speed, and more yards per carry.

Gallery misses second straight practice | Seahawks Insider
The Seattle Seahawks could be starting their seventh different offensive line combination on Sunday against Chicago. Offensive guard Robert Gallery missed practice for a second straight day with a hip issue. Allen Barbre worked at left guard with the first unit in Gallery’s place.

Filling a cavity
From the dentist chair to the 53-man roster, Tuesday proved to be quite a day for Ricardo Lockette as the rookie wide receiver was elevated from the Seahawks' practice squad.

Seahawks off and running after switching game plan - seattlepi.com
The meeting sticks out in Pete Carroll's memory. The Seahawks coach was talking with assistant Tom Cable and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell when they decided they were done with the gimmick offenses. Seattle was going to take the plunge and commit to a run-first mentality.

Chicago's offense to grin and Bear it against Seahawks | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
The NFL’s Mad Scientist, Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz, has had to reel in his aggressive nature of late with the absence of quarterback Jay Cutler, who’s out for at least the last three games of the regular season with a broken right thumb on his throwing hand.

Seahawks need to win and hope | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
Pete Carroll is not about to discourage his team – or anybody else, for that matter – if they want to get excited about a long-shot possibility.

Seahawks | Hard-nosed Seahawks bucking NFL's passing trend | Seattle Times Newspaper
The Seahawks aren't swimming upstream against the NFL's prevailing current.

Seahawks.com Blog | Thursday in Hawkville "
Tarvaris Jackson. If it’s Thursday, the starting quarterback talks to the media. But Jackson’s post-practice Q&A session was different today

Jerry Brewer | Forget the draft and enjoy the ride, Seahawks fans | Seattle Times Newspaper
You can still hear the noise if you listen closely. It's a muffled protest now, not the passionate shout that it used to be.

Explaining Cards' defensive improvement - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Many factors could be contributing to the Arizona Cardinals' dramatic defensive improvement over the past six games: