Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Saturday

LINKS!

Pete Carroll impressed with Larry Fitzgerald’s hits | ProFootballTalk
"I sent in two plays that Larry had, plays that jumped off the game film," Carroll said, via Terry Blount of ESPN.com. "I said something to Larry after the game [a 34-22 Seattle victory on Oct. 17] about those two decisions, perfectly illustrating the new mentality and the right mentality. With an iconic guy like that, I just thought it was really powerful. . . .

The fall of Nnamdi Asomugha | 100 Yards and Running | Blogs | theScore.com
The fall from NFL grace is like that of an apple from a tree; hard, bruising, and suddenly there’s the feeling of no longer being wanted. That’s what’s happened to Nnamdi Asomugha, who came into the league green, then ripened into the league’s best cornerback, and he’s since has been bruised by the league’s best receivers on a weekly basis. That is as long as he was active, which isn’t the case any longer.

Seahawks' improved pass rush has been a group effort - 710sports.com
The sacks are coming in bunches, just like Pete Carroll hoped when Seattle restocked its pass rush this offseason.

Double Coverage: Seahawks at Rams - 710sports.com
The Seahawks and Rams appear to be trending in opposite directions as they head into their meeting on "Monday Night Football".

Double Coverage: Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams - ESPN
The St. Louis Rams landed a pair of prime-time home games this season, both against tough NFC West rivals.

Seattle Seahawks D a tough first task for Kellen Clemens - ESPN
St. Louis Rams quarterback Kellen Clemens is well-aware of the challenge that awaits him on Monday night.

Is a trade for a receiver on table for 49ers? - NFC West Blog - ESPN
The San Francisco 49ers have been connected to the top receivers available through trade.

Calais Campbell teaches Bradley Sowell a thing of two - ESPN
The conversation started on the practice field, two plays after Bradley Sowell stopped Calais Campbell on a pass rush and a play after the veteran defensive end beat the young left tackle.

Rams' Cortland Finnegan aiming to get back to basics - ESPN
"It’s been a rocky start," Finnegan said. "For me, it’s been a complete disappointment from last year to this year. I think that’s from putting a lot of pressure on myself and not doing things the way I used to do it. So it’s getting back to being a jerk Cortland Finnegan, and if you don’t like it, oh well."

Five questions, five answers: Rams | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Time once again for our weekly "Five Questions, Five Answers" look at the upcoming opponent. This week, helping us out is Joseph Lyons, who covers the Rams for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Seahawks and the Rams play Monday night in St. Louis

Seahawks’ stat geek: tight ends become more valuable | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
With Zach Miller healthy and fullback Derrick Coleman injured, Seahawks tight ends played a bigger role than usual in victory over Arizona.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under Pressure: Long Sack Leaderboard
The Kansas City Chiefs defense leads the NFL in sacks (36), in Adjusted Sack Rate (12 percent), and is second in defensive DVOA. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston give the Chiefs a truly fearsome pass rush with Houston tied for second in the league with 10 sacks and Hali ranking fourth with nine sacks.

Russell Wilson ready to break out
Wondering whether to start Marshawn Lynch and A.J. Green, or to bench Chad Henne and Ryan Broyles? Here are my picks to roll, and get rolled, in Week 8 of the 2013 season.

For Wilson, Every Game Is An Escape Act | Sportspress Northwest
Russell Wilson has 41 rushing attempts in Seattle’s last four games, a remarkable and dangerous total. His 8.3 rushes per game lead all NFL quarterbacks.

No hurry to get Harvin back on playing field | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Another day of wide receiver Percy Harvin will-he or won’t-he has passed. Friday’s episode is likely to be a repeat.

Jordan Reed will 'scare the hell out of' Ds, Jaws says - NFL.com
After watching Jordan Reed's game tape against the Bears, ESPN's Ron Jaworski believes the Washington Redskins rookie tight end can the next great one at his position.

Trent Baalke: 49ers trading for receiver unlikely - NFL.com
Josh Gordon's name has been linked in trade rumors with the San Francisco 49ers, but GM Trent Baalke says the team isn't interested in swinging a trade for a wide receiver.

Niners hopeful Aldon Smith stays with team long term - NFL.com
Aldon Smith will miss his fifth straight game when the San Francisco 49ers play the Jaguars in London on Sunday, but the teams still hopes that Smith will play again at some point this season.

Great seats for Seahawks-Rams MNF game can be had … for under $8! | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
NFL games can be quite pricy for fans. Except when you're in St. Louis, and the World Series is in town.

