Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Saturday

The day before...

Why the Seahawks’ pass rush hasn’t been as good this season | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
The first pass rusher is still getting there with some consistency this season, but the Seahawks haven’t been nearly as good at getting a second or third guy around the quarterback.

The Quarterback Contract Question «
Where does your team quarterback’s come from? Most likely, he comes from your team’s selection during the NFL draft. Of the league’s 32 starters, three were acquired by trade1 (Carson Palmer, Alex Smith, and Jay Cutler), six were veteran free agents (Kyle Orton, Brian Hoyer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Drew Brees, Colt McCoy, and Peyton Manning), and two were undrafted rookie free agents (Tony Romo and Austin Davis), with the remaining 21 taken by their current teams in the NFL draft. Thirteen of those 21 were drafted in the first round, with just two — Tom Brady and new Titans starter Zach Mettenberger — coming off of the board after Round 3.

ESPN confirms existence of Seattle locker-room divide, in unusual way | ProFootballTalk
The Seahawks have a divided locker room.  Unless they don't.  Unless they do. ESPN has advanced the ball on this topic in an unusual way.  Appearing on SportsCenter and introducing Thursday's sound from Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, anchor Kenny Mayne encroached on the turf of national ...

Peyton Manning wasn't mad at Broncos fans; he was mad at Denver's 'disrespectful' scoreboard operator - Mile High Report
Peyton Manning was waving frantically during the Broncos' last drive Thursday night. Here' why.

The Cornerback-Destroying Sammy Watkins and the NFL’s All-Rookie Team (So Far) «

John Elway's design benefiting Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos - NFL.com
As for Bevell, the need to placate Percy Harvin early in the season -- running screens and jet sweeps to get him the ball in space -- led to many in the organization thinking that the offense was losing its way. During that time, some players gravitated toward line coach Tom Cable, and openly campaigned for a return to the team's downhill-running ethos.

Harvin says he won’t be changing | ProFootballTalk
Jets receiver Percy Harvin has had rocky times at the University of Florida, at Minnesota, and ultimately at Seattle.  So will his experiences change his behavior/approach in New York? "No, not at all," Harvin told Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post on Friday.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under Pressure: Letting Ben Down
Football Outsiders is the internet home for Innovative Statistics and Intelligent Analysis of professional and college football. Our writers, lead by Aaron Schatz, also write Pro Football Prospectus.

The NFL Trading Deadline: Who Is the Next Percy Harvin? «

Seahawks deny reports of a divided locker room | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Russell Wilson, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor denied reports of a division within the Seahawks players in the locker room. “There’s none at all,” Wilson said. “If anything, I think that we have continued to build.”

Percy Harvin wants to prove to the Jets (and Seahawks) that he can go deep | NJ.com
Harvin will get his chance starting Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

Kevin White (WR) & La’el Collins (G/T) continue to impress | Seahawks Draft Blog
I’ve included tape below of Kevin White’s (WR, West Virginia) latest performance against Baylor and La’el Collins (T/G, LSU) versus a rampant Auburn. These two players have done as much as anyone to boost their stock this year.

Irvin: Wilson Getting Criticism Because He Wont “Make It Rain” « CBS Houston
“People have fought for the opportunity to play the position of quarterback. They have fought to try to get their opportunity to be respected as a quarterback and to get an opportunity to lead a team,” Irvin said of African-American quarterbacks. “You expect these guys to be a certain way and to hang out with you and do things with you. They can’t do that. Russell Wilson, [Robert Griffin III], Cam [Newton], all of those, they can’t go into to [strip clubs] and all of that stuff with you. They can’t do it. They can’t go make it rain when you want to make it rain.

Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton on Seahawks defense: "They’re fun to watch until you play them"
Defense of the Carolina Panthers starts with containing quarterback Cam Newton, who the Seahawks will face on the road this Sunday for the third straight season.

Opportunity knocking for Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood
Paul Richardson and Kevin Norwood have waited their turns. But with the trade of Percy Harvin last week, the rookie wide receivers have become more involved in the Seahawks’ passing game.

When it comes to variables, Russell Wilson has that covered too
Russell Wilson has had two historic performances in the Seahawks’ past three games, but they wouldn’t have happened without the third-year quarterback’s ability to stay on the field and not hurt his team.

Double Coverage: Seahawks vs. Panthers - Seattle Seahawks | 710 ESPN Seattle
An underperforming defense with new faces in its secondary and a pass rush that is less effective than it was a year ago. An offense that moved on from its leading receiver, is dealing with injuries along its line and has needed every bit of its quarterback's mobility of late. Sound familiar?

Carroll says Seahawks have a 'very healthy' locker room - Seattle Seahawks | 710 ESPN Seattle
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll discussed the state of Seattle's locker room during his weekly appearance with KIRO Radio 97.3 FM Friday morning. - Blog - 710 ESPN Seattle

Former NFL player Sean Gilbert says Roger Goodell made $210M since '07 - CBSSports.com
On Friday, Sean Gilbert, who is running for NFLPA Director, released the earnings of several players and commissioner Roger Goodell dating back to 2007. The numbers are staggering.

Boiler Room: UNLV WR Devante Davis | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
When the football world labels a prospect as “raw,” it can be a positive or negative connotation. How does one discern the difference? Devante Davis’ play provides some guidelines.

Pass Identities Through Seven Weeks
I’ve published the Game Scripts data from every game this year at the 2014 Game Scripts page, available here. What would it look like if we plotted Game Script score (on the X-Axis) against Pass Ratio (on the Y-Axis) for every game this year? Something like this:

Football Savages / Football Savages Week 8 NFL Picks
Football Savages Week 8 NFL Picks