Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday

Humpday.

For the Seattle Seahawks, confidence is the biggest advantage | The MMQB with Peter King
The seismic crowd support helps, but the Seahawks’ Monday night thrashing of New Orleans proved that the players’ self-belief—go ahead, call it cockiness—is their greatest strength

Everything working for Panthers - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN
Following the Carolina Panthers' loss in Week 5, the team dropped to No. 26 in the weekly ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings. Eight wins later, the Panthers are now ranked No. 3, their highest ranking since Week 17 of 2008.

Everything working for Panthers - Stats & Info Blog - ESPN
Following the Carolina Panthers' loss in Week 5, the team dropped to No. 26 in the weekly ESPN.com NFL Power Rankings. Eight wins later, the Panthers are now ranked No. 3, their highest ranking since Week 17 of 2008.

Drew Brees: We’ll see the Seahawks again and play better | ProFootballTalk
The Seahawks' Monday night win over the Saints makes it almost certain that Seattle will have home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. But New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees isn't ready to concede that winning in Seattle in January is going to be impossible for his team.

49ers vs. Seattle: The early Vegas line, the story lines… and vivid memories from the last time the Seahawks won at Candlestick | Talking Points
I haven’t seen all the Vegas sports-book numbers–and many haven’t posted the 49ers-Seattle game yet, waiting, I’d guess, to find out if the Seahawks suffered any significant injuries in last night’s stomping of New Orleans.

Seahawks QB Russell Wilson ties Ben Roethlisberger's wins record - Behind the Steel Curtain
An incredible career start for Wilson could culminate in a Super Bowl championship, breaking a few of Ben Roethlisberger's records along the way.

SEATTLE: Seahawks dismantle Saints at home, 34-7, to clinch playoff spot | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Seattle stifles star QB Drew Brees, distances itself from the rest of the NFC

Seattle Seahawks fans register as earthquake during football game - CNN.com
There's no need to tell football fans in Seattle to take it up a notch. They're doing just fine, thank you.

Lineman rotation squeezes out rookies | CSN Bay Area
Cornerback Tarell Brown is making steady progress from an internal injury near his ribs that he sustained a couple weeks back in New Orleans.

Seattle Seahawks Blog - Hawk Blogger: The Morning After: Seahawks Leave No Doubt, Thrash NFC's Second-Best Team, 34-7
There was a time in human history when the Earth was believed to be the center of the universe. It was a deep-seeded belief with religious implications. Challenges to this geocentric model were met with skepticism at best, and severe punishment at worst.

John Clayton, NFL - ESPN
ESPN NFL Insider John Clayton comments on Saints-Seahawks, how the league could discipline Mike Tomlin, the injuries to Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler and more.

Ball bounces Seahawks way against Saints | HeraldNet.com - Sports
On a night when everything seemed to be going the Seattle Seahawks' way, even their miscues sometimes paid off.

Seahawks open up passing game against Saints | HeraldNet.com - Sports
For most defenses, holding Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch to 45 rushing yards on 16 carries qualifies as a very good night

Seahawks' defense dominates Brees and Saints | HeraldNet.com - Sports
With one of the NFL's premier quarterbacks standing across the line of scrimmage, the Seattle Seahawks were looking for a stellar effort from their defense Monday night

Seahawks make a statement with win over Saints | HeraldNet.com - Sports
On a week when the Seattle Seahawks were supposed to be distracted, when the suspension cloud was supposed to again be hanging over a franchise that has otherwise had so much going well for it, Russell Wilson sent his coach a text.

Wilson and the 6-feet-and-under club | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Just call Russell Wilson the incredible shrinking man. At the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis the Wisconsin product measured in at 5-foot-10 and 5/8 inches. So you think you would round up, right? But most folks are referring to Wilson as 5-10 instead of 5-11.

Muth read: The Seahawks and multiple defensive fronts - SBNation.com
With LEO linebackers and weakside defensive ends, Seattle's versatile front seven keeps opponents guessing. Ben Muth takes a closer look at how they do it.

This GIF Of Pete Carroll As A Wealthy Robber Baron Will Make You Smile
Admit it: Whenever you watch Pete Carroll do his cocksure sideline strut routine, you can't help but picture him wearing a monocle and a top hat while swinging a cane at poor people. The original is from last year, but the photoshopped gif you see above has been making the rounds for a while. Larry Brown Sports re-discovered it last night, and here we are. The world is now a much richer place.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Week 13 DVOA Ratings
So, how about those Seahawks? Last night's dominating 34-7 victory over New Orleans just emphasizes what our DVOA ratings already said before Week 13: the Seahawks are the best team in the NFL in 2013. In fact, the big win actually moves Seattle all the way up to tenth on the list of the best teams in DVOA history, although we'll wait until they're in the top ten for more than just one week before we start running that "best DVOA ever" table every Tuesday. The Seahawks are now pretty much guaranteed to get home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. We have their odds at 97.7 percent. (You can see those odds here, or read more commentary on the playoff odds in Danny Tuccitto's weekly ESPN Insider piece.)

The Pete Carroll Show: Praise for K.J. Wright - 710sports.com
Linebacker K.J. Wright was the first player Pete Carroll mentioned after Seattle's 34-7 rout of New Orleans Monday night, singled out for the role he played in one of team's most complete defensive performances in recent memory. "A bunch of guys played well," Carroll said, "but he jumped out."

