Coffee and Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday

Hump day!

How Russell Wilson Became the NFL's Most Productive Running QB | Bleacher Report
It hasn't been a good season for Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback Russell Wilson.

Giants defense now dead last, but who is to blame? - NFL.com
The Seahawks doubled the amount of design runs for Russell Wilson. Is that the defense being fooled, or the mark of a poor game plan?

Looking at the most overrated defenders in the NFL. | SportsonEarth.com : Kenneth Arthur Article
We'll begin on a positive note, before going negative: Detroit has arguably the best defense in the NFL, Cleveland is coming off a dominant performance over Cincinnati and Arizona has gotten better despite the losses of Daryl Washington, Darnell Dockett, and John Abraham.

Aldon Smith returns to the 49ers | ProFootballTalk
Starting Sunday against the Giants in New York, Aldon Smith will have a chance to build on his uncanny streak of 42 sacks in 43 career regular-season games.

Browns cut former Cardinal Gibbons standout Kiero Small - Baltimore Sun
The Cleveland Browns cut former Cardinal Gibbons and Arkansas fullback Kiero Small and re-signed former starting fullback Ray Agnew.

Hi! My name is Earl... Thomas. I'm part of the Seattle Seahawks' Legion of Boom. AMAA. : IAmA
Hi! My name is Earl... Thomas. I'm part of the Seattle Seahawks' Legion of Boom. AMAA. submitted 2 hours ago * by EarlThomasLOB What's up everyone? I play Safety for the Seattle Seahawks and part of the Legion of Boom. AMAA, after that, you can see a robot ask me many things

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 10 Quick Reads
So Lynch's numbers, on their own, are quite stellar. Now let's put them in the context of Seattle's offense. Seattle entered Week 10 with the NFL's best rushing attack by DVOA, and that was before their 350-yard outburst against the Giants. Their rushing offense DVOA is now a stratospheric 37.2%. That is so far ahead of everyone else this season it's hard to make a comparison. The second-ranked rushing team, New Orleans, has a DVOA of just 12.3%. That's closer to 23rd-ranked Jacksonville (-12.5%) than it is to Seattle. In fact, if Seattle can maintain that level (which of course would be very hard to do), they would finish as the top rushing offense in DVOA history, beating out the 36.5% of Marshall Faulk's 2000 Rams. Only three other teams have even topped 30.0%: the 1993 49ers (30.5%), 1998 Broncos (31.4%), and 2011 Panthers (32.1%). As MVP resumes go, you could do a lot worse than "leading rusher on the best rushing team in the past quarter-century."

Brandon Mebane of Seattle Seahawks out for season with torn hamstring - ESPN
Seattle Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Mebane, who coach Pete Carroll said was having the best season of his career, is out for the season with a hamstring injury.

The Film Don't Lie: Seattle Seahawks - ESPN
A weekly look at what the Seattle Seahawks must fix:

What the loss of defensive tackle Brandon Mebane means for the Seahawks | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Defensive tackle Brandon Mebane plays in the land of football giants and because of that he casts a long shadow.

Pete Carroll has found a finishing touch with Seahawks - Seattle Seahawks | 710 ESPN Seattle
Finishing was a problem for Pete Carroll's teams during his first two head-coaching jobs, but that has changed since he came to Seattle. - Blog - 710 ESPN Seattle

Hawk Talk: Live Seahawks chat with Danny O'Neil - Seattle Seahawks | 710 ESPN Seattle
The next edition of 'Hawk Talk' with Danny O'Neil comes your way today at noon. - Blog - 710 ESPN Seattle

Pete Carroll not worried about Seattle Seahawks passing game - ESPN
"I’m concerned that we run the football and keep adding that factor to our style of play," Carroll said. "We’ve been in a mode where it’s been really focused in on the running game, trying to make sure that we get that done, and it’s worked out. I think it’s helped us."

Play of rookie Chris Borland alleviates blow of losing Patrick Willis - ESPN
Just as the San Francisco 49ers start to get reinforcements on the defensive side of the ball -- outside linebacker Aldon Smith’s nine-game suspension is over -- their defense took another hit with All-Pro inside linebacker Patrick Willis being placed on season-ending injured reserve with a toe injury on Tuesday.

