Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Sunday

Lazy Sunday.

The Importance of Football Character | The Sideline View
Drafting is the easiest and most efficient way to build a team, as NFL general managers are acquiring talented players who are fast, healthy and entering into the prime of their careers. Drafting talent is easy. Drafting talent with character and a good medical report is the ultimate challenge for any personnel evaluator.

Rams interview Mike Singletary for defensive coordinator - CBSSports.com
Jeff Fisher and Mike Singletary played on the same Bears' teams in the early 1980s. Now Fisher, the Rams' head coach, has interviewed Singletary for St. Louis' vacant defensive coordinator job.

NFP Sunday Blitz | National Football Post
There are some rumblings that Colts backup quarterback Drew Stanton may follow Bruce Arians out west to Arizona. Arians was impressed with how Stanton performed in preseason and practiced all season with the Colts, and he needs a quarterback. The fact that Stanton knows Arians’ offense and fits in it gives Stanton an edge. Stanton is likely to have multiple suitors, but the Cardinals’ opportunity might be the most intriguing for him because it could be his best chance to be a starter.

Jaguars GM: 'We need to build around' Blaine Gabbert - NFL.com
"That was his second year," Caldwell told The Florida Times-Union this week. "What were they saying about other quarterbacks after their second year? We're looking for improvement (in his third year). We need to build around him. We'll upgrade whenever we can upgrade."

Sean Smith, Dolphins reportedly 'far apart' on contract - NFL.com
Sean Smith is set to become an unrestricted free agent unless Miami can work out a long-term deal with their best CB. Negotiations for a new contract won't be easy, according to one report.

Sean Smith wants a Brandon Carr or Jason McCourty contract | ProFootballTalk
Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald reports that Smith is looking for a five-year deal at an annual average in the $8 million to $10 million range. In other words, Smith wants to get paid somewhere in the neighborhood of what Jason McCourty got from the Titans last year (five years, $43 million) or what Brandon Carr got from the Cowboys last year (five years, $50 million).

NFL Draft Philosophy: Backup QB or Potential Starter - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
I’ve been trying to find targets that the Seattle Seahawks might look at for backup QB. Both Pete Carroll and John Schneider have indicated that they want someone who can do "some of the things Wilson does" so the offense wont have to completely change if the backup has to come in.

Salary Cap Status Update For All 32 Teams - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
I’ve been getting a lot of salary cap questions lately, and that led me to want to figure out some up to date salary cap figures for each team in the NFL. It took a little work since there has been a few players released in the past few days, but I believe these numbers are accurate as of the time that I’m writing this.

ProFootballWeekly.com - Insider on Ansah: 'He's a one-year wonder'
"(South Carolina S) D.J. Swearinger will drop down in the box and hit you. He looks to take your head off. I love his intensity and approach. Every secondary needs a lightning rod like him. When you think of a lot of the great ones — the Ed Reeds and Brian Dawkins — they had that spark. ... He’ll miss some tackles that he should make, but he’s a big-time hitter."

The Tape Never Lies: Eric Fisher could become an All-Pro left tackle | 100 Yards and Running | Blogs | theScore.com
Every year there are surprise small school prospects that show up on the radars of evaluators. Some stick on it, others don’t. One that has stuck on mine since the summer is Central Michigan left tackle Eric Fisher.

Free-agent tackles could have a hard time getting paid | ProFootballTalk
When assessing the value of a looming free agent, one of the most overlooked factors is a team’s ability to replace him.

Tampering season already has begun | ProFootballTalk
In recognition of the fact that tampering with looming free agents is rampant, the NFL has created a three-day window during which teams and agents can negotiate before the free-agency period begins on March 12 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Chip Kelly's Eagles staff includes sports science coordinator - CBSSports.com
Among the 22 assistants officially named to Kelly's coaching staff on Friday was Shaun Huls, who will serve as the Eagles' sports science coordinator. Huls will lead an alternative training program for the team, according to USA Today. The Eagles are believed to be the first NFL team to officially employ a sports science coordinator. Huls was a coordinator in his prior job, but it was a slightly different kind of coordinator. Before joining Philadelphia's staff, Huls was the strength, conditioning and "combatives" coordinator for Navy Special Warfare. Huls job with the Navy included training Navy SEALs, according to USA Today.

History, opponents could keep 49ers from Super Bowl return - CBSSports.com
San Francisco is a popular pick to make it to the next Super Bowl, except people are forgetting one important lesson of history: Super Bowl losers don't return. Not only that, the 49ers will have a tough time repeating in a division that suddenly is one of the NFL's best.

The Combine Chronicles: Quarterback | National Football Post
Tony Villiotti of Draftmetrics.com dissects performance by position at the NFL combine

Luke Joeckel would be good fit with Chiefs, Eagles, Cardinals - NFL.com
Luke Joeckel is a can't-miss left tackle. The Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line was bad in 2012. Will Chip Kelly draft the Texas A&M stud at No. 4? Bucky Brooks breaks down Joeckel's best fits.

Keep an eye on former Florida DB Matt Elam - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
The secondary might rank right below defensive line in terms of need given the team's struggles in nickel situations last season. With that in mind, Brock Huard thinks former Florida defensive back Matt Elam is one player to watch throughout the pre-draft process. Huard shares some thoughts on Elam in the video below.

Datone Jones vs Nebraska, Rice and Houston " Seahawks Draft Blog
I’ve been away with work today so haven’t got a great deal of time to dedicate to a big piece. I wanted to put some tape on the blog though, specifically of UCLA’s Datone Jones. One of the big issues with Jones is working out what position he’ll play at the next level. Can he get bigger to play early downs at tackle in a 4-3? Is he stout enough to act as a five technique in a 3-4? Is he troublesome enough to play as an orthodox defensive end?

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Greg Knapp: A Retrospective
The Denver Broncos made a surprising coaching hire last month. It flew under the radar because the playoffs were still going on, but the Broncos named Greg Knapp as quarterbacks coach. It was a surprising move, considering Knapp's prior stints as offensive coordinator in Atlanta, Oakland (twice), and Seattle hardly set the world on fire. On the other hand, he had more success as a quarterbacks coach in Houston, and especially early in his career in San Francisco. Here's a look at Knapp's NFL resume, the quarterbacks he has played with, and how they performed under his watch compared to the rest of their career: