Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Saturday

One more day.

Pete Carroll Week 9 Friday Press Conference
Pete Carroll talks about how important it is to the team to play at home, the Buccaneers defense and gives an update on player health.

2014 NFL Draft: Underclassmen deadline set for January 15 - CBSSports.com
Draft-eligible underclassmen will have until January 15 to decide whether or not to declare early for the 2014 NFL Draft

2014 NFL Draft: NFL announces dates, locations of 16 Regional Combines - CBSSports.com
The regional workouts led to 50 players being signed by NFL teams a year ago, including 30 signed to active rosters. To be eligible to participate, prospects must fit in one of three categories.

Chris Johnson is the career leader in average length of rushing touchdown
Not too surprising, I suppose. This includes all rushing touchdowns, including in the postseason, but does not include rushing touchdowns for 2013, not that it matters very much for Chris Johnson. :rimshot:

NFL Week 9 schedule features Cowboys-Vikes, Colts-Texans, Saints-Jets | The MMQB with Peter King
Going past the obvious storylines and taking a deeper dive into every Sunday game in Week 9. All times Eastern; click on teams for more on the matchup. Cowboys (4-4) at Vikings (1-6), 1 p.m.

Sean Lee, Dallas Cowboys MLB, highlights NFL Week 9 Preview | The MMQB with Peter King
I don’t know if you saw the play, but I did, and it was mesmerizing. Just before halftime of Dallas-Detroit on Sunday, Cowboys middle linebacker Sean Lee waited, waited, waited and suddenly, as though he’d been forewarned about the play call, stepped in front of wideout Jeremy Ross running a sho...

Week 9 Game Rankings: Steelers in a must-win situation vs. Patriots - CBSSports.com
Week 9 is another big bye week, which has put a damper on the week's matchups. Jason La Canfora previews the weekend's best bets.

Tavon Austin: Playing in the NFL harder than initially thought | National Football Post
Rookie admits season has been challenging.

The difference between celebrating and taunting | National Football Post
Golden Tate and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie embarrassed themselves with unnecessary showboating during their respective Week 8 games.

Midseason Awards: Honoring Gronk, Stafford and more - NFL.com
With the season at its relative halfway point, Dan Hanzus bestows unconventional awards, including best and worst pass. Who takes the invisible hardware?

Bucs' Darrelle Revis: Knee forced me to play more zone - NFL.com
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Darrelle Revis said his surgically repaired knee wasn't healthy enough to play a lot of man-to-man coverage early in the season.

Seahawks' Golden Tate fined $7,875 for taunting - NFL.com
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate taunted the St. Louis Rams -- and it will cost him $7,875. He's among the players who got docked this week in the fines roundup.

Cameron Jordan tops midseason 'Making the Leap' list - NFL.com
Our midseason report continues with Chris Wesseling's "Making the Leap" series. Find out which young players join Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan as first-half stars.

Norse Code Podcast #016 (Part One): Green Bay Review, Cowboys Preview - Daily Norseman
We recap the Packers game and preview the Cowboys game in our most recent installment of Norse Code.

2013 NFL Rookie of the Year watch, Week 8: Zac Stacy makes his mark against Seahawks - SBNation.com
All Rams running back Zac Stacy needed was a chance.

Mocking the Draft podcast, Episode 18: Ra'Shede Hageman, Stephon Tuitt and other NFL Draft talk - SBNation.com
On Episode 18 of the Mocking the Draft podcast, we shifted the focus to the defensive line.

October's Best Buccaneers - Bucs Nation
The best players of October.

Buccaneers vs. Seahawks: Breaking Down Seattle's Game Plan | Bleacher Report
Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

News, notes and quotes: Harvin still not practicing, Okung and Giacomini getting close | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Percy Harvin had a second MRI, which Pete Carroll said came back fine. Harvin didn’t practice again today. “We’ve been quiet with him,” Carroll said. “A little sore from last week. Just making sure we won’t waste our opportunity with him on the practice field.”

Pro Football Focus previews the game | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Here’s the weekly preview of the game from Pro Football Focus, as well as a few additional notes and links below:

Friday personnel updates: Lynch will play Sunday, Harvin sits out practice all week | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll met the media this afternoon for the final time this week prior to Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay at CenturyLink Field. Here are the highlights of what he said concerning the key personnel issues with the team right now:

Justin Blackmon suspended indefinitely
STATEMENT BY JAGUARS GENERAL MANAGER DAVID CALDWELL: “All of us who are a part of the Jaguars family care very deeply about Justin and his well-being. That said, he must be held accountable and accept the consequences announced today by the NFL. His suspension will provide him the opportunity to receive the attention and professional treatment necessary to overcome his challenges, and we will support him during this time. The Jacksonville Jaguars will evaluate Justin's status once he has successfully met the criteria to be considered for reinstatement to the league.”

The All-22: Closing speed makes Seahawks' Earl Thomas the NFL's best safety | Audibles - SI.com
he NFL has changed a lot in the last 10 years, and the safety position is one that has perhaps changed most with it. In days of yore, safeties were enforcers, the guys you didn’t want to mess with under any circumstances — the guys who would meet you across the middle with murderous intent. From Jack Tatum to Steve Atwater, safeties used to be known primarily for their ability to hit in space — to be the downhill free-rangers.

