Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Friday

Thank god it's TGIF.

Dean Blandino: I don’t see a diminished product because of rise in penalties | ProFootballTalk
With all the talk about an emphasis on illegal contact and defensive holding calls this offseason, most people expected a rise in the amount of penalties called in the regular season. Those predictions have come true.

Owners take different approach to media at latest meetings | ProFootballTalk
In past years, the quarterly ownership meetings have provided excellent opportunities for members of the media to turn on their recorders and to soak up anything and everything said by the folks who hold major equity in NFL franchises.  This time, the opportunities were far more limited.

Alex Smith, Colin Kaepernick connected by contracts, concussions | The MMQB with Peter King
In watching Alex Smith play against Colin Kaepernick last Sunday, I thought about the way the careers of these two former teammates intersected and then, through a trade, diverged.

49ers plan to get Marcus Lattimore practicing after their bye | ProFootballTalk
Running back Marcus Lattimore hasn't spent any time on the active roster for the 49ers since they drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, but that could change at some point in the second half of the season.

Angelo: Teams didn't discipline 100s of domestic violence incidents - CBSSports.com
The NFL has mostly stumbled since the Ray Rice news broke and the important issue of domestic violence came to the forefront for the league. Although commissioner Roger Goodell attempted to fix his initial response by acknowledging that he had made a mistake and overhauling the punishment system for those involved in domestic violence, there's little question that the league has not been proactive around these issues.

Jim Caldwell: Teddy Bridgewater is like Russell Wilson - NFL.com
Teddy Bridgewater has played fewer than two full games for the Minnesota Vikings. However, that didn't stop Detroit Lions coach Jim Caldwell from comparing the quarterback to Russell Wilson.

Injury roundup: Jonathan Stewart returns to practice - NFL.com
Panthers running back Jonathan Stewart returned to practice on Thursday after missing the past two games with a knee sprain. Who else made today's injury roundup?

Whitehurst Time? Locker misses another practice - NFL.com
Quarterback Jake Locker missed his second straight practice for the Titans on Thursday, a strong indicator that backup Charlie Whitehurst will start Sunday's tilt with the Jaguars.

Some surprising NFC divisions through 5 weeks - seattlepi.com
What was supposed to be the NFC Least has three winning teams.

Bill Leavy — yep, THAT Bill Leavy — to referee Seattle-Dallas game Sunday | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
As already revealed by ESPN earlier this week, the referee for Sunday’s Seattle-Dallas game will be Bill Leavy.

Dealing with Dez, a priority for the Seahawks on Sunday | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
While the Dallas Cowboys are making headlines for their rushing attack that ranks first in the NFL this season, the Seahawks can’t put so much effort into stopping DeMarco Murray, who leads the NFL with 670 rushing yards. That’s because as good as Dallas’ running game has been this season, the Cowboys also have one of the league’s best receivers in Dez Bryant, who is a big play waiting to happen every time he’s on the field.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson: 'We can play so much better' | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
So you might think a game in which Russell Wilson set an all-time record for rushing yards by a quarterback on Monday Night Football with 122, while also throwing for 201 yards and two touchdowns, would rank pretty high on his personal rating scale.

Waiting for the “real” Russell Okung; Richard Sherman says Dez Bryant “matters” | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Who says your voice isn’t heard here?

Seattle Seahawks' Russell Okung sees room for improvement - ESPN
No one has to tell Seattle Seahawks offensive tackle Russell Okung he didn’t play well Monday night, but here are the specifics on the ways his three penalties affected the offense:

Seahawks' Cliff Avril, Jon Ryan join 'The Huddle' - Bob and Groz | 710 ESPN Seattle
Bob Stelton, Dave Grosby and Dave Wyman are broadcasting live from Seahawks headquarters Thursday for another edition of 'The Huddle'. - Blog - 710 ESPN Seattle

Brock Huard's Chalk Talk: Percy Harvin's third nullified touchdown - Brock and Salk | 710 ESPN Seattle
The label of wide receiver might be a bit misleading based on how the Seahawks have used Percy Harvin, whose 27 touches through four games have mostly come on handoffs and passes behind the line of scrimmage.

Pete Carroll likes what he saw from Bruce Irvin at linebacker - Seattle Seahawks | 710 ESPN Seattle
"We wanted to play Bruce and see what happened," coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday. "He played really well."

Todd Gurley suspended indefinitely by Georgia | Seahawks Draft Blog
Todd Gurley NCAA investigation centersaround alleged memorabilia and likeness issues

Tom Cable: Seahawks offensive line 'playing at really a high level' | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
While the seven penalties called against the Seattle offensive line Monday night were no doubt frustrating to fans, offensive line coach Tom Cable prefers to look at the big picture when assessing the play of his position group.

Max Unger and Alvin Bailey are day-to-day for Seahawks - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said starting center Max Unger and backup offensive tackle Alvin Bailey are day-to-day, but neither player practiced Wednesday.

