Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Tuesday

Read em and weep. Actually, most of these will make you happy.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 16 DVOA Ratings
Because of this amazing three-game stretch, the Seahawks are even stronger in weighted DVOA, which drops the strength of games earlier in the season to get a better picture of how well teams are playing right now. Going back 21 years, the only team with a higher weighted DVOA through Week 16 was the 1991 Redskins.

NFL Week 16: Russell Wilson continues to impress | National Football Post
If you were watching Wilson play Sunday night vs. the 49ers, then you saw the ability he brings to the Seattle offense. Sure, the Read Option adds to the playbook and it is tough to prep for when Marshawn Lynch is also in the backfield. However, I’m more focused on the rookie’s ability to navigate the pocket, get to the edge of the defense and make the tough throws. Focus on the deep out, the 7 (corner) route in the end zone, etc. Can we put him in the discussion for the Rookie of the Year award? Sure we can after Wilson and the Seahawks dropped 40-plus on one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Morning Rush: Pete Carroll shows 'class', resists further humiliating Jim Harbaugh's 49ers - Yahoo! Sports
If some of the Seahawks wanted Carroll to put it on Harbaugh, they had their reasons. Two Seattle defensive backs, Sherman and Earl Thomas, told Y! Sports that Harbaugh drove by the Seahawks' team bus in the Candlestick Park parking lot following the Niners' 13-6 victory in October and mockingly saluted the vanquished visitors. "He honked his horn at the bus and waved," said Sherman, who did not witness the incident. "That happened — a bunch of the guys told me. Yeah, he was [honking]."

Seahawks.com Blog | Christmas Eve in Hawkville: Making the playoffs just a step in the journey
Christmas Eve Eve. For Pete Carroll, Sunday night began with him holding his grandson, Dillon, on the sideline before the Seahawks’ game against the 49ers. It ended with the team’s third-year coach embracing a playoff berth after a beyond-convincing 42-13 victory. But Carroll is not satisfied. Far from it.

Monday metatarsal musings
Or footnotes: Red Bryant’s block of a field goal and 90-yard return by Richard Sherman for a touchdown sounded the upset bell for the Seahawks in their playoff-clinching victory over the 49ers on Sunday night.

Seahawks reinstate Winston Guy to active roster | ProFootballTalk
The Seattle Seahawks reinstated rookie safety Winston Guy to their active roster on Monday.

Mario Manningham done for season for San Francisco 49ers - NFL.com
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Mario Manningham is done for the season after tearing his ACL and PCL in his left knee during Sunday night's loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

Pete Carroll: Seahawks wanted to hang 50 on 49ers - NFL.com
The rivalry between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers is getting good. Pete Carroll explained Monday on NFL Network why he didn't go for 50 points against the 49ers.

Time to give the offensive line credit « Seahawks Draft Blog
Seattle has one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. Football Outsiders ranks it as the #1 run blocking unit in the league after week 16. They’re still ranked at #16 for pass protection based on adjusted sack rate, but only seven teams have given up less sacks in the entire NFL.

No limits for complete Russell Wilson, Seahawks - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
It's really easy to watch the Seahawks and get caught up in Russell Wilson. He is, after all, the most fascinating player on the field at all times. He plays the game's most important position and it does it unlike anyone since Fran Tarkenton (I'm told). He is cool, creative, smart, poised, accurate, fast, shifty, robotic, artistic, strong-armed, decisive and hard to contain. And now he'll be taking that act to the postseason, thanks to a 42-13 mollywhopping of the supposed best team in his division.

Playoff bound Seattle hopes to play with edge - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
"Don't jump on the bandwagon now," Thomas said Sunday night. "We have a chip on our shoulder and we play with it, and showed it."

Chancellor, Carroll say huge hit on Davis was clean - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
"It was a big-hitting night. It was a very physical night and maybe even one of our better nights at just knocking people around," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll told "Brock and Salk" Monday.

What NFP is hearing - Draft Rumblings | National Football Post
Russ Lande relays what he is hearing from NFL sources about four prospects.

QBR ranks: Wilson, Bradford in focus - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Seattle's Russell Wilson and St. Louis' Sam Bradford were the most impressive quarterbacks in the NFC West for Week 16.

Sunday Six: Carroll's vision is 20-20 for red-hot Seahawks - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
Week 16 demonstrated how Pete Carroll's vision of constant competition is working in Seattle. Just ask the 49ers. What else? The Jets backed themselves into a corner with their QB issues and Andy Reid deserves a shot -- one he likely won't get -- to develop some young Eagles.

Around the NFC West: Who is dangerous? - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Experience warns against reading too much into any one game's outcome. The Seattle Seahawks, now 10-5 and bound for the playoffs, keep challenging the maxim.

Monday Observations: Jets' Sparano among coordinators likely to go - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
Some embattled head coaches who survive Black Monday will be forced to shake up staffs. Jason La Canfora says the Jets' Tony Sparano and the Bears' Mike Tice are among playcallers likely to go.

Flashes: RB Benny Cunningham, MTSU | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
This installment of Flashes profiles the play of Middle Tennessee State University runner Benny Cunningham. The senior, who was on the Doak Walker Award Watch List this summer, had a 217-yard, 5-touchdown afternoon against Georgia Tech in September. By November, he was out for the season with a torn patella tendon. what quality did he flash against the Yellow Jackets that makes Cunningham worth monitoring as a street free agent? Keep reading . . .