Brandon Meriweather's remarks resonate with players, coaches - NFL.com
Brandon Meriweather has been called a lot of things after speaking out Monday. Wrong shouldn't be one of them, according to some NFL players. "He definitely had a point," Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said Tuesday night. "He may not have articulated it right. But he had a great point, a very valid point. It happened to (Randall) Cobb, it happened to Heath Miller. There are a ton of guys it's happened to, where (a defensive player) goes low, and it's not dirty by any means, but you do it because you don't want to cost your team."

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Under Pressure: Sack Breakdowns
You’ve heard it here multiple times, but it is worth a yearly reminder: All sacks are not the same. Some can be blamed completely on an offensive lineman. Some can be blamed completely on a quarterback who held the ball way too long. Some are the result of a poor play call or a line call that left a rusher completely unblocked. And a lot are a combination of these factors.

Breaking Down Andre Ellington's Huge Game and Fantasy Value Going Forward | Bleacher Report
The fantasy football community had been cat-calling Arizona running back Andre Ellington for some time. The rookie answered those calls with a huge game against the Falcons last week.

49ers' Davis: Seattle Has Loudest Fans - ESPN Video - ESPN
49ers tight end Vernon Davis talks about his experience playing in Seattle and battling the crowd noise of the fans he called the loudest in the NFL.

Focus on: Golden Tate
Without Golden Tate’s two touchdown catches, the Seahawks likely don’t win Monday night’s game against the Rams. But the team’s leading receiver has generated attention for another reason.

Seahawks' pass game struggling despite 7-1 start | KING5.com Seattle
"It's kind of hard to talk about it without saying too much. Offensively we were very disappointed," Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin said. "We left a lot of plays out on the field. We didn't execute some of the things we're known for executing. It wasn't us. Honestly, we were embarrassed by it, especially on Monday night."

Outcasts, underdogs fuel rise of Seahawks defense
Earl Thomas has his headphones on as he sits inside his locker, slightly bobbing his head. He directs a piercing glare at no one in particular.

Injuries aren’t an excuse for Seahawks’ offensive-line issues | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable said the team will not use injuries as an excuse for giving up seven sacks at St. Louis. “We have to execute better,” Cable said.

Seahawks at midseason: The long wait to dominate | Jerry Brewer | The Seattle Times
The Seahawks have been far from perfect the first half of the season. But they’re 7-1 despite their issues, and encouraged that great things await them in a “magical” season.

Ten key stats on the Seahawks - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
Here are 10 key stats for the Seahawks entering Sunday’s game at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

Double Coverage: Buccaneers at Seahawks - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
Despite getting outplayed in almost every statistical category Monday night at St. Louis, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Rams 14-9 and reached the midpoint of the season at 7-1 after a rough stretch of four road games in five weeks.

Despite all the hits, Russell Wilson says he's fine - 710sports.com
Worried about all the hits Russell Wilson has taken this season? He isn't.

Flavor of the Month - The Smash Mouth - Rotoworld.com
Running games around the league continue to take shape or fade away. In Oakland, Terrelle Pryor’s 93-yard touchdown run on the first play of last week's game featured an embarrassing display of defense by the Steelers, who looked ill-prepared to slow down the zone read.

Seahawks need to regain their offensive identity - 710sports.com
The Seahawks may have been up in the air, but their coach was already focused on getting back on the ground.

N.C. State ordeal a 'blessing in disguise' for Wilson | HeraldNet.com - Sports
N.C. State dumped Russell Wilson in favor of Mike Glennon, but it worked out for both QBs

Chalk Talk: Seahawks-Rams
Former Husky and NFL QB Hugh Millen breaks down the final play of the Seattle Seahawks' thrilling 14-9 victory over the St. Louis Rams on Monday night.

Bill Barnwell on the read-option scheme - Grantland
We check in with the oft-maligned scheme to see where it has been and where it might be going a year after it took the league by storm

Bucs’ Revis: Knee kept him from playing man coverage
“Earlier in the year, I didn’t have the explosion to play press; the receiver would just run the (vertical) 9-route on me and I didn’t have the stamina to do that play in and play out, especially playing press. “I mean, you get physical up there playing press coverage and then actually just running. That’s running full speed — you and the receiver. I didn’t have that yet.

Tavon Austin: Playing in the NFL is a little harder than I thought | ProFootballTalk
Rams rookie Tavon Austin was expected to burst onto the scene as an all-purpose threat who would make big plays all over the field. But it hasn’t worked out that way.

NFL Week 8 The MMQB Pressure Points by Greg Bedard | The MMQB with Peter King
Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson is far from the prototypical pass rusher who makes a living on the edge, where lean and fast players rule. Yet he thinks his size (6-2, 285) works to his advantage because opposing linemen underestimate his speed.

Schotty 'felt good' about last play vs. Seattle : Sports
“On fourth down we went with kind of our ‘got-to-have-it’ play,” Schottenheimer said. “We have a number of plays, but usually the menu’s got about two or three. Those are our ‘got-to-have-its.’ Those are what we call quite a bit.”