Seahawks notebook: Avril, Bennett team up for score - 710sports.com
It was moments like this one that the Seahawks envisioned when they upgraded their pass rush in March with a pair of free-agent defensive linemen.

'Everything went wrong' for Saints' vaunted offense - 710sports.com
In the long-awaited Monday night showdown between NFC title contenders, New Orleans' offense did not hold up its end of the bargain. In fact, the Saints' poor offensive performance in their 34-7 loss to Seattle was something the team hasn't seen in quite some time.

Arizona Cardinals unfamiliar with late-first-round draft picks - ESPN
If the NFL draft order were determined this week, the Arizona Cardinals would have the 23rd overall pick, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Rams-Niners study session: Defense - ESPN
A look back at the St. Louis Rams' 23-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers after reviewing the All-22 film.

Seattle Seahawks' Pete Carroll hopes Percy Harvin is ready to go - ESPN
“I’ve already heard from the trainers [Tuesday] morning,” Carroll said on his 710 ESPN Seattle radio show. “Percy came in jacked up. He had a little procedure done last week that made a difference. “So, I’m going to always err on the optimistic side. But he feels really good and we’re looking forward to a really good week and see what happens.”

Seahawk raves: What national media are saying about beatdown | Take 2 | Seattle Times
The Seahawks’ extraordinary performance in beating the New Orleans Saints on national TV drew a lot of raves in media around the country. Some quick samples:

Carroll: “We didn’t have to do special stuff” | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said during his regular day-after appearance on the team’s flagship radio station, ESPN 710 Seattle, that one of the most pleasing aspects of the win last night was that the team didn’t have to do anything special against a Saints team that came in 9-2, instead just relying on its usual schemes and the strength of its personnel.

Snap counts for the Saints game | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
A lot of Clinton McDonald and Tony McDaniel in the middle and Jeremy Lane in as the nickel back. Also, Breno Giacomini, Max Unger and Russell Okung played 100 percent of the offensive snaps.

Tyrann Mathieu, Keenan Allen head list of top rookies - NFL.com
With three-fourths of the season done, Tyrann Mathieu of the Cardinals and Keenan Allen of the Chargers have been two of the most impressive rookies. Chris Wesseling has the rest of the list.

Cary Williams to Bruce Arians: 'Let's not be crybabies' - NFL.com
Eagles cornerback Cary Williams had some choice words for Bruce Arians after the Cardinals coach sent 15 plays to the league office for review following Arizona's loss Sunday.

NFC Playoff Picture: Seahawks in the power seat - NFL.com
Seattle's Monday night romp over the Saints put the Seahawks in control for the NFC's top seed. Marc Sessler takes a look at the rest of the conference's playoff hopefuls entering Week 14.

NFP power rankings | National Football Post
The Seattle Seahawks make a big statement on Monday night football.

Gabriel: Weekend review | National Football Post
NFP's Director of Scouting gives his thoughts on the weekend's action

2013 NFL Grades, Week 13: Road to the Super Bowl goes through Seattle - CBSSports.com
Full grades for every single team from 2013's NFL Week 13. The Seahawks are pretty good huh?

Mariota returning to Oregon; will UCLA's Hundley follow suit? - CBSSports.com
The Ducks' return to the top of the Pac-12 conference took a big step forward with their star quarterback and center Hronnis Grassu announcing they are returning for 2014.

Coach Killers, Week 13: The Bears' D will be their downfall - CBSSports.com
Coach Killers is your weekly look around the league at those performances, decisions and 'Wait, what did he just do?!' moments that put the guy in charge squarely on the ol' hot seat.

Seattle Seahawks thump New Orleans Saints, take control of NFC | The MMQB with Peter King
Nobody saw Seattle 34, New Orleans 7 coming. That’s because the Saints are good, and because so many Seahawks we didn’t know vaulted into America’s living room Monday night with superb performances, driving home the point safety Earl Thomas used as his mantra in the defensive backs meeting roo...

Risers-Sliders: Week 14
It was a holiday weekend which saw a number of unbeaten teams go down in defeat as well as shake-up at the top of the BCS rankings. Conference title games also hinged on the outcome of a number of contests from this weekend. Included in week 14 were mainstay and sleeper prospects who impressed NFL scouts.

NFL Mock Draft 2014: Adjusting for Marcus Mariota return to Oregon | Audibles - SI.com
Marcus Mariota’s announcement Monday that he would return to Oregon for his redshirt junior season delivered an early jolt to the 2014 NFL draft board … and rendered our Mock Draft 3.0, released just hours before Mariota’s news, relatively moot. So, in light of that, here’s Mock Draft 3.1, with the necessary adjustments made to account for Mariota being off the board.

2014 NFL Draft: Week 14 Stock Report - CBSSports.com
A look at NFL prospects who helped themselves this past weekend and a few who might have hurt themselves.

OTC Power Rankings: Week 13 - Over the Cap
Not many changes in the rankings this week other than the Lions making a big leap forward. With 4 games remaining in the season I often like to try to project final standings using the power rankings numbers. While there is an overall record prediction given via a formula that does not take into account the actual schedule as it’s simply based on years of historical data to come up with a number of wins. So let’s take a look at a few races:

Tale of the Tape from NFL Week 13 | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more