Favre’s admission of memory loss a sad, familiar chorus of former NFL players | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
One of the bigger stories this week was that the St. Louis Rams may or may not have inquired about the status of retired quarterback Brett Favre, following the loss of Sam Bradford for the season.

NFP power rankings | National Football Post
Andrew Luck and the Colts climb north following their impressive display against the previously unbeaten Broncos.

Eight in the Box: Single-season records that could fall in 2013 | Audibles - SI.com
Each Friday, Eight in the Box will highlight a list of eight players, teams or moments and their impact on the 2013 season.

NFL Week 8 Preview: Examining Cincinnati Bengals- New York Jets, more games | Audibles - SI.com
Chris Burke and Doug Farrar get you ready for the weekend with The Playbook, a detailed weekly preview that gives you everything you need to know about the upcoming slate of games. Main Events NY Jets (4-3) at Cincinnati (5-2) -- 4:05 p.m.

The Root of the NFL’s Attendance Problem | NFL Philosophy
After spending a season in Tampa working for the Buccaneers and now being on the outside of the NFL again, I’ve really had some great perspective through the past few years. It’s unique and I’ve learned a lot from it.

Advanced NFL Stats: The Myth of Playoff Peyton
Let's play a quick word association game. I say "Peyton Manning in the playoffs," and you tell me what images your mind conjures up.

Week 8 Sleepers - Weekly Surprises - Rotoworld.com
Nick Mensio identifies a dozen possible Week 8 sleepers, checking in on Cordarrelle Patterson, Jared Cook, Ben Roethlisberger and nine others.

Belichick on trades: It’s hard to get someone ready in a short time | ProFootballTalk
The Patriots have made trades before the deadline in recent seasons, including last year’s acquisition of cornerback Aqib Talib, and they have some obvious areas of need with this year’s deadline looming on Tuesday.

Seahawks-Rams will be televised locally, even if no one locally will be watching | ProFootballTalk
On Monday night, Kellen Clemens makes his debut at the Rams’ starting quarterback. But most folks in St. Louis will be paying attention to the sport once played by Roger Clemens.

Net Yards per Attempt Analysis and Week 7 Average Field Position Data
It’s Friday, so I thought it might be fun to play around with some stats. Net Yards per Attempt is probably my favorite predictive statistic to measure quarterbacks, but there are some problems with even that metric. One issue is that Net Yards per Attempt — which is simply yards per attempt but includes sacks data — is pretty sensitive to outliers. A quarterback who consistently pieces together short passes with a high completion percentage can be pretty valuable, and may end up undervalued compared to some mad bombers.

Week 7 Game Scripts, and the Jets Ping-Pong Record
After a week six in which no team won with a negative Game Script, only the Jets won with a negative Game Script in week seven, and that was in overtime. Only two quarterbacks led fourth-quarter comebacks this week: Robert Griffin III and Thaddeus Lewis. Three more quarterbacks — Andy Dalton, Ben Roethlisberger, and Geno Smith — led game-winning drives in tie games, but in general, it was a pretty uneventful week for comebacks. Overall, it’s been a quit few weeks in the NFL when it comes to fourth quarter craziness: the largest deficit entering the 4th quarter by a winning team in weeks 5, 6, and 7 was just five points.

The Second Level: What You Need to Know Heading into NFL Week 8 | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Colt Lyerla: Troubles Caused By a Troubled Past
For 30 games, Colt Lyerla played for the University of Oregon. Prior to spontaneously leaving the program in early October, he had helped the Ducks go 27-3 during his time in Eugene.

Former Oregon TE Colt Lyerla poses dilemma for NFL teams - NFL.com
NFL Media analyst Bucky Brooks talked to NFL scouts to find out their evaluations of promising but troubled former Oregon Ducks tight end Colt Lyerla.

Golden Tate Confident the Seattle Seahawks Have What It Takes to Be the Best | Bleacher Report
"We're all we got...We're all we need." With that pithy phrase, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate encapsulates the motto and the attitude of the Seahawks in 2013...

Rams Addiction Podcast, Episode 40: Seahawks at Rams Preview | RAMS ADDICTION
Mike and Anthony preview the monday night matchup against the Seahawks with Jacson from Fieldgulls.com

Russell Wilson Week 8 Press Conference
Russell Wilson talks about his ability to extend plays, Percy Harvin's return to practice and the Ram's strengths.

Week Eight injury report roundup | ProFootballTalk
Our own Josh Alper usually does the work of poring through all the injury reports to bring you the most significant injury news of the week in one easy-to-digest post. Unfortunately, this week Alper is on the injury report himself.