Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Friday

Reading for this morning.

What statistics can, and can’t, tell us about football
With the Redskins on a bye last week, I thought it might be helpful to take a step back and look at what analytics can and can’t do in football. Of all the professional sports, football may be the toughest to crack analytically. The 16-game season doesn’t offer the same sample sizes that other sports do, and the game itself is exceptionally complex. Despite these limitations, we can still learn a remarkable amount about the sport.

Dissecting the Seattle Seahawks' Weakest Links | Bleacher Report
Now that the Seattle Seahawks have won a couple games and can rest and regroup during their bye week, what better time could there be to examine their problem areas. Yep, I'm crazy like that.

How do you like ‘em now, Mel? | Seahawks Insider
ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. gave the Seahawks an overall grade of C-minus for their 2012 draft, and a D-minus for player value attained, worst in the league. He saw Bruce Irvin as a late-second-round value upon whom the Hawks expended the 15th overall pick. Second-rounder Bobby Wagner met a need but could have been obtained a round later, Kiper felt, and quarterback Russell Wilson is "a great test case for shorter QBs, because he has everything else, but did they need him in the third round after grabbing Matt Flynn to come in and likely start?" Read more here: http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2012/11/15/how-do-you-like-em-now-mel/#storylink=cpy

Richard Sherman on the field - NFL Videos
03:48 – Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman joins Eric Davis and Michael Irvin on "NFL AM" to break down his big plays on the field.

The best candidates for open NFL general manager positions - SBNation.com
A quality general manager is not easy to come by in the NFL. But a handful of teams will have vacancies at the position this offseason. Here are some candidates to keep an eye on.

ProFootballWeekly.com - Steady Unger has taken control of Seahawks O-line
"He’s taken control of the offensive line," one team insider said of the starting center on Sports Illustrated pro football maven Peter King’s All-Midseason Team — an honor many close to the team believe could be a stepping-stone to a Pro Bowl berth in the coming weeks. "Not only is he the offensive captain, but he regularly meets with (starting rookie QB) Russell Wilson on Thursday and Friday each week to discuss different progressions, which Russell says has been really helpful."

Chalk Talk: Seahawks get 'easy yardage' with zone read - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
Russell Wilson picked up 18 yards on a zone-read run during the third quarter of the Seahawks' Week 10 win over the Jets. Three plays later, he found Sidney Rice open up the seam for a 31-yard touchdown. In the latest "Chalk Talk" video, Brock Huard explains how those plays were effective for the same reason.

Reggie Bush could learn something from C.J. Spiller - NFL.com
To put it another way: C.J. Spiller is finally the guy C.J. Spiller was supposed to be. Spiller is electric in the open field. He leads the NFL in yards-per-carry with a 7.3 average. He averaged 10.9 yards-per-reception; that's a number you'd expect from a wide receiver.

Pete Carroll and John Schneider: the honey badgers - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
In a copy-cat league where personnel decisions and play-calling never gets very far out of the box, John Schneider and Pete Carroll buck traditional, safe decision making and do what they believe in. - Seahawks News at 710Sports.com

How will spinal stenosis impact Jarvis Jones’ draft stock? " Seahawks Draft Blog
Jarvis Jones is an incredible football player. In two years at Georgia he’s amassed 24 sacks, flashing elite skills as a pass rusher and athletic qualities worthy of a top five pick. Yet something lingers in the background. Something that could really hamper his ambitions of playing in the NFL.

Traman Williams tries to steal 'Optimus Prime' nickname, Sherman says no - CBSSports.com
"I'm definitely Optimus Prime," Williams told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I'm the leader of the Autobots. I'm the leader of the young guys right now. And when it comes down to the tough battles, I'll lead those guys out there." Um, not to be a jerk, but you can't just hijack someone's nickname, T-Bone. Even if you think that the guy who coined it [Sherman] got "pushed around." "Guys like Brandon Browner and Richard Sherman -- they talk about how physical they are -- but Calvin was pushing those guys around the field like it was nothing," Williams said. "And those are some big guys. You definitely have to be careful with how you play a big guy like that."

Seahawks.com Blog | Rock the Pro Bowl vote
The first round of fan balloting for the Pro Bowl has been announced, and the Seahawks need your help. Running back Marshawn Lynch and punter Jon Ryan rank second at their positions, behind the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson and Packers’ Tim Masthay. Peterson is fifth among all players and second to the Texans’ Arian Foster at running back with 298,323 votes.

NFC West penalty watch: Live, don't learn - NFC West Blog - ESPN
As the chart shows, the Rams have committed three penalties for illegal formation this season. That leads the NFC West.

Bradford, Sanchez and Schottenheimer - NFC West Blog - ESPN
It's looking like first-year St. Louis Rams offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer escaped the New York Jets just in time.

Triple coverage: Wilson and the rookie QBs - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Several Seattle Seahawks fans sent me a link to Kerry Byrne's piece promoting Russell Wilson as the NFL's best rookie quarterback this season. "The biggest story in football is that a charismatic but undersized 5-foot-11, 205-pound, third-round draft pick who makes chump change by NFL standards is in the midst of perhaps the greatest streak of rookie performances in NFL history," Byrne writes.

