Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Friday

Thank goodness it's TGIF.

Tony McDaniel visiting Seahawks | ProFootballTalk
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that defensive tackle Tony McDaniel will be visiting the team on Thursday. If he signs, McDaniel would be the first addition to the interior of the team’s defensive line.

Pete Carroll: We were lucky people looked at Russell Wilson’s height | ProFootballTalk
"He’s 5-foot-11, you know, and guys didn’t think he could play for that reason alone," Carroll said. "They weren’t willing to take the chance on a guy and we were very, very fortunate to get him. I think that will bear itself out in the years to come, what a great pick it was. We’re thrilled to have him on our team."

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Quarterbacks | The Sideline View
We all know this is a poor year for franchise QBs or even full-time starters, but there are some interesting prospects to talk about.

Finally the Russell Wilson comes back to the SeahawkTracker!!! | Seahawk Tracker
Finally the Russell Wilson comes back to the SeahawkTracker!!!

Catch Radius | Seahawk Tracker
Although useful, I consider Catch Radius as only another tool to use, to identify players who just can flat out fly. After that you have to watch the tape of the prospects. It doesn’t for instance tell you what WR’s have rocks for hands, or their knowledge of the route tree, it simply tells you who has the best all-around physical makeup, combined with athleticism.

Pete Carroll: Seattle Seahawks not loading up this year - ESPN
Carroll also rejected the implication that Seattle was making moves after deciding what it would take to overcome San Francisco in the NFC West. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," Carroll replied. "That's what you think. We have to get better. The last thing we are going to do is evaluate how we are based on everybody else. To me, that is one of the worst mistakes you can make. The other factors -- who won the league last year -- I could care less. We can’t control that."

Trade market for QB Matt Flynn might be drying up | Seahawks | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Matt Hasselbeck signing to be a Colts backup shows Jets, Jags, Bills not seriously hunting for a QB

King Of Leon - Evaluations - Rotoworld.com
There's a belief in the NFL that perimeter cornerbacks are more important than slot cornerbacks. The league has been drafting one over the other for many years now because most offenses are designed in a way that enables the majority of slot receivers to succeed because of the threat of the outside receiver. Defenses have the same thinking on their side of the ball, with the thought that if the perimeter cornerbacks are very good outside, the slot corner will benefit inside.

WR Brice Butler impresses at SDSU's Pro Day Page 1 of 2 | UTSanDiego.com
The Seahawks could be a possible landing spot for Butler because head coach Pete Carroll knows him well from when he recruited the receiver out of high school as the head coach at USC. "That whole staff (in Seattle) is almost like my old staff, even down to the strength trainers," said Butler, who transferred to SDSU for his final year last spring after graduating early from USC. "Coach Carroll knows my worth. He went al lthe way out to Atlanta to recruit me, so I know he has high expectations of me."

New Era Scouting – 2013 Draft Interview: Eastern Kentucky, OL, Patrick Ford
Patrick Ford: I feel my greatest strengths include my physical style of play. I am not afraid to go out there and mix it up. I like to hit and get dirty. I am very intelligent and pick up new systems fast as well as identifying what the defense is throwing at us and how to adjust to things quickly. I am very versatile as I have played RG, LG, LT and TE.

Nuclear Arms Race: The Wild NFC West
The first week of the 2013 NFL league year was a wild one. On Tuesday, March 12th, at 4pm EST, the new year began and free agents were actually free to sign with new teams. The Chicago Bears made the first splash, adding big tight end Martellus Bennett, and everyone else followed suit.

How quickly Rams can win the NFC West - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Got a question during the latest NFC West chat asking whether I envisioned the St. Louis Rams winning the NFC West in the next three years.

Cliff Avril, Michael Bennett additions give Seahawks riches at defensive end | Audibles - SI.com
In the span of about 24 hours last week, the Seattle Seahawks took advantage of a slow-moving defensive end market to land both ex-Lion Cliff Avril and ex-Buc Michael Bennett.

NFL Free Agency Rumor: Seahawks Closing In With DT Tony McDaniel - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
The Seahawks have brought in former Miami Dolphin DT Tony McDaniel for a visit. He hasn’t signed yet, but just the fact that he’s in town is significant. McDaniel is 6-7, and 307 lbs making him a physically intimidating guy. Unfortunately, his on-field play doesn’t make his size. Only once in his 5 year career has McDaniel posted a positive overall performance over the course of a season, and that was 2 years ago in 2010. In that year, be played mostly DE, not DT.

