Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Saturday

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Rookie LB Wagner excelling, and more | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
RENTON — Sometimes he hears the booming, baritone voice of linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. just as he enters the training facility in the morning.

What if Seattle hadn't picked Russell Wilson - Adam Schefter's 10 Spot - ESPN
The Philadelphia Eagles intended to draft Wilson 13 slots after Seattle's pick, at No. 88 overall, to back up Michael Vick but wound up drafting Arizona quarterback Nick Foles instead. The Indianapolis Colts planned to pick Wilson with the 92nd overall selection in the third round to back up Luck before taking Florida International wide receiver T.Y. Hilton. And even the Washington Redskins would have grabbed Wilson with the 102nd overall pick in the fourth round to back up Griffin, but when he was gone, they picked Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins.

2012 NFL Scouting: Week Fourteen's Top Match-ups, Rookies to Watch, and More | NFL Articles
Thursday Night Football may have been a bit of a dud (as some have come to expect), but that doesn't mean that the entire slate of week fourteen match-ups are all going to be snooze-fests. With four games left to go and three divisions up for grabs, the final stretch of the regular season should be exciting as ever. Will this year's exceptional rookie class "hit the wall", or will they again beat the odds and power through? What teams will be looking to make a late season push?

Biggest NFL games of Week 14 -- John Clayton's First & 10 - ESPN
Tough QB decisions: Plenty of pressure is on Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt. After a 4-0 start, the Cardinals have lost eight in a row. After the failed experiment of using rookie Ryan Lindley, Whisenhunt has gone back to John Skelton for Sunday's visit to Seattle. It's a must-win for the Cardinals. A loss would give them their first nine-game losing streak in a season since 1944. Jets coach Rex Ryan is sticking by Mark Sanchez after horrible performances against the Patriots on Thanksgiving and last Sunday against the Cardinals. Last Sunday's Cards-Jets game may have set back the quarterback position for years. Sanchez was horrible, throwing three interceptions. Lindley was worse because he couldn't generate a touchdown drive or convert a third down.

All-22: Breaking down Sam Bradfords' 13 incompletions - Turf Show Times
Sam Bradford hasn't been lighting the world on fire this season, but his solid play has kept the Rams in games. This week I will breakdown the plays that Bradford didn't make, and even tell you why I think the play didn't work.

Sherman has two arguments for his PED appeal | ProFootballTalk
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, Sherman has two separate arguments.

DeAndre Hopkins, like Markus Wheaton, is underrated " Seahawks Draft Blog
We talked recently about how underrated Markus Wheaton is. For me, he’s the second coming of Mike Wallace. If you want a consistent receiver with the right attitude, explosive speed and a knack of making key players – Wheaton’s your man. And if I was a good team looking for a receiver in the late first round, I’d draft him and feel pretty smug about it afterwards.

Washington Redskins’ Kyle Shanahan: A lifetime of proving he belongs - The Washington Post
"He’s so much further along than I was," says Mike Shanahan, who took his first head coaching job at age 35. "It’s not even close."

Quirks of the Game: The Roster Challenge - NYTimes.com
When a baseball team loses a player to a midseason injury it fills that roster spot by calling up someone from the minor leagues, someone who has been playing regularly and coached by someone in the organization. But for N.F.L. teams the replacement is someone from the practice squad, who has probably not played a game all year, or someone sitting on his couch at home hoping for such a phone call.

Report: Darnell Dockett fined six figures by Cardinals for incident with Kerry Rhodes | ProFootballTalk
Jurecki also reports that Dockett could have a limited role against the Seahawks this weekend. That’s a lot of fallout from a little spittle, something that might make other Cardinals think twice before hocking a loogie in the direction of one of their teammates should another disagreement come to the surface in Sunday’s game.

Rookie Tackles Take On CenturyLink
"It’s hard to prepare for it," Potter said. "It’s its own beast. We just do the best we can to simulate it in practice. "(The silent count) gets easier the more you practice it, but it is still a challenge. You still would like no noise, at home, but that’s not realistic."

Seahawks.com Blog | Wilson named FedEx Air Player of the Week
The Seahawks’ rookie quarterback has been named FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week, it was announced today. Wilson was named NFC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday.

Wilson continues to roll along
The bigger the situation, the bigger Russell Wilson seems to play. And the Seahawks are counting on the same type of play from their rookie quarterback down the stretch and into the postseason.

Week 14 - Carroll Press Conference Friday
Coach Pete Carroll talks with the media as the Seahawks begin final preparations for their match up with NFC West rival Arizona.

Pete Carroll Show - Podcasts - MyNorthwest.com
Coach Pete Carroll tells "Seattle's Morning News" that the Seahawks have taken steps to avoid a letdown against the 4-8 Cardinals after last week's overtime win over the Bears. Carroll also talks about safety Kam Chancellor's sore groin and the competition at the nickel corner spot.

