Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Friday

Friday!

Preseason Week 4 - Wilson Postgame Press Conf.
Russell Wilson talks with the media following the Seahawks 21-3 victory over the Raiders in the final preseason game of the year.

Preseason Week 4 - Carroll Postgame Press Conf.
Pete Carroll talks with the media following the Seahawks 21-3 victory over the Raiders in the preseason finale.

Taua of power
The Seahawks put the finishing touches on an unbeaten preseason Thursday night with a 21-0 victory over the Raiders that was stoked by big plays from some of their young players.

Seattle beats Oakland 21-3 to finish preseason - Seahawks News - MyNorthwest.com
Flynn played most of the second and third quarters and led Seattle to a pair of touchdowns. That was more than the Seahawks needed thanks to a stingy defense that continued to impress. Seattle's starting defense allowed just 17 points while on the field during the preseason.

Seahawks.com Blog | Kids’ stuff
"I kept working, and they finally came," Irvin said, unable to contain a series of grins as he sat in front of his cubicle in the locker room. "I’ve been busting my butt all preseason and I felt like I got better each game. I finally broke the ice tonight."

Seahawks.com Blog | Quarter notes: First
Player of the quarter: Wagner. In addition to the recovery of the Irvin-forced fumble, the middle linebacker also had two tackles on the Raiders’ game-opening drive.

Seahawks.com Blog | Quarter notes: Second
Player of the quarter: The 11-play, 78-yard TD drive was all Taua almost all the time. He touched the ball on the first four plays, gaining 9, 5, 9 and 4 yards. He also touched it on the final three plays, gaining 6, 13 and the final 2 for the score.

Seahawks.com Blog | Quarter notes: Third
In a nutshell: Seahawks 19-0, as Matt Flynn directed a nine-play, 90-yard touchdown drive that ended with his 4-yard scoring pass to rookie tight end Cooper Helfet with 4:29 left in the quarter.

Seahawks.com Blog | Quarter notes: Fourth
In a nutshell: Seahawks 21-3, as rookie defensive lineman Jaye Howard produced an end zone sack for a safety to slap an exclamation point on the final quarter of the finale before the Raiders averted the shutout with a 31-yard field goal with 15 seconds to play.

Three things revisited: Raiders-Seahawks - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Looking back on three things discussed here before the Seattle Seahawks' fourth and final exhibition game, a 21-3 home victory over the Oakland Raiders:

Seahawks rolling, end undefeated preseason with 21-3 win over Oakland | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
The Seahawks outscored opponents 67-21 in the second half of exhibition games this season, which speaks to the team's improved depth.

Ravens vs. Rams: Breaking Down Sam Bradford and the First-Team Offense | Bleacher Report
After two rocky weeks (week one and three) from the first team offense, Sam Bradford and the gang wanted to make things right by finishing the final preseason game on a high note.

Chalk Talk Video: Cowboys' 'Yankee' route | National Football Post
Let’ talk max-protection play pass—this time on video. An Xs and Os look at Tony Romo’s TD pass ("Yankee" route) from this past weekend vs. the Rams. I break it down for you on the chalkboard from my home office in Chicago.

Chalk Talk Video: Zone Pressure | National Football Post
Let’s talk base zone pressure today. With an "Under" front on the field, I will show you how to rush five and drop six into coverage (3-deep, 3-under shell). Take a look at "Under Smash" up on the chalkboard from my home office here in Chicago.

Pros vs. Joes | National Football Post
For quite some time now there’s been a common theme running rampant through the entertainment industry. It’s founded on the premise that "regular people" can do the jobs of professionals. This has been substantiated by the reality show craze. Why bother with trained actors when you can get people off the street? Networks pander to an audience that’s dying to see a version of itself on the screen. That’s good enough for the reality biz. It’s fun to see attention-starved, emotionally-unstable people come undone before the camera. Well, it’s not really fun. It’s actually pretty gross, but it’s certainly lucrative.

Ryan Mallett struggles in bid for Patriots backup job - NFL.com
When the New England Patriots drafted quarterback Ryan Mallett late in the third round in 2011, a lot of analysts believed it was a steal. Mallett was a first-round talent that fell due to off-field concerns. The Patriots would keep him in line. The second part of that assumption has proven correct. Mallett has been a model citizen in New England. The team is still waiting for the talent to show.

