Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday

Hump day!

Position Breakdown: Running Backs, Wide Receivers, and Tight Ends | NFL Philosophy
To continue my Position Breakdown series, today we look at the offensive “skill positions.” One of the biggest traits I look for in all of these positions is overall athleticism. Instincts plays a significant role but a lot of that can be practiced and learned. You can’t teach athleticism. This is where we could discuss Bill Parcells planet comment: “There are only so many people on the planet with that type of athleticism.” As you can tell at tight end, some of the best ones are simply the best athletes, such as Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, and Vernon Davis.

Brainstorming ideas for the next Seahawks backup quarterback « Seahawks Draft Blog
It is often said that a 4th round pick in the draft or perhaps $4 million a season in salary is a worthy price for a top shelf backup. And yet, how many teams actually invest that heavily? Peyton Manning had Jim Sorgi and the calamitous Curtis Painter. Tom Brady had Brian Hoyer. Drew Brees had Chase Daniel. Aaron Rodgers had a 7th round Matt Flynn before he had UDFA Graham Harrell. Without looking, how many current backups can you name for Matt Ryan, Big Ben, Matt Schaub, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Eli Manning, or Cam Newton?

Shawn Williams « Seahawks Draft Blog
I don’t think it’s much of a coincidence that Seattle has approached Kam Chancellor about an extension a month before the 2013 draft. Doing so gives the front office either a chance to sign him to an extension, or get a preview of what might be a difficult, drawn out contract discussion. In the event that talks are not fruitful (and so far, the two sides seem far apart), it would make sense for Seattle to consider a strong safety prospect in this draft, particularly if one of good value falls to them.

Thoughts as Alan Branch leaves Seahawks for Bills - Blog - MyNorthwest.com
The possibility of free agent Alan Branch returning to the Seahawks seemed unlikely when the team added another defensive tackle, Tony McDaniel, on a one-year deal last week.

Carson Palmer and other trade acquisitions - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Carson Palmer is the 27th veteran player NFC West teams have acquired since 2010. The Seattle Seahawks have acquired 13 of them, including current contributors Percy Harvin, Marshawn Lynch, Chris Clemons and Clinton McDonald.

Random Seattle Seahawks Thoughts - Post Flynn Trade Edition - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
The Matt Flynn trade is now finally behind us. With no other Seahawks related news out there to analyze, I found myself mentally pontificating on a number of semi-random mostly Seahawks related topics. I figured it would be fun to share a few of them.

Nnamdi Asomugha agrees to contract with 49ers - NFL.com
Nnamdi Asomugha is headed back to the Bay Area. After starring in college at the University of California and earning two All-Pro nods with the Oakland Raiders, Asomugha is taking his talents to the other side of the bay.

Carson Palmer in 'perfect' spot with Arizona Cardinals - NFL.com
Bruce Arians wasn't interested in coach speak as he introduced Carson Palmer on Tuesday, announcing the veteran as his starter. Palmer then said Arizona is the "perfect" place at this point in his career.

Furstenburg is main attraction at Maryland’s pro day - NFL.com
A.J. Francis, DT (6-5, 309) — Francis ran the 40 in 5.21 and 5.19 seconds. He had a 29-inch vertical jump and a 9-foot-4 broad jump. He did the short shuttle in 4.58 seconds and the three-cone drill in 7.45 seconds. He also performed 24 lifts of 225 pounds on the bench press. Francis is a possible rookie free-agent pickup following the 2013 NFL Draft.

Patriots work out three Jayhawks following Kansas’ pro day - NFL.com
Bradley McDougald, FS (6-0 1/4, 211) — McDougald — who was at the combine — ran the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds with the wind and 4.52 seconds against the wind. He did the short shuttle in 4.33 seconds. McDougald stood on his combine numbers in the broad jump, three-cone drill and bench press. McDougald had a good positional workout.