Frostee Rucker, Arizona Cardinals agree on one-year contract - NFL.com
Free-agent defensive end Frostee Rucker has agreed to a one-year contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

NFL Power Rankings: 49ers claim No. 1 amid free agency frenzy - NFL.com
Anquan Boldin changed teams since our last Power Rankings. In related news, there's a new No. 1 in Elliot Harrison's NFL pecking order -- and much more movement amid the free agency frenzy.

Fantasy Football player news, injuries and analysis - Rotoworld.com
49ers re-signed S Darcel McBath to a one-year contract. McBath wasn't tendered as a restricted free agent, so he's likely coming back at the veteran's minimum. The former second-round pick out of Texas Tech doesn't contribute much on defense, but he's a key special teamer. McBath, 27, recorded seven tackles last season.

The Shutdown Corner draft podcast with Greg Cosell: Evaluating the WR/TE class | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
You didn't think that we were finished doing podcasts with our buddy Greg Cosell of NFL Films and ESPN's NFL Matchup just because the NFL season is over, did you? Well, if you did, fear not -- we're back in the saddle (and Greg's now writing for Shutdown Corner as well) to do a new series of podcasts in which we evaluate the draft prospects by position. We've already discussed the quarterbacks and running backs in this year's class, and how it's time to talk about a very intriguing group of receivers and tight ends. Greg has taken his decades of experience, and oodles of coach's tape, and transferred both to the college side just in time for the pre-draft process.

Pro Day review for March 18th, 19th & 20th | National Football Post
Russ Lande tells us what he heard about Pro Days at Florida State, San Diego State & Utah.

How long does it take to start in the NFL? | National Football Post
Tony Villiotti of draftmetrics.com breaks down

Mike Glennon + Blaine Gabbert + Aaron Schatz = A 2011-2013 RSP Mashup | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
Football Outsiders Chief Aaron Schatz asked me a great question yesterday. One that I imagine some people with my business interests in mind would tell me not to answer within the context of a book season where I’m trying to generate sales. They want me to say – and only say – I was the guy that said last March that Russell Wilson was indeed comparable to Drew Brees in style and had the potential skill to get there. Fortunately, my right shoulder tends to be hunched higher to my ear when I’m talking, so the voice in the white robe and halo is easier to hear.

Does when you were born impact your chances of making the NFL?
In 2006, Doug looked into how much of a role the month in which you were born could play into your chances for athletic success later in life. Doug didn’t just ponder this out of thin air: a bit more research has been spent on this topic than you might think. Steve Levitt, of Freakonomics fame, found some evidence indicating that "older" kids in the same level of play — older by as much as 365 days, I suppose — tended to be more likely to become professional athletes. Basically, if you’re the oldest kid in your travel soccer team or 8th-grade basketball team, chances are you will be better than the other kids. This leads to a snowball effect, where you might be more likely to receive more personal coaching and your confidence should increase.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Word of Muth: Stopping Pass-Rush Moves
In the offseason I have a little more freedom to deviate from the standard game breakdowns you see here during the regular season. There aren’t new games to cover every week, so I have a chance to cover whatever interests me at the moment. So when I was looking at free agent tackles and saw Dwight Freeney beat Jake Long with a spin move, I thought that could make for the foundation of an interesting column. I wanted to look at a few different pass-rush moves and how they beat offensive linemen.

McKay says helmet rule "absolutely not" about litigation avoidance | ProFootballTalk
"Absolutely not," McKay said, "it’s about protecting the players. I’ve been on the Committee for 20 years and it’s never been a discussion in our room of, ‘Well we’re worried about a litigation about this or a litigation about a knee injury.’ We’re worried about player safety and I think one of the great things about the league is it’s been a focus of ours for a long time and there’s such a long process that goes into it.

Ted Ginn joins the Panthers on one-year deal | ProFootballTalk
The Panthers don’t have to kind of salary cap space to address their bigger problems, but they’re methodically checking off the smaller boxes.