Rams GM Snead not worried about passing on Robert Griffin III - NFL.com
"The players you acquire during you reign, and how they produce, is what you are going to be measured by, not really one particular player another team picked," he said. "I think our mantra here in this building is we are going to stack good decisions, and I think as we stack good decisions good things will happen for this organization."

Former NFL QB Doug Flutie goes back in time to discuss his most memorable pro moment - NFL.com
Former Bills and Patriots QB Doug Flutie reminisces (Associated Press) Earlier in the summer, former NFL star Doug Flutie weighed in on what he perceived as bias against short people in the NFL. He is close with Russell Wilson, and it seems the Seahawks aren’t among those who think that way. But anyway, Flutie spoke to me while doing publicity for a campaign that is just now being unveiled.

IR tweak could help David DeCastro, Desmond Bishop - NFL.com
This rule could prove very useful to the Pittsburgh Steelers in dealing with guard David DeCastro. Cincinnati Bengals center Kyle Cook could be another player that may benefit.

Ken Whisenhunt likely to name starting QB Friday - NFL.com
The summer's last remaining quarterback battle is finally nearing an end.

Twelve best college football games on 2012 schedule - NFL.com
College football is finally here! The season kicks off Thursday night with a few games before a full slate of matchups Saturday. There are must-see games every weekend of the college football season, but I've picked 12 contests on the 2012 slate that stand out above the rest:

Doug Williams on RG3: Climate has changed for black QBs - NFL.com
"Back in the day ... when I went to Tampa Bay, I never was Doug Williams," continued Williams, who is now the head football coach at Grambling State, his alma mater. "I was always Tampa Bay's black quarterback." In 1987, I was a student at Howard University, a historically black college in Washington D.C. I had no affinity for the Redskins, as was the case for the majority of the student body. The majority of us grew up in another part of the world and resided in D.C. for the sole reason of going to school.

Time to do it all again " Seahawks Draft Blog
College football returns tonight, meaning we begin another eight month journey leading to the draft in April. Tonight I’ll be watching South Carolina and Vanderbilt, a game without multiple 2013 prospects of note. I remember a similar feeling during 2009′s re-start, when the Gamecocks met NC State. If only we knew that day we were watching Seattle’s future starting quarterback in Russell Wilson.

Scout's take: QB puts Seahawks on top - NFC West Blog - ESPN
"I very much believe Russell Wilson will have the best year of any quarterback in the division," Williamson said. "Sam Bradford has a chance to be a very good one, but he looks terrible and his supporting cast is a mess. Arizona is a mess. I'm not a huge Smith believer." In Wilson, Williamson see the potential for Cam Newton-type production. He thought Wilson, a third-round choice, should have gone a round earlier. "One thing about him, his college history shows he doesn’t turn the ball over," Williamson said. "He'll do more at this level, but he is not going to hurt the team the way rookie quarterbacks usually do. He's very smart, really knows where to go with the ball."

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Film Room: The Rise of the Tight End
Tight ends are playing a prominent role as the NFL morphs into a spread out, pass-oriented, league. It’s not just about the star tight ends, though. With fullbacks nearly extinct, more and more offenses these days are using two tight ends in their base personnel. And that’s where the meat of football’s evolution is taking place -– in two-tight end sets.

CNNSI.com - Inside Game - Dr. Z - Inside Football - SI's Dr. Z: Landmark meeting launches Walsh's career - Thursday October 11, 2001 10:40 AM
The man who changed the face of pro football as we know it today is Greg Cook. Not many people outside of his native state of Ohio remember him these days, but in Cincinnati, where he starred at the University and then with the Bengals in 1969, he is still a legendary figure, still a topic of conversation. There has never been an NFL rookie like him, and almost everyone who saw him play has some personal memory -- the 70-yarder he threw to Bob Trumpy, the 60-yarder to Eric Crabtree, the deep passes that came off his arm like rockets, but rockets delivered with perfect touch and timing. They remembered his poise and savvy and instinctive knowledge of how to attack a defense.

Maiocco's Instant Replay: 49ers 35, Chargers 3
Alex Smith took five snaps, handed off five times, and his night was over. Reserve quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Josh Johnson took over and the 49ers' offense had its most productive showing of the exhibition season.