Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks Links for Thursday

Already Thursday.

Whisenhunt on Lynch: "I expect him to play." | Seahawks Insider
Whisenhunt did go on to say that his team understands it’s not all about Lynch. Seattle’s offensive line is much improved, and rookie Robert Turbin has looked good so far during the preseason. Listen to a snippet of our conversation with Whisenhunt here. "I know Marshawn Lynch is a good football player," Whisenhunt said. "But as with anything, when the unit plays together, they get more confidence. They do a nice job on their blocks, and you could see the run game pick up for them last year. And it’s looked good for them in the preseason.

Week 1 - Carroll Press Conference Wednesday
Head Coach Pete Carroll addresses the media prior to the team's "Competition Wednesday" practice, as they gear up for the regular season opener at Arizona.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | DVOA PLAYOFF ODDS REPORT
Football Outsiders gives the Seahawks a 34% chance to win the division, and a 35.8% chance to make the playoffs overall.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2012 DVOA Projections
Football Outsiders projects the Seahawks as 28th overall, with with the 5th-best defense, but also the 3rd-worst offense. The NFC West as a whole projects low: SF at 23rd overall, Arizona at 30th and St Louisdead last at 32nd.

Tight ends are changing how defenses are constructed - Sports - The Boston Globe
"There are so many things that a guy has to deal with that he almost has to have a real natural sense, because you can’t coach everything because of all the floating and moving around that he’s asked to do," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "Well Winston gets it; he just gets it. He’s a hitter, he plays the ball well, he’s really fast, he’s 216 pounds, big kid. He’s got a real knack for rushing the passer, he looks like a pass rusher when he’s coming. So he’s really been a pleasant surprise. We had hoped that he would be able to do these things, and he’s on that package. I think it’s a fantastic draft pick for us."

Advanced NFL Stats: Expect Even More Passing Yards, and Why It Matters
First, offenses should be passing much more often than they do. The league's run pass balance should probably be closer to 15% run 85% pass than the 40/60 split it's been in recent years. It's impossible to know the optimum league-wide ratio until teams start pushing toward the true equilibrium, but basic game theory makes it clear we're far away from the optimum. Of course, game situations dictate a bias toward run or pass in specific games, but overall, the baseline rate should be much more pass heavy.

Winslow's Patriots experience illuminating - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Winslow failed a physical examination while meeting with the New England Patriots, according to Mary Paoletti of CSNNE.com. That lends support to the Seahawks' thinking. Seattle wanted Winslow to take a pay reduction to minimize risks. Three teams in less than four months have decided against having Winslow on their roster. It's an upset at this point if any team pays Winslow the more than $3 million he was scheduled to receive in 2012 under his previous deal.

Seahawks.com Blog | Tuesday in Hawkville: Eying the opener "
That leaves eight players from those waived on the cut to 53 who remain free agents: defensive ends Pierre Allen and Cordarro Law, wide receivers Deon Butler and Lavasier Tuinei, guard Paul Fanaika, linebacker Kyle Knox, tight end Sean McGrath and center Kris O’Dowd.

Marshawn Lynch to be limited in Wednesday's practice for Seahawks | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
"We'll have to take him day by day," Carroll said, "and see how he responds to the work, and we really won't know until the end of the week unless something changes. The process that he's gone through, he is aerobically in good shape. We need to get him back his football legs and get him enough reps to do that. He'll go real light today, and he'll continue to progress as we go through the week. We'll just have to wait and see. "I can't call it for you now."

Seattle Seahawks, 2012 N.F.L. Season Preview - NYTimes.com
This past May when the Seattle Seahawks turned down an invitation to be on "Hard Knocks," they didn’t just avoid a potentially monster-sized distraction, they also kept the lid on what might just be the best-kept secret in the N.F.L. Want a breakout team for 2012? Turn your attention to the upper left corner of our country’s map.

Robert Turbin and the value of a backup plan | Seahawks Blog | The Seattle Times
"We know that Leon can flash and do all of the cool stuff that he does," Carroll said, "but we wnated to see if we could keep being physical when Marshawn came out. We've been looking for that."

