Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Thursday

Read.

Seattle Seahawks QB Russell Wilson: 'All I wanted was an opportunity' - NFL Videos
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson was in studio for "NFL Total Access" and says his team views every game as its Super Bowl. Plus, he plays some word association for his teammates.

NFL Power Rankings Week 11: Seattle Seahawks the new No. 1 - NFL - Doug Farrar - SI.com
As the NFL comes into the home stretch of its regular season, one thing is becoming patently obvious: More and more teams are realizing that their mad rush to the middle is no fluke. With 11 weeks in the books, only nine teams have a positive point differential over +30, and the NFC South and AFC West are the only two divisions in which there's more than one team with a winning percentage over .600. In four of the NFL's eight divisions, only one team has a winning record.

2013 Seahawks living up to the hype | Jerry Brewer | The Seattle Times
Seahawks have more than met expectations with the NFL’s best record, but history has taught us that doesn’t mean anything.

Four Seahawks tops at their positions in Pro Bowl balloting
Marshawn Lynch has more fan votes for the Pro Bowl than all but four other players in the league, and Max Unger, Richard Sherman, Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor lead the way at their positions.

Report: Ahmad Brooks won't accept Ray Lewis' charity - NFL.com
Ray Lewis offered to pay half the amount of any fine San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks received for his hit on Drew Brees on Sunday. Brooks reportedly will not accept Lewis' offer.

Now that Percy Harvin is back, what’s next?
Percy Harvin went from not being able to play, to when should he play, to is he ready to play, to turning in two huge plays for his new team against his former team in the Seahawks’ 41-20 victory over the Vikings.

RGIII reportedly called wrong protection on final INT - NFL.com
RGIII has dealt with criticism for his comments following the Washington Redskins' Sunday loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, there's a report that the QB might be to blame for the failed final play.

The Replacements: Evaluating the backup QBs - NFL.com
This season has been marked by backup signal-callers like Case Keenum stepping in and making a difference for their teams. Here's a look at four replacements who have our attention.

My Team vs. My Career | National Football Post
The tough choice for players to play injured usually comes down to pride.

NFL Stock Watch: Carson Palmer pushing Cardinals towards playoffs - CBSSports.com
The Cardinals defense is playing quite well but it's Carson Palmer pushing Arizona towards the playoffs.

Top Prospect of Week 12: Boston College RB Andre Williams - CBSSports.com
How better to celebrate Senior Day than to rush for 339 yards to lead his team to a conference victory -- more than any other player has run in a single game this year.

When game's on the line, Andrew Luck has the edge with ... his feet - CBSSports.com
Colts second-year star quarterback Andrew Luck knows when to run to keep Indy moving in the second half of games.

Panthers-Patriots, Ahmad Brooks calls prove it's not easy being a ref | The MMQB with Peter King
Week 11 was the latest installment in the ongoing battle of the NFL's referees against the world. But whether officials are making the right or wrong calls, it's clear from all the debate that policing the game is a thankless, losing proposition By Don Banks · More from Don·

Kennedy assassination anniversary: The NFL’s decision to play | The MMQB with Peter King
A version of this story appears in the Nov. 25 issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. By Tim Layden There was a fight, though not a fight in the strictest sense. It was a beating.

NFL VP of Officiating: Controversial calls affecting 49ers, Patriots were correct | Audibles - SI.com
There is controversy regarding officiating every NFL season, but Week 11 of this season brought us two key calls affecting games that could alter the playoff picture in both conferences.

Atlanta Falcons were Super Bowl contenders until injuries struck | The MMQB with Peter King
What happened to the Falcons? It was widely presumed entering the season that they would be spearheading the playoff race in late November, and yet, they’re 2-8 after getting steamrolled by the lowly Buccaneers in Week 11.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Scramble: New Awards
Mike: So, Tom, Major League Baseball and Various People Who Are Paid to Write About Major League Baseball finished up their awards season last week. Tom: Quick, who was NFL MVP last year? Was it Peyton Manning? Adrian Peterson? Somebody else?

League acknowledges Blakeman should have been more descriptive | ProFootballTalk
Said Blakeman at the time: “There is no foul on the play. The game is over.”

Fullback Report
In May, I discussed how and why the fullback was being slowly phased out of the game. Some of the main reasons are:

Vegas Weekend Recap: Why Do So Many Sports Bettors Lose? - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
"The house always wins” is an often-used phrased, and when it comes to sports betting — over the long run, in aggregate — it’s

Week 12 Target Watch: NFC - Targets and Touches - Rotoworld.com
Chet Gresham takes a look at the NFC targets and touches for Week 12.

USC's Lee, Ohio State's Hyde rising; USF's Lynch, U-Dub's Price falling - CBSSports.com
NFLDraftScout.com Senior Analyst Rob Rang joined CBSSports.com's Kevin Corke to discuss five Risers and Fallers from Week 12 of the college football season.

Advanced NFL Stats: Team Efficiency Rankings: Week 11 [Corrected]
Strength of schedule is a fickle variable, one that should tell us more about a particular opponent but really does not. Though this formula does account for S.O.S, that's not always the best indicator of whether or not a team has faced "legitimate" competition.

The Alternative Route | NFL Philosophy
“The Road Not Taken” may be something NFL general managers may want to investigate further. The clear plan of nearly every team in the NFL is to find a “franchise” quarterback and then build around him. Without a franchise quarterback, most teams aren’t considered Super Bowl contenders. Even now, the Chiefs, who are sitting at 9-0, are largely considered frauds because they lack a superstar at the most important position in the sport.

Salary Rankings for Early Pro Bowl Voting - Over the Cap
The NFL has released the early results for the Pro Bowl. While the Pro Bowl is often just a popularity contest and sometimes over-represented by successful teams with very passionate fanbases, I thought it would be a fun exercise to see where the current vote leaders rank in terms of salary. For this I’ll just look at offense and defense and Im also eliminating the Fullback position simply because I don’t rank players in that role right now.

Updated QB Power Rankings After NFL Week 11 | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Tale of the Tape from NFL Week 11 | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

The Second Level: What You Need to Know Heading into NFL Week 11 | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Kaepernick’s Impossible Situation | The Tailgater
No team in the NFL can win games the way the 49ers are trying to win them. The 49ers are trying to beat quality opponents without a passing offense. Not with a bad passing offense, not with an inconsistent passing offense, but no passing offense whatsoever. That was possible in 1933. It was barely possible in 1973. It is completely impossible to beat quality opponents with no passing offense in 2013. The 49ers have spent two consecutive weeks proving this.

Projecting Seattle Seahawks' path to the playoffs - ESPN
One of the many sayings Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson lives by is “Have a 1-0 mentality.”

Pete Carroll praises Red Bryant and Tony McDaniel - ESPN
“Red played his best game he’s played for us,” Carroll said. “I don’t know if you guys noticed that, but he was really in the backfield. It was really clear how forceful he was on a number of plays.”

Which Seahawk team would win: ’05 or ’13? | Sportspress Northwest
The 2005 Seahawks are the franchise’s most successful team, having reached Super Bowl XL. But are the 2013 Seahawks better? If they played, who’d win? Vote here.

Former Seahawks OT Walter Jones named HOF semifinalist | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Former Seahawks offensive tackle Walter Jones inched one step closer to sports immortality Wednesday night, when he was named a semifinalist for the 2014 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Carroll the best Hawks have had? | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Brock Huard of 710 ESPN Seattle sent out this tweet: “It’s easier to say after the fact and after a Super Bowl, but four years in, Carroll is the best coach in franchise history.”

How John Abraham Found the Fountain of Youth in Arizona | Bleacher Report
After 13 long seasons in the NFL , few believed that pass-rushing extraordinaire John Abraham would return to the field for a 14th season after the Atlanta Falcons released him back in March...