Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Wednesday

Hump day!

Seattle Seahawks play clean defense en route to Super Bowl victory | The MMQB with Peter King
The poster children for the NFL's mission to eradicate head hits from the game? Look no further than the Seahawks, who were the opposite of dirty birds en route to winning the Super Bowl. Plus, readers react to Michael Sam coming out By Peter King · More from Peter·

Browns fire Michael Lombardi, promote Ray Farmer to GM - SBNation.com
Michael Lombardi and Joe Banner will leave the Browns after only one full season with the team.

NFL Locker Rooms 2014: Playoff Edition | School Lockers Blog
Here is a cool rundown and fun facts about the teams and their locker rooms that were involved in the 2014 NFL Playoffs.

Scout's Notebook: Evaluating TE's
Ever wonder what the experts look for when they evaluate college players for the NFL? Sit back and learn from our panel of experts as they tell you exactly what to look for when you're watching college tight ends and how their skills translate to the next level ...

Ravens Officially Hire WRs Coach Bobby Engram
The Ravens’ 2014 coaching staff is now filled.

Ravens Officially Hire WRs Coach Bobby Engram
The Ravens’ 2014 coaching staff is now filled.

NFL - What should the 49ers do with Colin Kaepernick? - ESPN
Colin Kaepernick has a 21-8 record with four playoff victories and one Super Bowl appearance since becoming the San Francisco 49ers' starting quarterback during the 2012 season. Not everyone loves everything about his game, but it's tough finding quarterbacks with higher early trajectories.

Iowa's C.J. Fiedorowicz gets top grade of tight ends at Senior Bowl | AL.com
"C.J. won the Alabama Power Most Outstanding Receiver for the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday practices," Savage wrote. "He has excellent size with a proportioned body and is physical enough to continue developing as a blocker. He demonstrated more suddenness in and out of his cuts that will allow him to get separation when facing man coverage. His hands are dependable, and he provides a large catching radius for the QB. Expect to see C.J. get on the field as a rookie in two- and three-TE personnel groupings. He has the physical development and mental maturity to contribute in his first year."

In the End, It's Crabtree's Image That Suffered - Brand New Game
Now that some time has passed and we’ve seen the other side of Richard Sherman, it’s safe to say that his open mic performance of “Michael Crabtree, Mediocre Receiver” isn’t going to cost him much, if anything, long-term.

Strength of schedule: Seattle Seahawks - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
If the Seattle Seahawks make it back to the Super Bowl next season, no one can say they had an easy path to get there.

Bell: Seahawks, Pats among teams that would serve Michael Sam well
It's the world we live in. And it's changing. That idea has hit us with a speed rush, in football parlance, with Michael Sam coming out Sunday to reveal he's gay.

Even on a team of MVPs, Earl Thomas still stands out
So many players made so many plays and did so much for the Seahawks during their wildly successful 2013 season, but the efforts of Earl Thomas on and off the field helped set the tempo and earned him MVP honors.

Where Seahawks stand in relation to salary cap - 710sports.com
The report was compiled Feb. 7, before the Seahawks signed three players to futures contracts. It lists Seattle as having $129,763,780 counting against the 2014 salary cap, which is projected to again be around $126 million.

Michael Bennett on NFL Network: “I definitely want to come back' | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett and linebacker Malcolm Smith appeared in-studio this morning on NFL Network’s NFL AM, part of a continuing string of appearances by Seattle players in the wake of the Super Bowl.

Malcolm Smith: '“We had an idea what they were doing' | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seattle linebacker and Super Bowl MVP Malcolm Smith was a guest on the NFL Network’s Total Access today and talked about a number of topics concerning the season, the win over the Broncos, and more.

How hard is it to find a quarterback outside of the first round? - Big Cat Country
Each year legions of fans yell "wait!" on drafting a quarterback in the first round, but how hard is it to find one? It's apparently very difficult to do so.

