Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Friday

Friday Friday.

Vernon Davis, Colin Kaepernick of San Francisco 49ers struggle to click - ESPN
You have to develop that chemistry, that bond so you can be on the same page. That's something me and Kap don't have right now. We don't have it; you have to expect it because he just stepped in. " -- Vernon Davis

Harbaugh reaps reward for giving job to Kaepernick | Dave Boling - The News Tribune
"Just felt that was the best thing for our team at the time," Harbaugh said when asked during a conference call Wednesday if he could pinpoint the most compelling reasons for the November switch.

Seahawks, 49ers see mirror images in each other | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
From 2007 through 2009, Pete Carroll's USC Trojans and Jim Harbaugh's Stanford Cardinal faced off three times, and Harbaugh emerged with a 2-1 advantage. Carroll has never had the upper hand on Harbaugh since the two coaches moved to the NFC West -- Carroll in 2010 with the Seattle Seahawks, and Harbaugh in 2011 with the San Francisco 49ers. Harbaugh's rebuild has been more decisive, and reflected better early results. He's holding a 33-6-1 regular-season record, and two more wins in the playoffs, to Carroll's 23-23 mark and one playoff win.

San Francisco 49ers prepare for Wilson's zone read plays - NFL.com
The San Francisco 49ers know that Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks offense has grown up since the two teams last met. The 49ers are getting ready to defend the zone read play.

Evolution of the Seattle Seahawks colors - NFL Videos
Take a look at how the Seahawks' uniform remains on the cutting edge with its blue-and-green color scheme, adopted in 1976.

Kyle Shanahan Adapting Play-Action Post Concept To Fit RGIII, Cousins - Hogs Haven
As we all know by now, the Washington Redskins have been one of the most dominant running offenses in the NFL this year. The traditional Shanahan zone-blocking scheme has been one of the top running schemes in the NFL for the past 20 years. This year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has creatively mixed that in with the option game and running threat of Robert Griffin III. This have given the Redskins a fearful rushing attack that can run the ball on just about any down and distance and have to be taken seriously.

Kid QBs growing by the game
The Seahawks and 49ers teams that will meet at CenturyLink Field on Sunday night are different than the teams that squared off in Week 7, and two big reasons are Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick.

Week 16 - Bevell Press Conference
Offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell talks with the media as his offense prepares to face Patrick Willis and the 49ers.

No limelight for Marshawn Lynch - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
Last Sunday against the Bills in Toronto, Marshawn Lynch had his eighth 100-yard rushing game of the season. He is second in the NFL in rushing with 1,379 yards, has a 5.1 yard-per-carry average and 10 touchdowns. His performance on Sunday (10 carries for 113 yards and a TD) was so impressive, me, Jim Moore and Danny O'Neil spent exactly zero minutes talking about it on Monday's show.

Cosell's thoughts, plus QB pocket stats - NFC West Blog - ESPN
"What I really like about him, he is very decisive, which is why he can make pocket throws because he does not allow the rush to get to him," Cosell said of Wilson. "And when the rush does get to him, his movement is very defined. He is not frenetic. He is not chaotic. He moves for a reason. He knows where everybody is and he can throw the ball extremely well on the run at the intermediate and deeper levels."

Turnovers help, but 49ers not overly reliant - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The San Francisco 49ers held an 11-3 record at this point last season. They were plus-25 in turnover differential, a margin they seemed very unlikely to duplicate in 2012. It was natural to assume the team's record might suffer when the turnover margin regressed to a more realistic figure.

Double Coverage: 49ers at Seahawks - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Both teams' head coaches came from the old Pac-10 Conference. Their general managers worked together for the Washington Redskins in 2001. Their athletic young quarterbacks turned down opportunities to play baseball instead of football. Both teams have powerful running backs, highly ranked defenses and playoff aspirations.

Stunning achievement for Cards' defense - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The 2012 NFL season is not a total loss for the Arizona Cardinals. Their defense continues to force opposing quarterbacks into mistakes while holding them well below their usual performance levels.

Video: Coach Pete Carroll on Colin Kaepernick | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
Video: Coach Pete Carroll on Colin Kaepernick

Round 2 of Seahawks vs. 49ers might look a lot different than first meeting | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Since the 49ers beat the Seahawks 13-6 in a defensive struggle in October both teams have improved offensively.

Hawks need run-stuffing ‘D’ to return | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
"Their run game is kind of tricky," Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said. "They’ll pull the guards right and the fullback will go left, and the ball will follow the guards one play, and the fullback the next play. So you have to make sure you’re on your keys and do a lot of film study."

Seahawks Insider podcast — Week 16 | Seahawks Insider
Eric Williams of The News Tribune and Rob Rang, senior draft analyst with NFLDraftScout.com, discuss the Seattle Seahawks upcoming contest against the San Francisco 49ers.

Carroll sees similarities in Niners | Seahawks Insider
Pete Carroll acknowledged at time it’s like looking in the mirror when he watches film on his team’s upcoming opponent, the San Francisco 49ers.

Quarterback power rankings: The big three dominate - NFL.com
Newton's struggles in the first half of the season were overstated, and he's been one of the NFL's best over the last five weeks with ten scores and no picks. Wilson belongs with RG3 and Luck if you ignore the first half of the season, but I can't do that for this exercise. The Seattle Seahawks' passing game was very limiting for much of the year. Wilson has grown exponentially down the stretch and his running ability has been more of a factor.

Thursday Night Football is over and we're better people because of it - SBNation.com
We spent Thursday nights watching 13 of the worst NFL games this season. Let's reflect on the experience.