Sport Science: D.J. Fluker - ESPN Video - ESPN
Sport Science examines the force that draft prospect D.J. Fluker can generate on any given play.

Nnamdi Asomugha agrees with 49ers | ProFootballTalk
A formidable 49ers defense has added another talented player to the mix. The Niners have come to terms with former Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported on Tuesday.

49ers agree to terms with Nnamdi Asomugha | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
Schefter adds that the one-year deal is worth $1.35 million and contains no guaranteed money.

Where's the upside? | National Football Post
Carson Palmer could provide an immediate upgrade to Arizona’s quarterback problem. But how much long-term upside does a move like this really have?

Jets and Revis look stuck together until some team takes the bait - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
The Jets' rebuild doesn't include Darrelle Revis, but Pete Prisco says New York's asking price and questions about the star CB's knee are making it near impossible to find a trade partner.

Is Arian Foster declining?
A quick look at Arian Foster‘s statistics over the last three years paints a picture of a player in decline:

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Historical Draft Efficiency: Franchise Rankings
Welcome back for the second installment in our series on historical draft efficiency. Today, we're going to find out how well (or poorly) each franchise drafted from 1970 to 2007; rank them, even! But before we get started, here are a few loose ends I need to tie up.

NFL Draft prospect Tank Carradine could make next epic comeback, but do teams believe? - NFL - Don Banks - SI.com
Chances are there are no Adrian Petersons waiting to be discovered in this year's NFL draft class. For the first time in league history, there might not even be a running back taken in the first round.

Seattle could be the next landing spot for Matt Leinart | National Football Post
Former USC quarterback could be headed for a reunion with Pete Carroll.

Arthur Brown Climbing Draft Boards - Russ Report - Video Dailymotion
Russ Lande talks NFL draft and where Kansas State linebacker Arthur Brown, UNC DT Sylvester Williams, and Clemson WR DeAndre Hopkins rank among prospects.

Coach Hates Me – Christine Michael and Arian Foster | RotoViz
Christine Michael might be the most intriguing skill position prospect in the 2013 draft class. Contrast his situation to that of Cordarrelle Patterson. The former Vol is generating incredible buzz at the wide receiver position because of his athleticism, despite a wide assortment of mild red flags. Plus, Patterson wasn’t very good in college. (If you want an athletic freak who can’t execute his routes well enough to earn his quarterback’s confidence, you should probably just trade for Jon Baldwin.)

A Metrics Breakdown of Top Pass Rushers: Tier 2 | The Sideline View
The first tier of this analysis focused on some of the pass rushing prospects that could go in the first round. However, given the depth of this draft, prospects picked in the second and third rounds could be just as important. Unlike some of the first tier players who have very clean statistical profiles, each of these prospects has at least one minor flaw. We’ll delve into those flaws and the positives as well in this piece. Remember, none of these statistics are gospel. Stats are always best utilized as a complement to film study, so use them as such.

2013 NFL Draft: Top Ten Prospects with Character Concerns
When preparing for the draft, there’s only so much an NFL team can gain from watching film. They already know that nearly all of the players they’re looking at are elite players that were some of the best on their team. Why then to so many draft picks fail to succeed at the next level?

Flynn and the "Right" backup QB | Mitch in the Morning - Seattle's live and local sports station
“If you’re spending X number of hours in the week … to prepare offensively to run the read-zone [and] you then turn to a backup who is incapable of running that, I think it’s almost a de facto conclusion you’re better off having a guy that can run that offense,” Millen said.

4-2 Hugh Millen - Seattle's live and local sports station
Hugh Millen talks the Flynn trade and other rumblings in the NFL.

How the terminology of the Erhardt-Perkins system has helped maintain the dominance of Tom Brady and the Patriots - Grantland
As the players and schemes have changed, it's the way the Patriots talk that's continued their offensive dominance.

QB Matt Flynn Meets the Media
QB Matt Flynn fielded questions from the media at the Raiders headquarters Tuesday.