Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday

You know what day it is.

NFL - Casey Hayward and top role-specific CBs - ESPN
Casey Hayward, the Packers talented cornerback, started just seven games during his inaugural NFL season in 2012, but just five Packers defenders played more snaps than Hayward's 683 (according to Football Outsiders), roughly 63 percent of all defensive plays during the regular season.

Football Outsiders Almanac 2013 projections: A look at 49ers, Seahawks and the NFC West - Niners Nation
Football Outsiders released their 2013 projections, and they are likely to raise the ire of some 49ers fans.

49ers position-by-position breakdown: Quarterbacks | CSN Bay Area
49ers position-by-position breakdown: Quarterbacks

NFL - Randall Cobb leads NFC's most versatile players - ESPN
In today's creative NFL, coaches are always looking for players with versatility in terms of skill sets. That gives teams flexibility in their schemes, and it is also an advantage with roster limitations if a player can fill more than one role. Let's look at 10 players in the NFC who fit this category -- not all of these guys are household names.

Second-year slumpbusters: Russell Wilson | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
The 2012 NFL season may have given us more impressive performances by first-year starting quarterbacks than any previous season in the league's long history. Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Russell Wilson, and Colin Kaepernick all took their teams at either the start of the season, or at crucial times down the stretch, and redefined their offenses to a historic degree. Luck took the Indianapolis Colts, 2011's worst team, to the playoffs, and he was anything but a "game manager." He attempted more deep passes and took more pressure than any other quarterback. Griffin cost the Washington Redskins first-round draft picks in the next two years, but he proved to be worth that price when he took his team's formerly moribund offense into the vanguard of the NFL's new option attacks.

Interview with Williams, Foster and Whitner « Seahawks Draft Blog
I had the chance to speak with Kevin Williams (Vikings), Ramon Foster (Steelers) and Donte Whitner (49ers) earlier today. Most of the piece was about the London games this year, but I had a chance to ask a few topical questions too. I’ve cut them up in the audio above.

Brock and Danny - Podcasts - MyNorthwest.com
ESPN.com’s Mike Sando joins “Brock and Danny” and analyzes the Seahawks’ unconventional approach to roster construction under the guidance of general manager John Schneider and head coach Pete Carroll. Sando also gives his take on offensive tackle Russell Okung’s choice to run with the bulls in Spain during the offseason.

Countdown to Training Camp: 15 questions in 15 days — Will the schedule get in the way of the Seahawks’ great expectations? | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
What is always one of the trickier unknowns when assessing the hopes of an NFL team in the pre-season is the schedule (which for the Seahawks you can find here and which is also printed at the bottom of this entry).

Forced to choose between top young QBs - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Colin Kaepernick and the San Francisco 49ers deserve applause for executing an in-season quarterback change expertly in 2012.

Michael Bamiro, 6-foot-8 tackle, agrees to Eagles deal - NFL.com
Chip Kelly apparently is searching high and low to improve the Philadelphia Eagles' offensive line. His latest find landed him Michael Bamiro, a 6-foot-8, 335-pound behemoth.

More Than Just Football: Richard Sherman And Blanket Coverage - 12th Man Rising - A Seattle Seahawks Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more.
This time of year is especially annoying for most of us that cover the NFL. Not only is there no football to cover, but it seems that the only news that the league seems to generate is players getting arrested. It leads to an incorrect perception that the NFL has serious character problems that are systemic throughout the league. Well, I’m tired of it.

NFL's top 10 receiving corps; Atlanta Falcons rank No. 1 - NFL.com
Do Julio Jones and the Atlanta Falcons boast the NFL's top receiving corps? Chris Wesseling breaks out the top 10 list.

Warren Sapp to Jairus Byrd: 'Go earn' Bills contract - NFL.com
After Jairus Byrd failed to get a long-term contract with the Buffalo Bills on Monday, future Hall of Famer Warren Sapp says Byrd should look in the mirror and ask why the team didn't pay up.

Seattle Seahawks Blog - Hawk Blogger: Don't Fear The Reaper
Seahawks fans are watching their team climb to the highest point of the big top. All eyes on are them as they prepare to walk the tightrope toward a Super Bowl win. The distance is great. The dangers are real. And they have never successfully completed the journey. It is natural that some are bracing for the worst. The team could slip. It could fall. Life is full of moments worthy of caution. The 2013 Seahawks season is not one of them. Face the worst, and you will see it is not worthy of your fear.

49ers Camp Preview: Linebackers
The defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers will open training camp at the end of the month. But before the pads come on and the competition for 53 coveted roster spots begin, 49ers.com will preview the storylines to track for each position group on the team. San Francisco’s elite linebackers come into focus next in our “49ers Camp Preview” series.

A deeper look at NFL Week 1 totals | National Football Post
Since 2003, betting unders in Week 1 has been profitable, but betting specific unders has yielded an even more impressive result.

2013 NFL training camp preview: Tennessee Titans - NFL - CBSSports.com News, Rumors, Scores, Stats, Fantasy
Several new faces join the Titans for camp this year, but it's still on Jake Locker, Chris Johnson and coach Mike Munchak to bring Tennessee back above .500.

Tom Brady to Tim Tebow in 2011: Florida teammates 'a lot to handle' - CBSSports.com
In 2011, Tom Brady told Tim Tebow that his Florida teammates (including Aaron Hernandez) were "a lot to handle."

Larry Fitzgerald confessed to being a Vikings fan | ProFootballTalk
First we had Colin Kaepernick wearing a Dolphins hat. Then we had Cam Newton admitting he still likes the Falcons, when he's not playing against them. Now the Cardinals' website has reminded us that receiver Larry Fitzgerald still thinks of himself as a Vikings fan.

This just in: NFL franchises are worth lots of money | Insiders
A couple of financial stories regarding the NFL serve as a reminder that owning a franchise is a lucrative investment. As if we didn’t know that already.

Burwell: Nixon’s the one for Rams talks : Sports
Governor's got the savvy and clout to find the answers in stadium situation..

Will Gus Bradley help fix the Jaguars defense?
Last week, I examined the Chargers hiring of former Broncos offensive coordinator Mike McCoy. What I found was that, on average, teams that go outside the organization to hire offensive coordinators saw no uptick in offensive production in the new coach’s first season. And in general, the list consisted of a lot of uninspiring names. The history of hiring defensive coordinators is a little more successful, at least according to the eyeball test. Chuck Pagano, Rex Ryan, Mike Smith, and Mike Tomlin are some of the more recent hires, and of course Bill Belichick’s work as defensive coordinator under Bill Parcells was the launch pad for two head coaching jobs.

Mirror Images: Reggie Wayne – Champ Bailey | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio
Champ Bailey and Reggie Wayne weren’t mirror images 12 years ago, but Fahey explains how age was the defining – and refining – factor. With a combined quarter century of NFL excellence, why not?

51-Day NFL Warning: Get Ready For a Whole Lot of Randall Cobb - The Triangle Blog - Grantland
Earlier this summer (or 15 years ago, if we’re going by how long it feels), I mentioned it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Aaron Rodgers isn’t losing sleep over the departure of Greg Jennings. I would catch 50 passes in the Green Bay offense. If you don’t believe me, I’d like to point out Jermichael Finley’s 61.

NFL Preview 2013: AFC South: Can Indianapolis Colts overcome Houston Texans? | Audibles - SI.com
With training camps about to begin, we take a division-by-division look at where each team stands heading into the 2013 season. The AFC South lost a considerable chunk of its identity when Peyton Manning sat out the 2011 season with a neck injury.