Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Tuesday

How was your labor day?

Tom Brady for MVP? NFL insiders answer 20 questions - NFL.com
Coach Pete Carroll has built an exciting young team in Seattle, and there are a lot of Russell Wilson believers among our panel. With Cam Newton at the helm, the Panthers are fully capable of challenging for a playoff spot in 2012.

Clarifying the Bucs' compensation in the Kellen Winslow and Brian Price trades | Tampa Bay Buccaneers blog: Bucs Beat | tampabay.com & Tampa Bay Times
The Seahawks' trade was conditional on Winslow being on the roster, which of course he is not. Unless he re-joins the team at some point this season, the Bucs will get nothing. That deal ends up being, basically, a wash.

Carpenter comes back smiling
"Yes, I was worried," said Carpenter, smiling after practice as the sweat ran down his face. "But I just kept working and just waiting to be back to this right here. So I’m just happy to be back." Carpenter isn’t just back; he’s learning a different position. After playing right tackle last season, Carpenter is working at left guard. But that’s OK, too.

Seahawks say they have plenty of versatility at tight end | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
"We'll use all the guys with Zach and with Anthony," said Darrell Bevell, Seattle's offensive coordinator. "Then we'll continue throughout this week to find out exactly what Evan can bring for us and then we'll fit him in accordingly."

Golden Tate does not practice | Seahawks Insider
There’s been some juggling on the practice squad as well. Tight end Sean McGrath is no longer on the practice squad. So Seattle now has receivers Jermaine Kearse and Ricardo Lockette, offensive linemen Rishaw Johnson and Edawn Coughman, quarterback Josh Portis, safety DeShawn Shead and linebackers Korey Toomer and Allen Bradford. Running back Vai Taua, tight end Cameron Morrah, defensive end Dexter Davis and linebackers Jameson Konz and Matt McCoy are on the team’s injured reserve list.

Golden Tate sits out practice after knee injury | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
Receiver Golden Tate left Thursday's exhibition finale with an injury to his right knee, and he did not practice Monday when the team returned to work. Tate's status is uncertain, though. Coach Pete Carroll did not answer questions after practice, and NFL teams do not release injury reports until Wednesday when playing on Sunday.

Updated 2013 top-50 list & Seahawks ‘ones to watch’ " Seahawks Draft Blog
It’s impossible to determine Seattle’s needs before the season even starts. However, this is a draft blog and it’s worth highlighting some of the prospects to monitor as the college season progresses. We can add names to this list, we can strike others off. The main reason for a piece like this is really so we can look back in April and see how accurate/inaccurate it really was. I’ve tried to cover all bases and some of the picks below are a bit obvious, others not so much. I’ve also put together an updated top-50 watch-list after the initial top-40 list a few months ago.

Seahawks.com Blog | Monday in Hawkville: New tight end joins right in "
Guard. Rookie J.R. Sweezy continued to work at right guard, where he started the last three preseason games. But James Carpenter, last year’s first-round draft choice, got some work at left guard with the No. 2 line. Carpenter was just activated off the physically unable to perform list following a grueling rehab from the season-ending knee injury he got last November.

Seahawks.com Blog | A Labor (Day) of love "
It’s an Insider feature, so requires registration and a fee to read all their picks. But here’s what they had to say about the Seahawks: Kiper: "Here’s your surprise pick. The 49ers are very good, but should regress a little bit – turnover margin isn’t reliable year to year – and the Seattle defense can be really good if it can find a consistent pass rush. Russell Wilson has a chance to be really good because of his maturity – he could be this year’s Andy Dalton."

Underdogs are welcome here | Dave Boling - The News Tribune
"It doesn’t matter (what round) you were drafted," Sweezy said. "If you’re on this team, going 100 miles an hour, you’ve got a shot to make it. They don’t care who you are or where you were drafted, if you listen to the coaches and do what they say, you’ve got a shot."

Seahawks Red Zone Off
I watched and charted every 2011 Seattle Seahawks Offensive snap in the Red Zone. Below is a quick breakdown of what I saw by personnel grouping. Disclaimer: I’m an amateur, it was a lot of data, and I had a small screen so definitely factor in a slight margin of error.

SEAHAWKS PREVIEW: Meet the ‘Legion of boom’ | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
"We all got that boom," safety Kam Chancellor said. "Whether it’s getting interceptions, talking trash, being a ballhawk or just knocking somebody out – it’s everything."

Russell Wilson vows "to be great" | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
"I refuse to be average," the quarterback said at the start of Seahawks’ training camp. "I refuse to be good." Wilson exudes a humility befitting somebody who has yet to prove himself in an NFL regular-season game – when the rookie talks trash, he’s referring to the recycling bin – but he’s got a hunger to be regarded among the ranks of the elite, and he’s not bashful to talk about it. "My goal," he said a few days ago, repeating a theme, "is to be great."

Seahawks trim roster to 53 players | HeraldNet.com - Sports
"You can tell how much we've improved, depth wise on the roster, compared to where we were the last couple of years just by the speed on the football field and the guys playing so hard all the way throughout the four quarters," Carroll said after Thursday's preseason victory over Oakland. ". . . The depth on this team, it showed up."

