Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Thursday

Thursday!!

Rookie report: Bruce Irvin with a quiet first step in the NFL | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
A look at how Seattle's rookie class performed in Week 1 (Editor's note: Snap counts taken from official scoring of Sunday's game, which appears to include plays later called back because of penalty.)

Week 2 - Carroll Press Conference Wednesday
Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll spoke to the media Wednesday as the team gets prepared for it's home opener this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.

Seahawks G John Moffitt returns to starting lineup; Russell Okung won't practice | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
advertisement | your ad here J.R. Sweezy was one of the biggest surprises of the preseason, showing so much improvement as a rookie switching from defensive to offense that he was named the Week 1 starter at right guard. But now that John Moffitt is fully healthy, and Sweezy is coming off of a rough debut against the Cardinals, Moffitt will return to the starting spot at right guard that he held down last year through nine games before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

2013 mock draft: The first impression " Seahawks Draft Blog
Let’s be clear straight away – this is not a serious attempt to try and project how things will play out next April. In previous years I’ve waited until November/December to publish what constitutes as a first ‘go’ at projecting the draft. There are two reasons why I’ve decided to put this on the blog this early:

John Moffitt expected to return, start at right guard | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
"The fact that John has a chance to come back, he's ready to play again," Carroll said. "John was starting before he got hurt, and so we'll see how this goes, and we feel like we have two guys that can play. Sweezy has done a remarkable job to get this far. "And I think he can only continue to improve and get better with every experience. This was really a challenge for him last week. I would expect J.R. to play in this game and be part of it regardless if John starts the game. We're counting on John to start it until he can't, but Sweezy will be ready to play. He has done fine, and we'll just see how it goes from here."

What Seahawks' offense must do differently - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
The Seahawks gained just 254 yards of total offense in their season-opening loss to Arizona. Their opponent in Week 2 should be tougher. So what will the Seahawks need to do differently against Dallas? Brock Huard and Mike Salk discuss that question in the video below.

Seahawks vs. Cardinals: Darnell Dockett Is a Game-Changer in the Run Game | Bleacher Report
Before the regular season started, everyone was talking up rookie quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks. After dominating every exhibition appearance, it was safe to say Wilson was headed to Canton and the Seahawks were Super Bowl-bound. Okay, not really, but that's what it felt like after the public got a taste of Russell-Mania.

Seattle Seahawks Need to Shore Up OL Woes for the Sake of Russell Wilson | Bleacher Report
Sunday's game against the Cardinals proved to be a longer week than expected for rookie quarterback Russell Wilson. Arizona's pressure packages right up the gut of the offensive line proved to be too much to handle. Converted defensive tackle J.R. Sweezy seemingly had the most trouble, especially when squaring off against Darnell Dockett.

Playbook: Gore's TD run vs. Packers | National Football Post
Using video to breakdown the 'Counter OF.'

Outside the Game: Larry Fitzgerald uses world travel to impact many lives | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
Many NFL players are somewhat unhappy when the league's scheduling department takes them to London for the odd regular-season game. And if there's ever a real initiative to play more games overseas as has been "threatened," you can bet that there will be a lot of howling over it.

Blind-side fits: Five left tackles who could make or break your season - NFL -
So let's talk about five left tackles who could determine what happens to your favorite quarterbacks and, therefore, determine what happens to your favorite football teams.

The 49ers: Once Again as Good as Gold? : NFL Films Blog
In his first season as the head coach of the 49ers, Jim Harbaugh led San Francisco to the brink of the Super Bowl. Last weekend in Green Bay the Niners proved they may be even better this year, and already, their fans are dreaming of another run of championships like the dynastic cycle that resulted in San Francisco capturing 4 titles in an 8 year period during the 1980s.

A statistical look at the impact of week 1 on year-end results
How much should the week 1 results impact your projections for team wins in 2012? That’s what this post will attempt to answer.

NYT Fifth Down: Post-week 1
For the past few years, I have written a weekly in-season article for the New York Times’ football blog, The Fifth Down. We are teaming up again this year and below is an excerpt from some thoughts I had on the replacement refs:

Why Nick Saban Doesn’t Teach Backpedaling | Smart Football
Former Alabama and current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick caused something of a stir when he told the media that he "never backpedaled at Alabama." Apparently, this is something Bengals coaches value, as Kirkpatrick had to learn to backpedal. Some fairly questioned whether this was hyperbole — How do you not teach defensive backs to backpedal? — but this is something Saban very specifically has chosen not to do.

Robert Griffin III and Andrew Luck are poised to shape the future of NFL quarterbacking - ESPN
Former NFL quarterbacks coach Terry Shea immediately perked up in his recliner while relaxing in his den this past Sunday. After spending a few hours watching the Kansas City Chiefs lose to the Atlanta Falcons, he was about to be treated to bonus coverage of the Washington-New Orleans game. Since Shea had spent the spring tutoring Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III, he wanted to see how far his young pupil had come since their 10 weeks together. What Shea eventually witnessed caused a slight grin to curl across his face.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: 49ers Down the Packers
I am really enjoying the All-22 Coach’s film now available with NFL Game Rewind Plus. It is a revelation. Not to knock previous work in this column, but the difference between the broadcast feed and the end zone shot for every snap is like the difference between seeing underwater with and without goggles.

Week 2 Target Watch – NFC - Targets and Touches - Rotoworld.com
Sid Rice and Bray Bray Edwards were on the field much more than any of the other receivers and their target numbers bear that out. The Cardinals pass defense is nothing to scoff at, so the poor numbers may not be completely indicative of how this season will go for Seattle’s passing offense. Marshawn Lynch was on the field for 63 plays compared to eight for Robert Turbin. I guess his back is feeling okay.