Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Tuesday

Tuesday already, you guys.

Russell Wilson to get start Friday in Kansas City? | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
After Wilson passed for led three touchdown drives Saturday in Denver -- passing for two of those scores himself -- Carroll declined to say whether Wilson would get a chance to play with -- and against -- the starters. He again deferred on naming a starter Monday during his weekly radio appearance on ESPN 710 Seattle. But after the players concluded meetings on Monday, there were multiple indications Wilson is going to start the third exhibition game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday.

Will Seahawks give rookie Russell Wilson a chance to start this week? Only Pete Carroll knows | Danny O'Neil | The Seattle Times
Around the NFL, teams are settling on their starting quarterbacks. In Seattle, Matt Flynn has appeared to be the favorite, but rookie Russell Wilson might start this week's exhibition game at Kansas City. And last year's starter, Tarvaris Jackson, can't be ruled out.

Hawks trade LB Ruud to New Orleans | Seahawks Insider
Signed as insurance during the offseason for a young linebackers group, the Seattle Seahawks traded Barrett Ruud to New Orleans for an undisclosed draft pick, the team announced on Monday. The eight-year pro was limited during training camp because he’s recovering from groin, knee and shoulder injuries he suffered last season. He finished with a tackle last week against Denver.

Sports Radio Interviews " Blog Archive " Sam Bradford: Brian Schottenheimer Arrival has "Excited Everyone in Our Offense"
Sam Bradford joined The Fastlane on ESPN 101 in St. Louis to discuss the practice restrictions attached to the new CBA, to give his thoughts on the new offense and to reflect on a funny moment from last season.

The Payne Train: Practice isn’t the problem with tackling, dummy… | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
When NFL players and owners agreed to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement before the 2011 season, one of the items they agreed to was a training camp that drastically reduced the amount of full pads contact. With the amount of contact limited, some are concerned that technique will suffer. Tackling is not nearly what it used to be, according to 87% of the crusty old guys in bars that I frequent, and there has been some grumbling that this lack of contact in practice will make it even worse.

Smart Links – Mortality Rates, 4-2-5 straightline, Magic, Double-Stick Shovel, Fitzgerald – 8/20/2012 | Smart Football
From Coach Joe, the stick/draw but with a shovel pass instead of a draw: - Mortality rates for football players (and baseball players). - Dave Raley

ProFootballWeekly.com - Numbers crunching starting to change NFL thinking
Fans and media have asked the question for years, wondering when the sabermetric world of baseball — brought to the mainstream via the bestseller list and Hollywood, through "Moneyball" — would migrate to the NFL.

Saints LBs Lofton, Hawthorne both injured - Yahoo! Sports
Assistant head coach Joe Vitt says Lofton has a high ankle sprain. Hawthorne has a torn meniscus and was scheduled for surgery Monday.

Thoughts on the Seahawks-Broncos Game and Laying Off the High Fastball - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
After finally getting to watch Seattle’s second preseason game (it didn’t air in Los Angeles until last night), I figured I’d throw my two cents out there. I think Seattle looked a lot better as an entire team this game and the defense held Denver in check while our offense failed to score touchdowns.

Monday metatarsal musings
Or footnotes: The Seahawks’ impressive victory over the Broncos came with a catch – or one pass that was not caught, actually – and it skewed the evaluation process for Matt Flynn and the No. 1 offense.

Seahawks' Butler is making an good impression | HeraldNet.com - Sports
"I definitely feel I'm back," said Butler, who remains one of the fastest players on the team. "Last year I still played, and I was playing at game speed. But now I've really had my legs underneath me, and it's just kind of different. With Doug (Baldwin) being out they've moved me to the slot, and I can still play outside. So I've been kind of doing a little bit of both. "But definitely with Doug being out I've been kind of manning the slot and getting comfortable in there. And I think they like the way I move around in there, and it just fits well. And that's the whole thing, just figuring out how you fit well into this offense with so many receivers."

Pete Carroll's quarterback decision this week could define early part of Seahawks' season | The Brewery |
It's time for Seahawks coach Pete Carroll to give a straight answer. The Duke of Double Talk, a master media manipulator, Carroll has kept his starting quarterback job wide open, at least in theory, and as I've written before, he has earned some degree of patience.

Matt Flynn vs. Russell Wilson: Seahawks QB battle heating up - NFL.com
Flynn has been as good as advertised following a four-year run in Green Bay as Aaron Rodgers' backup. He has been steady and consistent from the pocket, displaying outstanding instincts, awareness and anticipation. Flynn has shown a solid mastery of the Seahawks' offensive system by regularly getting to the second and third options of the progression. This forces opponents to defend the entire field while allowing the offense to remain on schedule. Flynn has averaged a disappointing 3.9 yards per attempt in the preseason, but he has been plagued by dropped balls from his receivers (see: Terrell Owens).

Seahawks Draft Picks: Training camp report card - CBSSports.com
The national draft pundits weren't to kind to the Seahawks after April's NFL Draft, and draft grades reflected that. The Sporting News gave the Seahawks a "D" for their efforts, saying Seattle "went for defensive head-scratchers when more reliable prospects were on the board." ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. gave the Seahawks a "C-minus," which was tied for the lowest grade Kiper handed out. CBSSports.com's Pete Prisco called the selection of Bruce Irvin in the first round "risky" and wondered why the Hawks spent a third round pick on Russell Wilson when they had just signed Matt Flynn. Prisco gave the Seahawks a "C-plus" for the draft. After three weeks of camp and two preseason games, it's starting to look like the Seahawks brass -- which includes general manager John Schneider and coach Pete Carroll -- just might get the last laugh.