Jets vs. Seahawks Recap — Week 10 NFL highlights, love + hate, Seahawks blogs
The Seattle Seahawks hosted the New York Jets Sunday in what was considered a must-win game for both teams. While there is great parity between the two teams’ records, a lot was on the line for both. Seattle is fighting for a playoff spot while the Jets are fighting themselves and the media circus they’ve created.

James Carpenter or John Moffitt at Seahawks Left Guard, Who's Your Choice? | Bleacher Report
Heading into the bye week, it appears as if the Seahawks have a few decisions to make personnel-wise. We already know that Walter Thurmond is on the active roster, but will he be up and playing come Week 12? Or how about Evan Moore—will his role in Darrell Bevell's offense evolve during the last seven games? He has only played six snaps the last three weeks.

"A Reach in the Third Round": How Russell Wilson Compares to the 2012 Rookie Quarterback Class - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
Faced with the boredom associated with the Seahawks’ bye week I played with some statistics, as I am wont to do, in order to gauge how our fearless leader Russell Wilson compares to the other rookie quarterbacks in the NFL.

Resting up and focusing on the finish
It’s our bye week, and while the focus turns to some much-needed R&R, we are fortunate to go into the break with some really positive momentum after winning our last two games.

Suh vs. Dietrich-Smith tops underrated Week 11 stories - NFL.com
Everyone will tune in Monday night to see which team has the better defense, the Chicago Bears or San Francisco 49ers. Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers always is must-see TV.New England Patriots-Indianapolis Colts brings a showdown between future Hall of Famer Tom Brady and young upstart Andrew Luck. Here are a few of the underrated matchups of Week 11:

In an era of instant video narrative, NFL Films’ long-form vision still reigns supreme | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
In the last week, two significant events put a nice bow on the 50-year run of NFL Films, the remarkable and revolutionary company started in 1962 by Ed Sabol. Last Friday, NFL Films employees gathered outside the company's enormous headquarters in Mount Laurel, N.J., to change the name of NFL Films' address. Formerly named One NFL Plaza, it's now One Sabol Way. The new name is a tribute to Ed's son Steve, who took the ball his father gave him and created a company with its own cottage industry in Emmys and an influence that goes far beyond the world of sports filmmaking. Steve passed away on Sept. 18, after fighting a brain tumor for over a year.

Dead money disasters | National Football Post
Bad contracts can set a team back for years. Just ask the Oakland Raiders.

This Week's Intriguing NFL Prospect Match-ups | National Football Post
Russ Lande Analyzes The Most Interesting Prospect Match-Ups This Weekend.

Goodell says NFL will continue to evolve, get safer, more popular - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
Professional football can evolve into a safer game without sacrificing the physical play -- or, some would say, violence -- that has made it so popular, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a speech on player safety at the Harvard School of Public Health on Thursday.

Boycotting the Corner Store: A Lesson for RBs | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
Isaiah Pead is an NFL running back prospect for the 2012 NFL Draft. The 5’11″, 198-pound University of Cincinnati senior is agile, and quick. He earns his tuition gaining yards from spread and pistol sets. This morning I’m watching Pead gain 191 total yards from scrimmage and score two touchdowns against NC State.

Signature Stat Snapshot: Tackle Efficiency | ProFootballFocus.com
A couple weeks ago I took a look at Tackling Efficiency for players in the secondary. In that article I stated that a sure tackling corner is a luxury and a poor tackling coverage safety can still be a good safety. Linebackers, though, are a different story altogether. You won’t find many guys toward the bottom of this list who are sniffing the Pro Bowl (or should be at least) and Tackling Efficiency is fairly indicative of performance because tackling is such a big part of what linebackers do. Only one player in the Top 10 has received a negative grade so far, and only one in the bottom 10 has received a positive grade.

Secret Superstars: Week 10 | ProFootballFocus.com
Marcel Reece, FB/HB, Oakland Raiders While most players make our Secret Superstars feature based on a big game where they caused their opponent plenty of problems, Raiders running back Marcel Reece features because of how versatile he has been while performing at a high level. Though not your traditional fullback, Reece’s play as a receiver this season, where he has 328 yards and has forced six missed tackles, has led him to be our highest graded fullback through 10 weeks of the season. With injuries to Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson at running back, he was called on for an even bigger role in the loss to Baltimore on Sunday.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Tied Up
A lot has been made of Jeff Fisher’s aggressiveness against the 49ers on Sunday. Most of the attention has rightfully gone to the two fake punts, but the Rams were just as aggressive on defense. In addition to constantly stacking the box to stop the 49ers running game, St. Louis used frequent stunts and slants from the defensive line to penetrate gaps and blow plays up in the backfield. Their activeness caused a lot of problems for San Francisco’s front five throughout the game.

The Sports Guy's Thursday NFL Pick - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
"Who’s up for another three hours of shitty football? Pull up a chair and watch poorly prepared, banged-up football players from two forgettable teams bring out the worst in each other ... it’s Roger Goodell’s Shameless Money Grab, coming up live on the NFL Network!!!!! Hello, everyone, I’m Brad Nessler, along with Mike Mayock, we’re here in Buffalo, and Mike, you’re expecting something truly horrific tonight … "