Analyzing Potential 49ers Salary Cap Casualties in the 2014 Offseason
San Francisco 49ers news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Early first round board for the Seahawks | Seahawks Draft Blog
This is a Seahawks-centric draft board. Teams don’t often have a long list of players they’d be prepared to take in round one.

The Super Bowl: Part I - The Official Web Site of Earl Thomas | NFL Safety . Seattle Seahawks
I’ve been trying for days to put into words how it felt becoming Super Bowl Champions. To be honest, all I can say is it felt right. It felt normal.

Alex Mack, Greg Little saved by Browns' shake-up? - NFL.com
The Cleveland Browns' front office shake-up Tuesday could save two players from exiting, Ian Rapoport reported. What are the futures of center Alex Mack and wide receiver Greg Little?

Karlos Dansby: I expect to stay with Arizona Cardinals - NFL.com
Karlos Dansby sounded like he wanted to stay with the Cardinals in a recent radio appearance. But don't expect Arizona to overpay for a defender in his early 30s.

Browns' odd firings leave one man (Stooge) left to blame: Haslam - CBSSports.com
If the Browns were weird under Jimmy Haslam before, it was nothing compared to the bizarre firings of his GM and CEO. But one thing is for sure. The buck (and ire) stop with Haslam.

Report: Ndamukong Suh joins Jay-Z's Roc Nation agency - CBSSports.com
Ndamukong Suh is reportedly switching to Jay-Z's Roc Nation.

Agent's Take: Cutler, Suh, Romo top list of high-end NFL cap issues - CBSSports.com
The NFL year starts March 11, and that's when clubs have to make calls on players with hugh deals like Jay Cutler, Tony Romo and Darrelle Revis.

Mock Draft No. 1: Bortles over Manziel for Texans with top pick - CBSSports.com
Pre-combine, pro day and free agency mock drafts are dicey, but Blake Bortles makes sense at No. 1 over Johnny Manziel because Bill O'Brien is a pocket passer guy.

NFL prospect focus: Xavier Su’a-Filo and Austin Seferian-Jenkins | National Football Post
Two promising Pac-12 players to watch come Draft Day.

Time to get paid | National Football Post
Defensive ends found a bear market during the 2013 free agent period. Expect a reversal of fortunes this winter.

Free Agency Primer: AFC East | Audibles - SI.com
In 2013, the New England Patriots wrapped up the AFC East once again, and they did it rather handily. However, that had less to do with the Pats' overall excellence than the fact that the rest of the division simply couldn't catch up.

Daily Show delves into NFL “distractions” | ProFootballTalk
“No pro team wants the type of controversy having a gay player is going to cause,” Stewart said on Monday night’s episode, via Deadspin. “If he had just been convicted of DUI vehicular manslaughter or obstruction of justice in connection with a murder or accused of sexual assault or screamed the N-word at a concert or killed a bunch of dogs and buried them in his f–king yard, you know, NFL material.”

Seven Important Assistant Coach Hires | The Tailgater
Head coaching hires get all the publicity, and they should, because they are incredibly important. But coordinator and assistant coach hires often slip under the radar. They should not: A new coordinator can change a team’s style and character as well as its fortunes, while a positional coach can quickly turn a weakness into a strength, or vice versa.

Michael Bennett's Brother Getting Into The Rap Game? | 'Hawk Talk With Cole
Michael Bennett was Seattle's best defensive end this season, but he is also hitting free agency. His brother, Martellus Bennett, recently mentioned that Michael should come and play for the Chicago Bears. However, recruiting isn't the only thing Martellus had been up to lately. He recently released a mixtape on SoundCloud. Michael tweeted this in support:

Michael Bennett: Seattle Seahawks can be dynasty - NFL.com
Michael Bennett is set to become a free agent, but the Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman didn't sound like a guy itching to leave town when he spoke with Dan Hanzus at NFL Network studios.

Man who gave Native drum to Seahawks’ Lynch honored with another | Q13 FOX News
When running back Marshawn Lynch asked Seahawks fan John Scott in the crowd for his Native American hand drum at the team’s Super Bowl victory parade last Wednesday, Scott hesitated at first, but then he gave it up.