Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Tuesday

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NFL - Washington Redskins top this season's most disappointing teams - ESPN
The NFL is filled with success stories this season. Philip Rivers has been reborn in San Diego. Ron Rivera has rewritten his Carolina legacy. Kansas City and Arizona are a combined 19-8 after going 7-25 last season. Green Bay is in the playoff picture without Aaron Rodgers. Chicago weathered life without Jay Cutler. Philadelphia has gotten the most from Nick Foles. Miami went from punch line to playoff contender. Even the Jacksonville Jaguars, Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders have salvaged something when any one of those undermanned teams could have gone down among the worst in league history.

Seahawks’ Byron Maxwell getting his shot and running with it | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Byron Maxwell has three interceptions in three games, including two on Sunday, since the injury to Brandon Browner and the suspension of Walter Thurmond.

Seattle Seahawks' Russell Wilson continues to set records - ESPN
In the midst of the shutout performance by the Seattle defense, the first of the year for the Seahawks, coach Pete Carroll made a point after the game Sunday to praise his young quarterback.

Pro Football Focus grades Seahawks-Giants | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Here are some stats and notes on the game from Pro Football Focus. Here is its weekly Refocused review of the game, as well.

Auburn's Greg Robinson shows ideal traits for OT position - NFL.com
Once it was officially announced that Auburn and Florida State would square off in the BCS title game, I put both schools at the top of my tape-to-watch list. After studying both teams, I feel strongly that Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will be the best player on the field when these two teams play for the championship. However, in my opinion, the second-best player in this game doesn't play for the Seminoles, and his name isn't Tre Mason. It's Auburn's redshirt sophomore left tackle, Greg Robinson.

Eli Manning Makes A Late Push For The Interception Record Books
When we last checked in on Eli Manning's quest for the single-season interception record, the Giants QB had thrown 17 interceptions through 10 games, but was tapering off and seemed in danger of losing the league lead to Geno Smith. We wrote at the time that they'd need a Tarkenton-level meltdown to reach 30 interceptions, something no quarterback has done in a quarter century.

Hugh’s view: How the Seahawks picked off Eli Manning five times | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Hugh Millen analyzes Eli Manning’s five interceptions — a career high for the Giants quarterback.

Bruce Arians: Carson Palmer’s ankle sprain is “low grade” | ProFootballTalk
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians had a bunch of injuries to update on Monday, including the ankle sprain suffered by quarterback Carson Palmer.

Michael Thomas, Jamaal Charles, Matt Flynn penned storybook Week 15 | The MMQB with Peter King
No, Week 15 didn’t top Week 14, because you don’t top five lead changes in the last three minutes of a game (Baltimore-Minnesota) and a back (LeSean McCoy) running for 100 yards in eight inches of snow in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter at Philadelphia.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn: Hero - NFL.com
Matt Flynn led five consecutive touchdown drives to keep the Green Bay Packers' playoff hopes alive. The quarterback left on the trash heap twice this season might be the hero in the Packers' playoff story.

Dave Krieg's Strike Beard: Seahawks 23, Giants 0
For pretty obvious personal reasons, I've been thinking about transitions and transformations a lot lately. When an individual or a group fundamentally changes their identity, how do they handle it? How do other people react to that fundamental change?

Quinn stakes claim as defensive POY - St. Louis Rams Blog - ESPN
"I saw enough," Payton said. "I saw enough, period. It was enough; penalties, pressures, sacks, it was enough. At some point you just can't keep watching it. Feelings get hurt, it is tough."

Further Review: Seahawks ‘Set’ Obscure Record | Sportspress Northwest
The Seahawks will never get official credit for the feat, but their 19 yards allowed on opponent punt returns is the best in NFL history through 14 games.

United 12th Man - Home - Tough Decisions in 2014
The 2014 Seahawks are going to have some big decisions next year. 12s need to set the right expectations so we aren’t so shocked when it all happens. The NFL estimated salary cap next year is going to be in the $126.3m area. There are 15 Seahawks that will be unrestricted free agents and 3 that will be restricted free agents.

For Seahawks’ elite defense, just another day at the office | Jerry Brewer | The Seattle Times
Because the Seahawks have become a more balanced team, it’s easy to lose some appreciation for a defense that gives them a chance to win, even on its worst days. But the defense is what carries the Seahawks and distinguishes them from the rest of the NFL’s elite.

