Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Monday

Tough Sunday night of sleep.

The Most Arizona Cardinals GIF Of The Year - From Our Editors - SBNation.com
Sure, it's only Week 1, but the Arizona Cardinals have already given us perhaps the single most representative moving image of their 2012 season. The Cardinals are playing the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday under the guidance of quarterback John Skelton, who beat out the equally-as-John-Skelton Kevin Kolb for the Week 1 start. Very early in the game, Skelton gave the world ... this.

Final: Cardinals 20, Hawks 16 | Seahawks Insider
Seattle Seahawks rookie quarterback Russell Wilson’s had a rough debut in his first NFL start, and his team let one slip away the desert with the Arizona Cardinals defeating Seattle 20-16. Wilson finished 18 of 34 for 153 yards, a touchdown and an interception on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. Wilson finished with 62.5 passer rating.

Seahawks’ late rally falls incomplete
"The game wasn’t won or lost on the last few plays," Robinson said in the eerie quiet of the Seahawks’ locker room. "The game was won or lost in the previous 3½ quarters. So we’ve just got to do better."

Seahawks Vs. Cardinals GameThread I | Seahawks Vs. Cardinals Open Game Thread II | Seahawks Vs. Cardinals Open Game Thread III | Seahawks Lose Heart-Stopper - Field Gulls

azcentral.com blogs - Kent Somers - Post-game spread
The Cardinals could be in the market for a backup quarterback, but from what I'm hearing, I think would prefer to stick with just two. They were relieved when initial tests indicated John Skelton had a sprain but no fracture in his right ankle. If it's a high ankle sprain, Skelton could miss several weeks. But I'm guessing the Cardinals don't use a roster spot on a third quarterback. They will gamble a bit and go with Kevin Kolb and Ryan Lindley. They are banged up on the offensive line and need to maintain some roster flexibility there. They could add a quarterback to the practice squad and have someone prepared in the event of an injury to Kolb or Lindley. We'll see. Their plans could change depending upon what they hear about Skelton early this week.

Russell Wilson, Seahawks can’t quite get it done in season opener at Arizona |
After last season, when the Seahawks had Tarvaris Jackson starting at quarterback, they needed a leader who could make a last-chance push to the end zone. So, during the offseason, the Seahawks picked up quarterback Matt Flynn in free agency and Russell Wilson in the NFL Draft. One of them, the team brass hoped, could lead a big comeback of the kind seen so often in the NFL.

Seahawks let opportunities slip away in closing seconds of 20-16 loss to Cardinals - The Washington Post
The Seattle Seahawks got two extra chances on pass interference calls, and threw one pass after another into the end zone in the closing seconds. They just couldn’t take advantage.

Making Russell Wilson look like a rookie - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
"He's a gunslinger and he's always been like that," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of the winning quarterback. "It was a great moment for Kevin to jump up and he really answered the call."

Replacement refs give Seahawks an extra timeout, Cardinals win anyway | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
We were all waiting for it, weren't we? At some point, the replacement officials were going to bungle something on an epic scale, the wrong team was going to win, and the NFL was going to have to come to its senses regarding the lockout that has the real officials on the sidelines until further notice.

Seahawks' Two-Minute Drill | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Quarterback Kevin Kolb entered the game midway through the fourth quarter, completed six of the eight passes he attempted and accounted for 66 of the Cardinals' 99 yards of offense in the second half. His 6-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left was the game-winning touchdown.

Ref erred in giving Seahawks a timeout - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The rules make for no such allowances. The rules governing timeouts following the two-minute warning of either half read: "If a team has not used its three charged team timeouts, the team of the injured player will be charged a team timeout, unless: (i) the injury is the result of a foul by an opponent; (ii) the injury occurs during a down in which there is a change of possession, a successful field goal, or an attempted Try; or (iii) the opponent calls a timeout.

Seahawks vs. Cardinals: 10 Things We Learned from Seattle's 20-16 Loss | Bleacher Report
Well, that was a heartbreaker fellow Seattle Seahawks fans. After several months of waiting, and building excitement during a wonderful preseason, the Seahawks fall to the divisional rival Cardinals in what seemed like a very winnable game on the road. Here are the 10 things we learned after game one:

Seahawks.com Blog | Game at a Glance: Opening let down "
"Huge plays. Huge," said special teams co-captain Michael Robinson. "He totally sparked our second-half run. That’s what this team is about – picking each other up. If one phase is down, another phase picks them up. That’s what Leon did today."

Seahawks nearly scripted the perfect start - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
It wasn't pretty, but then again that was never in the script. No Seahawks storyteller expects the team to be pretty – that's not how they are built. They are designed to play ugly football games with brief moments of beauty. Think "American Beauty" with the occasional Leon Washington return or Richard Sherman interception playing the role of the plastic bag blowing in the wind.