Free Agency Winners - Free Agency Update - Rotoworld.com
The Seahawks came within a last-second field goal of the NFC Championship Game last season. Now they’ve landed both the best offensive and defensive player available.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Running Backs | The Sideline View
There is really solid depth at the running back position in my opinion. I don't see a back in this draft that I want to draft in the first round, but Eddie Lacy gets the closest to that. The problem with Lacy is that it feels like his value might be a little inflated based on the last game we saw him play (Notre Dame). There are some long-term durability concerns I've heard teams voice about him.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Wide Receivers | The Sideline View
Cordarrelle Patterson has the size and speed that teams salivate over, but I can't shake the feeling that we could be looking at the next Troy Williamson (South Carolina WR who was drafted with 7th overall pick and busted). I absolutely love his big play ability, but he's still raw. Hard to overlook his high-end traits though.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Tight Ends | The Sideline View
Solid group of tight end prospects and, needless to say, we continue to see more and more "move TEs" coming into the pro game from college.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Guards | The Sideline View
What are you looking for at guard? Do you want foot quickness and a guard who can pull or get to the second level and get the MIKE LB blocked? If so, you want Jonathan Cooper. Cooper played at about 20 pounds lighter than his natural weight and that increased weight might help him add a little more power to his game. Despite hitting 35 reps at the combine, Cooper doesn't show that kind of power on the field. Cooper has elite feet for the position. I mean that. ELITE.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Tackles | The Sideline View
I'm okay with analysts flipping back and forth between Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher as the top tackle in this draft, but I'm giving the slight edge to Joeckel who is superior with his technique and who has competed against better competition as a 3-year starter. Fisher is the better athlete of the two and both feel fairly safe as starting left tackles on the next level. Joeckel still has a baby-faced appearance and will likely add another 10-15 pounds of natural weight on his frame.

Draft Grades for Top 10 by Position - Centers | The Sideline View
You can have take Travis Frederick in the 2nd round if you like and I'll take Brian Schwenke in the 3rd and we'll see who is the better player in five years. It's not that I don't like Frederick, because I do. I just think Frederick is a little more limited the Schwenke. Schwenke has played guard and center in college and has shown his ability to drop anchor against bull-rushers while still being able to handle his business on Cal's outside zone plays. Frederick plays with heavy hands for a center and will be targeted by power teams only.

Darrelle Revis' potential trade from New York Jets to Tampa Bay Buccaneers in fragile state - NFL - Peter King - SI.com
The Jets have a vexing problem with Darrelle Revis, but if GM John Idzik plays his cards right, he could at least partially save face for trading the franchise's best player by getting no less than first- and third-round draft choices from Tampa Bay for the problematic cornerback, a source close to the negotiations told SI.com.

Keying On Kiko - Evaluations - Rotoworld.com
In every draft, there's multiple prospects from each school that are worthy of being selected. In some cases, the highest rated prospect gets the most attention but may not always be the best player. This year's class has a couple of schools like that, such as Mississippi State and Oregon.

Pro Days: Ertz, others improve numbers at Stanford workout - CBSSports
Stanford's Zach Ertz led all FBS tight ends last season with 69 receptions for 898 yards and six touchdowns but the junior lost some of his momentum with a less-than-eye-popping performance at the combine.

Georgia Pro Day: Jarvis Jones produces mixed results, others shine - CBSSports
If prospects were drafted on production alone, Georgia's Jarvis Jones would be in the conversation to be the No. 1 overall pick. But for Jones, his path to the NFL is a little more complex.

Mike Glennon grades out as a future NFL franchise quarterback - NFL.com
NFL coaches and scouts seem to be split on Mike Glennon's future as an NFL quarterback. But Bucky Brooks is all-in on the N.C. State QB and explains why in his detailed scouting report.

Pro Days: Fresno State, SDSU, Hawaii DBs catching attention - CBSSports
Representatives of 19 NFL teams traveled to Fresno State on Wednesday in large part to see if All-America free safety Phillip Thomas and record-breaking running back Robbie Rouse could improve upon their combine performances. Each was able to do so.

2013 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Florida State Defensive End Cornellius Carradine | Bleacher Report
How high can a player who tore his ACL in November go in the NFL draft? Florida State defensive end Cornellius "Tank" Carradine is about to answer that question...

2013 NFL Draft: Mock Draft, Version 4.0 | FirstRoundGrade.com
Below is the first Mock Draft since the start of free agency. Take a read, and I welcome all comments! What’s the point of having a mock draft if it isn’t torn apart, right? Feel free to share, too! And with the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select…