Seahawks, Cardinals should be closer than expected - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
The Cardinals have been horrible for two months. They haven't won since Sept. 30, dropping eight in a row. They have the worst offense in the league, averaging 279 yards and 15.5 points a game. All of which has put coach Ken Whisenhunt on the hot seat.

Kam Chancellor expected to play against Cards - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
"He's dealt with this before so it's an old kind of a condition that he's had," Carroll told "Seattle's Morning News" on Friday. "So it's just something we're trying to be very cautious with and not extend him in the week. ... So he'll be out there playing."

Jaws' QB rankings: Where West stands - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Ron Jaworski's latest quarterback rankings for Insider place Seattle's Russell Wilson 19th and climbing, with San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick and St. Louis' Sam Bradford not far behind. Wilson has gone from 31st to 24th to 19th during these quarterly rankings.

Red Bryant, Kam Chancellor expected to start | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
Safety Kam Chancellor returned to practice Friday after sitting out Thursday's workout with a wore groin. Center Max Unger was also back on the field after getting a day off to rest a sore hip.

'Devoted' Seahawks rookie QB Russell Wilson obsessed with film study - Yahoo! Sports
He's been so poised and efficient that the team's quarterback coach Carl Smith smiles when asked about him and said: "Let's say this, he's no problem. He fixes stuff."

Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers: 49ers' Week 14 Must-Win Matchups | Bleacher Report
At 8-3-1, the 49ers are currently clinging to the No. 2 playoff seed in the NFC. Plenty of teams are eying that No. 2 seed, so San Francisco will need to finish strong over the course of the next four weeks. They finish out the season with Miami and Arizona at home and New England and Seattle on the road.

49ers-Seahawks Week 16 Matchup Could Be Flexed and More NFC West News | Bleacher Report
According to Mike Sando of ESPN.com , the 49ers-Seahawks second meeting of the season could be flexed to Sunday Night Football . As it stands right now the matchup calls for Norv Turner 's Chargers against Rex Ryan 's New York Jets ...

Seahawks expect bad weather and dangerous Cardinals - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
"We take them as very, very dangerous," Carroll said. "Think about how hungry that team is to get a win. They'll do whatever it takes, and have a lot of big-time players who can change a game for them. We respect the heck out of this team."

NFL TV Schedule/Maps: Week 14 - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
And interesting set up this week for the TV side of things. The Seahawks play in the afternoon, and are the only game available at the time. Instead, we get a pair of options in the morning. Usually one game runs opposite the Seahawks game, meaning we never get any real choice in what games we get to see.

Greg Schiano explains idea on replacing NFL kickoffs - NFL.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano has a very interesting alternative to kickoffs in the NFL, and he shared more thoughts on it during his media availability Friday.

Russell Wilson's studying impresses Seattle Seahawks - NFL.com
The steady improvement of Russell Wilson hasn't received enough attention this season, but his Seahawks teammates and coaches say his success is no accident.

The Shutdown Corner Week 14 Preview Podcast with Greg Cosell | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
Once again, it's time to gear up for this week's slate of NFL games with analysis from the best in the business -- Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's "NFL Matchup." Greg gives you a sense of the week's upcoming games you won't get anywhere else, based on his conversations with players and coaches past and present, and his OCD-level evaluation of coach's tape. Since the podcast was recorded on Friday morning, we started by reviewing the Denver Broncos' Thursday night win over the Oakland Raiders.

NFP's Look At Prospects in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. | National Football Post
Russ Lande looks at the top prospects from Syracuse and West Virginia.

NFP Friday Buzz | National Football Post
*We’re hearing Mike Holmgren could return to coaching, but only if it’s the perfect situation. How would Holmgren define that? He would need a team that is ready to win. And he would need a good quarterback. And he would need an owner he felt comfortable with. Which team fits that description? Yes, the Dallas Cowboys. Holmgren and Jerry Jones worked together for years on the NFL competition committee. And Holmgren would appeal to Jones for reasons beyond his coaching acumen. He also could help fill up Jones’ massive stadium. Another team that could appeal to Holmgren, should they make a change? The Lions.

Questionable calls as referees enter stretch for their playoff race | National Football Post
Two more inadvertent whistles marked down on officials' playoff grades

Peek at the Week: December sifts contenders from pretenders - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
The Skins are red hot, while the Ravens rarely lose two straight. The Cowboys and Bengals both need to win to stay in the picture. Welcome to December, Clark Judge says, the month where we find out who's for real and who's not.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under Pressure: Play Call Sacks
Sometimes, the best ideas for what to write about come from your comments. This week we'll explore a question that DisplacedPackersFan asked in last week's comments section: How many coverage/play call sacks do the Packers have? Heck, I think that would just be a good feature to run for the league here in the next couple of weeks, with 39.5 percent of all sacks being categorized that way, would be interesting to see where teams rank on that. The answer, DPF, is a good bit.