Floyd Mayweather wins $200K betting Seahawks on Monday night - CBSSports.com
Floyd Mayweather already had a lot of money, now he has even more money after winning $200,000 betting on the Seahawks.

Bobby Wagner remains in the middle of everything for Seahawks’ defense
Entering Sunday’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, middle linebacker Bobby Wagner is one of the most productive defensive players in the NFL and his teammates would like more people to notice.

Bruce Carter not expected to play against Seahawks | NFL News, Rumors and Opinions ... Powered by Tireball.com
The Dallas Cowboys will not have an easy time stopping the offense of the Seattle Seahawks without the presence of linebacker Bruce Carter.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson showing he has already reached elite level - The Washington Post
Russell Wilson became a Super Bowl-winning quarterback last season. Yet the notion seemed to persist that Wilson, while being a very good and extremely promising young player, was a beneficiary of the Seattle Seahawks’ prowess in the running game and on defense, and therefore perhaps not yet in the top tier of NFL quarterbacks.

Tony Romo: Seahawks D does everything well - Dallas Cowboys Blog - ESPN Dallas
The last time the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Seattle, they fumbled the opening kickoff, had their first punt blocked and Tony Romo was intercepted on the third time they had the ball.

Russell Wilson: I knew Travis Frederick would be a first-round pick; ‘I love the guy to death’ | Dallas Morning News
Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick and Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson played together for one season at the University of Wisconsin.

Dallas-Seattle: How Cowboys can run through Seahawks and rest of NFC | FOX Sports
In each of the past three seasons, the Dallas Cowboys have finished with an 8-8 record in roller coaster-like fashion. Good games followed by bad games, great games followed by horrible games, perhaps no team in the NFL has been more inconsistent than the Cowboys over that span. One thing that has been consistent, however, is a poor run game. The Cowboys finished the last three seasons ranked 24th, 31st and 18th in the NFL in rush yards per game, but this season that has changed.

The Seattle Seahawks have a sneaky good offense in 2014 - NFL - ESPN
Which is better: the Seattle Seahawks' offense, or the Seattle Seahawks' defense?

Pete Carroll: ‘Real similarities’ between how current Seahawks, ’90s Cowboys were constructed | Dallas Morning News
Seattle coach Pete Carroll is also the team’s executive VP of football operations. Along with general manager and executive VP John Schneider, the Seahawks have constructed arguably the NFL’s best team.

Can Seahawks’ defense stop Cowboys’ run-away train, DeMarco Murray? | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Dallas’ DeMarco Murray leads the NFL in rushing and is on pace to set an NFL season record. But Seattle’s defense leads the league in stopping the run. Something has to give.

NFL Week Five All Rookie Team - With the First Pick - NFL Scouting Reports, College Football, and the 2013 NFL Draft
The best part about the draft evaluation process is finally getting to see the prospects make plays during a game. Some of guys have been better than expected, some worse and some are doing exactly what we thought. Here are the best rookies from week three of the NFL season.

How Philip Rivers Raised His Game | The MMQB with Peter King
He’s always had the talent and the stats, but under the new regime San Diego’s longtime quarterback has become a more complete player and stronger leader. At age 32 he’s lifted himself into MVP contention and has the Chargers looking like a Super Bowl team

Tony Romo botched snap still reverberates for Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks - NFL - SI.com
Being driven, Super Bowl-winning NFL head coaches, they were by their very nature, control freaks. Large and in charge, on top of everything, and never missing a trick. And yet on that memorable night in Seattle, Bill Parcells and Mike Holmgren, for opposite reasons, didn’t even bother to watch the jaw-dropping play that wound up deciding their NFC first-round playoff game. So certain were they of its outcome, they both turned their back on the field and began making plans for what came next.

Seahawks' Wagner, Mebane have been overlooked and underrated | HeraldNet.com - Sports
Not long into his usual Wednesday media session, Richard Sherman transformed from football player to politician with an agenda.

How intimidating is your NFL team's strength and conditioning coach's name? - SBNation.com
That crazy guy on the sidelines yelling at the players on the exercise bikes has a lot more to do with a team's success than you realize. Let's rank the strength and conditioning coaches by how intimidating their names are.

RENTON: This is not the same Russell Okung – and Seahawks see reasons for that | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Russell Okung has as much use and warmth for injury excuses as he does for opposing defensive linemen.

All-22: The State Of the Eagles' Offense | Birds 24/7
After Sunday’s win against the Rams, Chip Kelly discussed the process of feeling out opposing defenses early in games.

NFL personal conduct policy changes are still just talk - SBNation.com
Roger Goodell and the owners discussed changes to the NFL's handling of off the field issues, but remain far from a resolution.

The Colts need Bjoern Werner to find his way - SBNation.com
With Robert Mathis on the shelf for the season, the Colts have turned to second-year outside linebacker Bjoern Werner for their pass rush. Retired NFL defensive end Stephen White looks at whether Werner's up to the task.