Seahawks, NFC West: National media insist this race isn't over | Take 2 | Seattle Times
Now things get interesting for the Seahawks

Are the Green Bay Packers the team to beat in NFC? - NFL.com
Four teams in the NFC own better records, but the Green Bay Packers are emerging as the conference's team to beat. It starts with an offense that Aaron Rodgers on Tuesday called "explosive."

Week 10 winners and losers - NFL.com
Alex Smith steered the surging Chiefs past the Bills, while Sean Payton's inconsistent calls might have cost his Saints a win over the 49ers. Gregg Rosenthal details whose stock rose and fell.

Is Michael Crabtree unhappy with role on 49ers? - NFL.com
Michael Crabtree doesn't sound too happy. The 49ers' receiver said Sunday after a game-saving catch he's the third option on the team. How much has San Francisco used the pass-catcher in past weeks?

John Brown leads list of 'Top 10 Rookie Highlights' - NFL.com
John Brown has been a human highlight reel for the Arizona Cardinals. Sammy Watkins and Anthony Barr are among others who made our "Top 10 Rookie Highlights" list.

NFL Power Rankings: These Chiefs better than last season's 9-0 version - NFL - CBSSports.com
The Kansas City Chiefs climb again in this week's rankings. Their ground game and defense are stellar, but can their offense get them to the playoffs?

Agent's Take: Examining six contract dilemmas facing big-name players - CBSSports.com
Dez Bryant or DeMarco Murray? Demaryius or Julius Thomas? Some big-name players are putting teams in interesting financial quagmires.

Aldon Smith: I did everything required by the league | ProFootballTalk
The NFL opted not to shorten 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith's nine-game suspension for violations of the league's substance-abust and personal conduct policies, but Smith says it wasn't because of a failure to comply with their guidelines to return to the team.

NaVorro Bowman still experiencing pain in knee | ProFootballTalk
Reports out of the Bay Area are that 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis is headed to injured reserve because of the toe injury that's kept him out of the lineup recently and it doesn't look like they'll have immediate help from NaVorro Bowman to help replace him in the lineup.

Weekend flashback | National Football Post
A close look at the college football playoff picture.

NFP prospect focus: Shilique Calhoun & Leonard Williams | National Football Post
Breaking down two intriguing defensive end prospects.

Requiem for the Panthers: How Carolina’s Playoff Hopes Went Bust "
Prime-time football claimed its latest victim on Monday night, as the Panthers were slaughtered by Mark Sanchez and his Philadelphia Eagles, 45-21. Carolina went down 45-7 before adding a couple of late garbage-time touchdown passes from Cam Newton to Kelvin Benjamin (it’s never good when you lose by 24 and the scoreline flatters your team’s actual performance). The loss leaves Carolina in full collapse, winning just one of its last eight games after a 2-0 start. Last year’s 12-4 juggernaut has fallen to 3-6-1, with only the overwhelming mediocrity of the NFC South auguring any hope for a Carolina return to the playoffs.

Inside Slant: NFL Week 10 QB Report - NFL Nation Blog - ESPN
Let's take our weekly deep dive into the Sunday performance of five NFL quarterbacks, using data supplied by analyst Jacob Nitzberg of ESPN Stats & Information. After all, the numbers don't always speak for themselves. (For all Inside Slant posts, including the weekly QB Report, follow this link. For a full statistical breakdown of all NFL quarterbacks, see ESPN.com's QBR page.)

Ray McDonald not charged | Cohn Zohn
The Santa Clara County District Attorney isn’t pressing domestic violence charges against 49ers player Ray McDonald.

Agent: RB Alfonso Smith re-signs with 49ers | CSN Bay Area
Programming note: For comprehensive 49ers coverage, watch SportsNet Central today at 6, 10:30 p.m. and midnight on Comcast SportsNet Bay Area

Does Anyone Want to Be NFL MVP? | Rolling Stone
Aaron Rodgers may be the current MVP favorite, but as this season has shown, that can change with one game

The NFC South reaches a new low - SBNation.com
The NFC South has only been around since 2002, but they've already accomplished something few divisions can ever hope to achieve. Buffalo's red zone troubles, Chicago's missing defense and more go under the knife in this week's Post-Mortem.