Seattle Seahawks Roster Profile Part 2: QB Matt Flynn Is "The Guy" in 2012 | Bleacher Report
After observing the Seahawks' offense in training camp and in both preseason games, it has become clear to me that Matt Flynn has already been chosen by head coach Pete Carroll to be "the guy" for 2012. All the competition talk in camp was merely a formality.

Where QBs stand on snaps and more - NFC West Blog - ESPN
"Whether I'm a rookie coming into the league battling for a position on the team or whether I'm battling for a starting spot, I take it the same way," Skelton said Monday from Cardinals camp. "Ask anyone on the team. I really don't let things phase me."

Under-the-radar moves revisited: Seahawks - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Revisiting three under-the-radar moves for the Seattle Seahawks to see how well these June storylines are holding up:

What did we learn about Terrell Owens? Not enough - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
In his first live action since 2010, Owens started with the first-team offense and was targeted five times in the first half. His timing with Matt Flynn was clearly not where it needed to be. And while some will describe his night as quiet, others will say that his lack of timing spoke loudly enough. Personally, I'm not ready to commit either way. In fact, I think his first action in a Seahawks uniform raised more questions than it answered.

Flag football: Pete Carroll tries to crack down on penalties | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
The Seahawks set a franchise record under coach Pete Carroll last year, just not one that's going to be celebrated. Seattle was penalized 138 times last year, most of any season in franchise history. There were also sorts of explanations for that from Seattle's youth to the physical style the Seahawks demand of their cornerbacks.

'Hawk Talk: Live Chat! | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times

Impressive Seattle Seahawks vs. Broncos - NFLX, Jeron Johnson, KJ Wright, Terrell Sutton
NWSB Insider and Seattle Seahawks blogger Brett Bivens is back to weigh in with his thoughts on the NFLX Week 2 game between the Seahawks vs. Denver Broncos. Some Hawks that impressed. Jeron Johnson impressed. KJ Wright was always at the right place at the right time. Tyrell Sutton put his name back into the conversation of the running back battle. Russell Wilson stepped on the field and opened more eyes.

Seahawks-Broncos and Laying Off the High Fastball - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
After finally getting to watch Seattle’s second preseason game (it didn’t air in Los Angeles until last night), I figured I’d throw my two cents out there. I think Seattle looked a lot better as an entire team this game and the defense held Denver in check while our offense failed to score touchdowns. The "death by a million field goals" offensive reality makes me incredibly uneasy, though.

Rookie QB roundup: Learning experience time - NFL.com
Russell Wilson Wilson is an absolute joy to watch. He's done everything possible to put pressure on Matt Flynn in the battle for the starting Seahawks job, but Wilson only has faced backups to this point. This touchdown pass from Wilson was one of the few plays he wasn't on the run, whether by design or not.

Jake Locker’s fantasy appeal is rising - NFL.com
The Tennessee Titans will go with Jake Locker as their starting quarterback in 2012, our Michael Lombardi reports. But let’s cut to the chase; what does this mean for his fantasy value.?

Matt Hasselbeck says 'he's excited' for Jake Locker - NFL.com
"As hard it was for me to hear that, I'm also excited for Jake," Hasselbeck said. "It's a great opportunity for him. I'll help and support him any way that I can and I'll be happy to do it."

2012 fantasy busts/overvalued | National Football Post
Frank Gore, RB, San Francisco 49ers (ADP: 40.1): He’s 29-years-old and has appeared in all 16 games just once in the last five years. Not only that, but for a guy who racked up 40 or more receptions in five consecutive seasons, Gore saw his catch total drop to a paltry 17 in his first year under head coach Jim Harbaugh. There’s a reason the Niners signed Brandon Jacobs and drafted LaMichael James just one year after drafting running back Kendall Hunter: The team is looking to diversify its backfield while adding depth to the position. The upside here is limited.

NFL Stock Watch: Preseason Week Two - CBSSports.com
Terrell Owens, WR, Seahawks: Owens first live-game audition for the 'Hawks did not go well. At one point, Flynn was 4-of-9 and T.O. had been targeted five times. Guess which five times they were based on Flynn's stats. Yup, the ones that weren't caught. Two were drops -- including an embarrassingly bad touchdown drop.

Rams camp report: Long way to go but finally reasons for optimism - NFL -
Sometimes it's better to go through all those things than to have a walk in the park," Bradford said.

Raiders vs. Cardinals: Breaking Down Key Performances from Arizona's 31-27 Win | Bleacher Report
After two weeks of embarrassing play on the road, did the Cardinals' struggles magically disappear once they headed back home to the desert? Not exactly, yet there were a slew of improvements to build upon—something we didn't see in Week 2.

First Impressions: Top 10 Rookies, Preseason Week 2 | ProFootballFocus.com
Two weeks of preseason are now in the books, almost, and people are starting to form opinions on the season ahead. Fans and media members alike are fully aware that preseason is not uniformly indicative of regular season performances, but that doesn’t stop us from getting excited about outstanding efforts or worried about those underwhelming showings.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Wisdom of Crowds 2012: RBs
For Week 2 of Wisdom of Crowds (WoC), we focused on running backs: two rookies and three players coming off of injury-shortened seasons. Before we get into the projections for those guys, here's a quick update on the emerging "Curse of WoC." After Trent Richardson and James Starks broke down on the day we tweeted their names, I was fully expecting one of this week's backs to meet a similar fate. Superstitions be damned, it turned out that the curse reversed itself, with two direct competitors against our featured backs getting hurt. If I wasn't such a superstitious person predisposed to finding meaning in the most innocuous patterns, I might say things evened out as random phenomena are wont to do. Nope, don't believe that for one second. Next week will break the tie!

Aldon Smith returns to practice for 49ers | ProFootballTalk
A quartet of injured 49ers returned to practice on Monday, and no name is bigger than linebacker Aldon Smith.