Status check on the 2014 draft order & a new projection | Seahawks Draft Blog
According to ESPN, if the season ended today, this is what the top-15 would look like:

What we learned from Seahawks' win over Giants - 710sports.com
Three things we learned:

Seahawks' Maxwell, Lane continuing to emerge - 710sports.com
Those were backup cornerbacks playing leading roles in the Seahawks' most complete defensive performance in recent memory.

Upon Further Review: Seahawks Week 15 - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
A review of four hot issues from the Seattle Seahawks' 23-0 victory over the New York Giants:

Carroll press conference notes: Nothing new on Browner, Harvin until Wednesday | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Here are a few quick notes from Pete Carroll’s meeting with the media today, with some video below:

Seahawks snap counts vs. Giants | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Here are the snap counts for the Seahawks against the Giants Sunday. A few quick notes:

Good prognosis on Wright; other injury answers coming at midweek | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Coach Pete Carroll’s Monday media briefing didn’t answer much in way of injuries.

Pete Carroll Week 16 Monday Press Conference
Head Coach Pete Carroll talks to the media about how the Seahawks played against the Giants, the overwhelming support of 12s and an update on player health.

Five takeaways from Seahawks 23, Giants 0 | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
The Seahawks won convincingly in MetLife Stadium Sunday, and in doing so took a step closer to making their path to a return trip to the same building a lot easier.

San Francisco 49ers Becoming a Team No One Wants to Face Heading into Playoffs | Bleacher Report
San Francisco 49ers news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Seahawks vs. Giants: Full Roster Report Card for Seattle | Bleacher Report
Seattle Seahawks news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Injury roundup: Wes Welker misses Broncos practice - NFL.com
Wes Welker leads off our latest injury roundup after the Denver Broncos receiver missed Monday's practice with the concussion that kept him out of Thursday's loss to the San Diego Chargers.

Dolphins' hero Michael Thomas took no practice snaps - NFL.com
Cornerback Michael Thomas was signed by the Miami Dolphins only a few days prior to Sunday's game against the New England Patriots, and the hero of the Dolphins' win didn't even take defensive reps in practice.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Matt Flynn: Hero - NFL.com
Matt Flynn led five consecutive touchdown drives to keep the Green Bay Packers' playoff hopes alive. The quarterback left on the trash heap twice this season might be the hero in the Packers' playoff story.

Five from Sunday: Anybody got a playoff answer for the Seahawks? - CBSSports.com
The Seahawks, after blanking the Giants on the road, are a game away from home field throughout the playoffs, which could mean a return trip to NYC -- for the Super Bowl.

Seahawks ‘enforcer’ Kam Chancellor helps dominate Giants | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Safety Earl Thomas called Sunday’s 23-0 win Chancellor’s best game of the season. Said linebacker Bobby Wagner: “I don’t know what he ate for breakfast, but he was hitting our team, their team, everybody.”

Carroll: Loss to 49ers could be Seahawks “best scenario” | ProFootballTalk
Rarely would a loss to a bitter rival be considered a good thing.

Jim Harbaugh: Bruce Miller’s injury “doesn’t look good” | ProFootballTalk
The 49ers have dealt with a lot of injuries in their wide receiving corps over the course of the season, leading them to look in different directions for help in the passing game.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Audibles at the Line: Week 15
This year, we have a new format for our Monday morning feature Audibles at the Line, combining our Twitter feeds with our e-mail discussion. First, we're replacing our usual back-and-forth with some longer-form dissection of each game that at least one of us watches in depth. Second, every game that we find time for will also have a selection of tweets from us and a few reader tweets we found particularly insightful. To follow these tweets live on Sunday, or to contribute your own thoughts or a question for the FO staff, you can use hashtag #foaud. We discussed the new format in this post.

Looking Back at Prior Year Success and Playoff Seedings - Over the Cap
Looking back at yearly playoff success in the NFL and just how much playoff seedings mean to a team

Stock Down: Week 15 - Over the Cap
Every Monday during the season we will take a look back at three players who are entering important stages of their contract that may have hurt their stock in upcoming negotiations with their play on Sunday. In addition we will also look at one player signed in the offseason to a new contract that did not live up to the expectations that his contract sets for the player.

Stock Up: Week 15 - Over the Cap
Every Monday during the season we will take a look back at three players who are entering important stages of their contract that may have helped their stock in upcoming negotiations with their play on Sunday. In addition we will also look at one player signed in the offseason to a new contract that exceeded all expectations and provided exceptional value to his team.