710 ESPN Seattle Features - Podcasts - MyNorthwest.com
Seahawks safety Kam Chancellor talks about the defense's second-half turnaround and the 13 penalties assessed against Seattle.

710 ESPN Seattle Features - Podcasts - MyNorthwest.com
Seahawks receiver Sidney Rice talks to Jen Mueller about his touchdown catch and some plays Seattle didn't make late in its 20-16 loss to the Cardinals.

Doug Baldwin: A lesson in accountability | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
Doug Baldwin didn't drop the ball. He failed to make what would have been an incredible catch.

Carroll: "We had our shots at it." | Seahawks Insider
"We were there," Carroll said. "We had four great shots. We used the whole clock and everything worked out fine time-wise and everything. "We had our shots at it."

Seattle Seahawks: OL Couldn't Handle the Pressure as Arizona Drops Seattle 20-16 | Bleacher Report
Russell Wilson's preseason performances are long forgotten now that the regular season has started. Like so many others, I thought Wilson was going to walk into the University of Phoenix Stadium and completely dominate Arizona like he did Kansas City.

Jeff Fisher and the St. Louis Rams Defense Bring a Whole New Look | Bleacher Report
If you're a St. Louis Rams fan who has been accustomed to saying, "looks like the same old sorry Rams" after a loss, you can now ditch that phrase. Sure, St. Louis crumbled in the final two minutes of the game, but it's evident that this is an entirely different team under Coach Fisher.

Five quick thoughts on the Seahawks season-opening loss | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
Russell Wilson will indeed have an adjustment period. Throughout the preseason, the Seahawks' rookie quarterback was incredibly good, winning the starting job, and convincing a lot of people around the country that the Seahawks are legitimate contenders. Well in his first regular season game, Wilson was far from being a disaster, but he certainly had his struggles, going 18 of 34 for 153 yards, 1 TD and 1 interception, good for a passer rating of 62.5.

The good the bad and the ugly of the Seahawks first game - 12th Man Rising -
The Good. Special teams, especially the work of one Mr. Leon Washington. His two long returns of punts kept the Seahawks in the game and clearly inspired the team in the second half. The kicking game was pretty good, not excellent. Missing a field goal in the first half created the situation at the end of the game where the only way to win the game for the Hawks was to get the touchdown. But having a long field goal attempt blocked by the player with the longest arms in the NFL is probably nothing to be concerned about.

Seahawks' fourth-quarter failures familiar, costly | Jerry Brewer | The Seattle Times
"I thought this was a really indicative game of the league," Carroll said. "The margin is just so slight."

Sunday's key NFL injuries you need to know - NFL.com
We heard it repeated often during the long, ugly John Skelton-Kevin Kolb preseason: It doesn't matter who wins the starting job with the Arizona Cardinals because the offensive line is so bad. Neither quarterback, the theory went, would be able to stay healthy. For once, conventional wisdom was right. Skelton hurt his ankle Sunday in the regular-season opener against the Seattle Seahawks. It looks like a high ankle sprain, so this should be Kolb's team for a while. Then again, it may Ryan Lindley's team in a few weeks. Here are 15 other injuries from Week 1 you should know about.

Injury update: Jake Locker, John Skelton highlight Week 1′s injuries | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
From the blog Shutdown Corner: The first NFL Sunday was not without injuries. The most notable players who went down: John Skelton -- The intense quarterback controversy in Arizona ended up being a moot point during the Cardinals' game against the Seattle Seahawks. Skelton was carted … Continue reading →

Week 1 Judgements: Eagles bring old sloppy ways into new season - NFL -
Admit it, Philadelphia got lucky. The Eagles couldn't have beaten anyone but Cleveland playing as they did Sunday, and they better clean up their act presto. Turnovers killed them last year (they had 38), and turnovers should've killed them again Sunday. They had five ... and nearly a sixth before Michael Vick recovered his own fumble -- and, sorry, Cleveland, but officials got the call right.

Smith proving to be as steady as they come at quarterback for 49ers - NFL -
Aaron Rodgers usually is recognized as the best quarterback ... or, at least, the best young quarterback ... in today's game, and he should be. The guy is talented, productive and a Super Bowl winner. But tell me this: If he's the gold standard, what does that make Alex Smith?

NFL Sunday game notes | National Football Post
RGIII, Manning, Bears' Marshall, 49ers, Sanchez and more.

Pai Mei, Longtones, and Route Running: Lessons of Kung Fu, Jazz, and Football With Utah WR DeVonte Christopher | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
Football and music (and in this case, Kung Fu) continue to have a number of parallels for me. I played saxophone from the age of 8 until I stopped at 23.This is roughly the same career life span of most college football players. Those who continue playing beyond college and perform on the highest stage possess a mastery of fundamentals that require a willingness to enslave oneself to the development process: practice.