Lynch: "I stay ready" | Seahawks Insider
"I feel good," said Lynch, when asked about his health. Good enough to play on Sunday? "I just stay ready, that’s all," Lynch said. "It will be my body’s decision. But I’ve taken the appropriate steps to make sure that I don’t have to do something out of the ordinary to get ready. Just like I said, I stay ready

San Francisco 49ers: Breaking Down Why Anthony Davis Needs to Step Up His Play | Bleacher Report
There's no doubt the San Francisco 49ers had one of the top run-blocking offensive lines in the NFL last season. As a team, they rushed for an outstanding 2,044 yards on 498 attempts. Sure, there were a handful of teams that pumped out more yards than the 49ers, but there definitely wasn't a team who was more consistent in every major statistical rushing category.

Scout Talk | National Football Post
A lot can change between now and April, and probably will. But based on what we know in early September, here are the top senior quarterback prospects in the draft.

2012 NFL predictions | National Football Post
The 2012 NFL season has finally arrived. Some of what we know now will hold true throughout the duration of the year while other prognostications will crumple like a beer can under the foot of a 300-pound fan at a tailgate. Everybody feels good about their selections before the season starts. But who will be left standing come February? Today, five NFP writers weigh-in with their predictions for the 2012 season. Feel free to share your own opinions in the comments section below.

Season predictions: Bears rising, Ravens falling, Packers prevailing - NFL -
Worst free-agent signing: Matt Flynn, QB, Seattle. He's already won this award. I mean, the Seahawks gave him millions to become their starter, and he's beaten out by a 5-foot-11 rookie? Check, please.

Watch these free-agent vets (Plax, anyone?) who could help teams in need - NFL -
Players celebrate surviving the "final" cut on Twitter. Fans and media devour every roster, sizing up the numbers at each position ahead of the opening game. Surprisingly enough, there is not a primetime NFL Cut Day, Live From Radio City Music Hall, with a red carpet (or should it be a pink slip carpet in this case?), with each team having to call in its 53-man roster over those helmet phones and the commissioner there to call out the name of every undrafted free agent who cracked an NFL squad. (Maybe the weird dude in the blue suit from the NFL Network promos could play the role of The Turk?)

PFF's 2012 Predictions | ProFootballFocus.com
Today the offseason comes to a close and the 2012 NFL regular season gets underway, but it can’t start quite yet… not until we’ve got our predictions in.

The 2012 NFL GIF Preview: Your Team Is Hilarious - SBNation.com
We could preview the 2012 NFL season with words and stats, or we could just pick a suitable animated GIF for each team. So we did the latter.

The 2012 NFL GIF Preview: NFC North, NFC West - SBNation.com
We could preview the 2012 NFL season with words and stats, or we could just pick a suitable animated GIF for each team. So we did the latter.

A house is not a home | National Football Post
A team is not a family but it can function like one--especially for Brian Price.

The crystal helmet: Great (or misguided) 2012 NFL predictions | The Brewery | The Seattle Times
OK, my neck enters the guillotine now. Will I get enough predictions correct about the 2012 NFL season to avoid punishment? Or am I volunteering for my reputation to suffer a painful and public demise? Actually, overwriting those opening paragraphs was plenty embarrassing, so I have nothing to lose. Here goes.

Management Secrets of the NFL - WSJ.com
Over the decades, a handful of NFL teams have managed to thrive under different coaches, quarterbacks and equipment managers. Here's how these franchises have continued to find success.

Packers' Next Opponent: 49ers
Two powerful teams, one fueled by offense and the other by defense, will open the season Sunday at Lambeau Field. The Green Bay Packers scored more points (560) last season than all but one team in National Football League history. They finished 15-2. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers advanced one step further in the playoffs behind a bullying defense that returns all 11 starters and its principal reserves. They finished 14-4.

Weekend Clinic - College Football Week 1 | The Sideline View
In the second quarter of the West Virginia-Marshall matchup, the Mountaineers showed exactly why this offense can be as dangerous as any in college football this season. The Mountaineer offense had little trouble moving the football against the Thundering Herd defense, a unit that is trying to find a replacement for All-America DE Vinny Curry, led by three transfers in the secondary. That said, it's not difficult to envision West Virginia taking advantage of an inexperienced unit. In the second quarter, West Virginia had a 13-7 lead, but was on the march into Marshall territory. The Mountaineers had a first down after an 18 yard #13 Andrew Buie run and came out in a trips formation out of the gun.