Film Review: Breaking Down The Offensive Line Struggles Against The Vikings - Turf Show Times
For this weeks edition of film review, we look at the Rams offensive line, which allowed 4 sacks this past weekend. There's two sacks in the first half that I want to review.

ProFootballWeekly.com - Dolphins S Clemons quietly having solid contract year
When breaking down the Dolphins’ host of free agents, S Chris Clemons often gets forgotten, what with fellow starters Jake Long, Reggie Bush, Randy Starks, Anthony Fasano and Brian Hartline all in contract years.

Week 16 - Wilson Press Conference
Russell Wilson talks with the media as the Seahawks prepare to face the 49ers on Sunday Night Football.

Playoff race makes odd allies of Packers, Seahawks - Yahoo! Sports
''Without looking in the past, we have to root for a team we fell short to,'' Clay Matthews said Thursday. ''So that's how it goes. We'll control our own destiny by winning these out and hopefully we can get some help along the way.''

DT Branch returns to practice | Seahawks Insider
Cornerback Richard Sherman also did not practice today, and was listed as non-injury related on the team’s injury report. Sherman is reportedly scheduled to have an appeal hearing for allegedly violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy on Friday

WSU QB Tuel drops redshirt petition, opts for NFL - CBSSports
Washington State quarterback Jeff Tuel announced Tuesday that he's dropping a medical redshirt petition with the NCAA to earn a fifth year of eligibility and instead is opting to pursue a career in the NFL. Does the hard-luck Tuel have a chance at NFL success? NFLDraftScout.com explores.

Russ Lande 12-20 - Seattle's live and local sports station
Russ Lande from the National Football Post joins Softy and calls the Hawks one of the better teams in the NFC, and previews the match up with the 9ers this weekend

San Francisco 49ers prepare for Wilson's zone read plays - NFL.com
The San Francisco 49ers know that Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks offense has grown up since the two teams last met. The 49ers are getting ready to defend the zone read play.

Philadelphia Eagles sign Evan Moore to replace Clay Harbor - NFL.com
The Philadelphia Eagles signed former Seattle Seahawks tight end Evan Moore on Thursday to replace backup Clay Harbor, who was placed on injured reserve earlier this week.

Dashon Goldson's repeated NFL fines total $77,500 - NFL.com
San Francisco 49ers safety Dashon Goldson doesn't seem to be deterred by fines. Between being fined for his pants to repeated fines for nasty hits, Goldson has paid the NFL a pretty penny.

RG3, Colin Kaepernick, Russell Wilson head NFL's option trend - NFL.com
For years, we were told the option would never work in the NFL. But San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick is among an electric group of young signal-callers debunking this myth. Albert Breer reports.

Which teams devote the most cap room to their starters? | National Football Post
Despite a 6-8 record, the New York Jets lead the way.

Underclassmen - Should they stay or go? | National Football Post
Russ Lande makes his case regarding three different underclassmen.

Vikings keeping a close eye on DT Brian Price | National Football Post
Second visit could lead to offseason signing

NFL tells coaches to remind receivers about illegal crackback blocks | ProFootballTalk
Although defensive players often say that the NFL has favored the offense with its player safety rules, the NFL’s head of officiating is also telling coaches that they need to make sure their offensive players aren’t committing any illegal blocks on defensive players.

Steven Jackson closes in on eighth straight 1,000-yard season | ProFootballTalk
Lost in the latest 200-yard performance from Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was the fact that Rams running back Steven Jackson crossed the 10,000-yard threshold for his career. He's the 27th NFL player to cross into five-figure territory.

Which Matchups Are Kryptonite for NFL Playoff Contenders? - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
The modern NFL is a game of matchups. Since the salary cap and the spread of strategic concepts throughout the league prevent a team from dominating the way that the 1980s Niners or the early-'90s Cowboys did, just about every team in football has one or two weaknesses that can be exploited by a well-timed opponent. That doesn't necessarily mean that the team in question will lose to that otherwise-inferior opposition because the matchup is poor, just as a team with a weakness being exploited by the opponent can still win by pressing its advantage in other areas. But a team that's a bad fit for a specific superior opposition can have a higher chance of causing an upset if they find some weakness ready to be manipulated and attacked.

Peyton Manning, Torrey Smith, Steve Sabol among my favorite stories of 2012 - NFL - Don Banks - SI.com
A heart-warming tale in the heartland -- Everybody loves a turnaround story, and how can you top the reversal of fortune that has unfolded in Indianapolis this NFL season? The Colts went 2-14 last season, let Peyton Manning walk away, fired Bill Polian and head coach Jim Caldwell, and started over. And what a renaissance it has been. Rookie quarterback Andrew Luck looked like the real deal from day one, and the Colts are on the cusp of the playoffs after a mere one-year absence.

Tyler Bray will declare for 2013 NFL Draft, according to report - SBNation.com
QB Tyler Bray will skip his senior season at Tennessee.

C.J. Mosley will return to Alabama for senior season - SBNation.com
The Crimson Tide got some good news from one of their top defensive players on Thursday.

Sheldon Richardson 2013 NFL Draft scouting report - SBNation.com
A complete breakdown of the Mizzou defensive tackle.

Scouting Report: Jarvis Jones, OLB, Georgia " Tom Melton's NFL Draft Blog
Jones doesn’t have ideal measurables for a 4-3 defensive end and is a little light for the 3-4 OLB position. He is listed at 6’3", 241 pounds but it wouldn’t surprise me if he measured in at 6’2" and 235 pounds or so. He’s not a huge player and he doesn’t look like he has a ton of room on his frame to "bulk up" and get up to 255-260 pounds or so.