Seahawks.com Blog | Coughman, Kearse added to practice squad "
Coughman joins seven other players on the practice squad who were released on Friday’s roster cut to 53 players: linebacker Allen Bradford, guard Rishaw Johnson, wide receivers Jermaine Kearse and Ricardo Lockette, quarterback Josh Portis, safety DeShawn Shead and linebacker Korey Toomer. Kearse, who played at the University of Washington, replaces tight end Sean McGrath, who was on the club’s original list of seven players who had been signed to the practice squad yesterday.

Kellen Winslow, Evan Moore and "Situational Value" - Seattle Seahawks Blog
With Seattle releasing Kellen Winslow Jr. and adding Evan Moore to the roster, I wanted to provide a quick analysis on both transactions from the perspective of "situational impact" or "situational value" to the organization as a whole.

Seahawks' roster sees fewer changes this offseason | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
"Having spent more time in the system for a lot of guys has helped immensely," said tight end Zach Miller. "That's huge for our offense. We're more comfortable with the run game, with the pass game, so I think it's showing out there."

Roster carousel slowing as Hawks solidify lineup | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
"It’s a very young football team," Carroll said after an exhibition win over Oakland last week gave the Seahawks a 4-0 record this preseason. "But they bought in, and they’re really trying hard to factor in to our success. "You can tell how much we’ve improved, depth-wise on the roster, compared to where we were the last couple of years just by the speed on the football field, and the guys playing so hard all the way throughout the four quarters."

Wagner gets into the middle of things on defense | Seattle Seahawks - The News Tribune
"He’s more poised than I thought he would be," Bradley said. "Coming in, he’s leading the huddle with the first group. Usually those guys get in front of the huddle and Red’s (defensive end Red Bryant) razzing him a little bit, or Clem’s (defensive end Chris Clemons) telling him to speak up louder because we need to get the call. But he handled that really well."

Week One Rewind -- Geno Smith steals the show - CBSSports
Cam Newton seemingly came out of nowhere to win the Heisman Trophy, lead his team to a BCS title and wind up as the No. 1 overall pick of the draft in 2011. Exactly one year ago today, it was Robert Griffin III whose sparkling performance in Baylor's upset over TCU, the defending Rose Bowl champs, led off my initial Weekly Review of the 2011 season. New year, same type of story: West Virginia's Geno Smith stole the spotlight over the weekend from this year's Heisman favorite and presumptive No. 1 overall pick, Southern Cal's Matt Barkley.

Kevin Kolb 'disappointed' after losing Cardinals' QB battle - NFL.com
"It's disappointing, that's obvious," Kolb said after practice. "But if there's one thing I learned in this league is it's full of surprises, so you just keep pressing forward. If you take time to sulk or feel sorry for yourself, you're going to get left behind and then your opportunity's going to pass you by."

Parys Haralson put on IR by San Francisco 49ers - NFL.com
The San Francisco 49ers have lost a key member of their talented defense after placing linebacker Parys Haralson on injured reserve.

A Matter of Time | National Football Post
If Kellen Winslow Jr. has been left out of some things, it’s because he’s had an issue with his timing. Winslow was the last of the colorful Miami Hurricanes players. In 2003 and 2004, the Canes played in the B.C.S. championship game, beating Nebraska in the former then losing to Ohio State in a classic the following year.

The big moves | National Football Post
Comparing how much the lines have been adjusted from the opening numbers until game week.

Chalk Talk: Alabama's goal line play action | National Football Post
On Saturday night, the Alabama offense ran the "X-Spot" (7-Curl-Flat) on the goal line out of Tank personnel (1WR-2TE-2RB). Ride the run action to the open (weak) side of the formation and look up the TE on the 7 cut (corner route). Today, let’s get on the chalkboard and breakdown the Xs and Os of A.J. McCarron’s TD pass in ‘Bama’s win over Michigan.

Week 1 look-ahead: Get ready for big returns, no-huddles and less blitzing - NFL -
Each week during the season, I will give you Six From Sunday as a reaction to the six most interesting storylines that surfaced during the games. But this week we'll look forward to what can be expected in Week 1.

49ers, Seahawks, Cardinals, Rams -- 2012 NFC West preview - Chris Burke - SI.com
The NFC West flipped upside-down last season. St. Louis entered the year as the prohibitive favorite after tying Seattle for the division's best record in 2010. The Rams instead imploded, dropping their first six games on their way to a 2-14 debacle.

Reintroducing Your Secret Superstars | ProFootballFocus.com
Seattle Seahawks – Richard Sherman: Thrust into a starting role, you’d expect a rookie cornerback to be eaten up by quarterbacks. Instead, the physical Sherman was more than up to the task and is primed to make an even bigger name for himself in Year 2.

Week One Rewind -- Geno Smith steals the show - CBSSports
Cam Newton seemingly came out of nowhere to win the Heisman Trophy, lead his team to a BCS title and wind up as the No. 1 overall pick of the draft in 2011. Exactly one year ago today, it was Robert Griffin III whose sparkling performance in Baylor's upset over TCU, the defending Rose Bowl champs, led off my initial Weekly Review of the 2011 season. New year, same type of story: West Virginia's Geno Smith stole the spotlight over the weekend from this year's Heisman favorite and presumptive No. 1 overall pick, Southern Cal's Matt Barkley.