Deon Butler waived, S Winston Guy activated | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
The Seahawks activated safety Winston Guy on Monday, adding him to the 53-man roster. Guy returned from a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs last week, but the team was granted a roster exemption. He practiced last week, but was not eligible to play in the game nor did he count against the 53-man roster limit. Receiver Deon Butler was waived. Butler — a former third-round pick who played the past three seasons in Seattle — was on the roster for the past two weeks.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 16 Quick Reads
Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson made history this weekend against Atlanta. Johnson gained 225 receiving yards against the Falcons, bringing his season total to 1,892, breaking the record of 1,848 set by San Francisco's Jerry Rice in 1995. That record lasted for 17 years. Eric Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards rushing, set in 1984, has lasted even longer, but that mark too is in jeopardy. Despite a modest output on Sunday against Houston, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson has 1,898 yards on the ground this season, and he can surpass Dickerson's mark with 208 yards next week against Green Bay -- the same Green Bay team that let Peterson run for 210 yards in Week 12.

What we learned: Seahawks 42, 49ers 13 | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Every week offers lessons and each game bringss up more questions. An attempt to sift through both the meaning and uncertainties of Sunday’s game between the Seahawks and 49ers. Three things we learned

Looking back: Revisiting Sunday’s scouting report | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
A look back at the scouting report for Sunday’s game and how those facts panned out.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Audibles at the Line: Week 16
Tom Gower: Yeah, that Chancellor call was a tough break for him, and something that I think will be hard for the NFL to avoid, barring what I think is an unlikely relaxation of the defenseless receiver rules. The thing about the Russell Wilson benching talk is that he went like 36 minutes between completions past the line of scrimmage. Also, is tonight fodder for the idea that Justin Smith should be a bigger candidate for Defensive Player of the Year?

ProFootballWeekly.com - Top five bowls bursting with draft prospects
Pro Football Weekly identifies five high-profile bowl games that are overflowing with pro prospects.

Seahawks, Richard Sherman await result of drug-test appeal | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Seahaws could be without cornerback Sherman for the next four games if his appeal of a positive drug test is denied by the league.

High-flying Seahawks wallop 49ers | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
“We’re doing what we do,” Seattle defensive end Red Bryant said. “We’re going to play tough. We’re going to play physical. We’re going to execute, and whatever the score is, that’s the score.”

The Tape Never Lies: The genius of Calvin Johnson | 100 Yards and Running | Blogs | theScore.com
How does one fully appreciate genius? I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time because I never feel like I’ve seen enough football intelligence.

One team wanted to be at CenturyLink, the other … not so much | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
Seattle’s most anticipated regular-season home game in years found the Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers bringing different attitudes into CenturyLink Field on Sunday night.

Richard Sherman doesn’t appear distracted | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
“I definitely need practice,” Sherman said. “I need to see the looks and get prepared. That’s something that helps you. And luckily our coaches did a great job of sending me all the tape, sending me everything I needed, and I was able to get prepared on the road.”

49ers feel good about NFC rank despite loss | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
“We’ll wake up (today), we’ll have a half-game lead in the division, and our hand will be on the dial to take care of business next week,” coach Jim Harbaugh said. “I expect our team will handle that. … It’s one loss. We obviously don’t feel good about it. It’s how we handle it.”

Russell Athletic Bowl — Key to Rutgers vs. Virginia Tech: Outside Zone | Smart Football
ollege football’s bowl season is not much like the single-minded narrative of a one winner-take-all playoff. Instead it’s a shifting, multiple layered story told through an ensemble cast. Some of the stories, like the BCS title game, are triumphant, with maybe even a tinge of poetic folklore — some battle that could as easily be taking place on Mount Olympus as in New Orleans or Pasadena. But other bowls are decidedly middle American, where hope and expectation have been dulled into some more reasonable expectation of just a simple win, maybe a winning season; more Death of a Salesman than Greek myth.

Jim Harbaugh press conference transcript: Longest eight minutes ever? - Niners Nation
We take a look at Jim Harbaugh's press conference transcript from his Monday post-Seahawks press conference.

The Booth Review – 49ers vs. Seahawks: “Ho-Ho-Holy $#&%, that was bad” - Niners Nation
Welcome to The Booth Review where the 49ers Faithful can expect a weekly retelling and analysis of the game – Who were the star performers? Who dropped the ball? What went well, and what needs to get better?

Kyle Shanahan Adapting Play-Action Post Concept To Fit RGIII, Cousins - Hogs Haven
The Redskins most successful concept in the passing game this season has been the play-action post. We break down how it works, how Kyle Shanahan has adapted it to fit both Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins and why it's so effective.

The State of Sharrif Floyd | Draft Breakdown
Sharrif Floyd signed with Florida as a 5 star recruit, and the top rated defensive tackle in his recruiting class. His Freshman year, he immediately showed great promise.

SEC Speed at DT | Draft Breakdown
Sheldon Richardson enrolled at Missouri as a 5 star recruit, but up until this year, he failed to make a major name for himself. After transferring from a Junior College, and being redshirted due to a wrist injury in 2010, Richardson spent much of 2011 in a rotational role as he battled a shoulder injury. In this role he was able to make several flash plays, but failed to be a consistent force. Early this year, Richardson finally gained the attention of the national media, but it was more due to his comments as opposed to his on field performance. However, this would change very quickly as Richardson more than managed to make a name for himself with his spectacular play.