Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Thursday

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It's showtime in Indy | National Football Post
A peek behind the curtain of how potential draftees prepare for the Combine.

Nurtured to be a star, LSU's Beckham set to make childhood boast reality - CBSSports.com
At age 4, Odell Beckham Jr. proclaimed he would play in the NFL. With guidance from ultra-athletic parents, he's about to get there.

Jaguars GM leaving all doors open -- in the office and on the draft board - CBSSports.com
Dave Caldwell is not the repressive type. The Jaguars GM lets us sit in on some draft preparation, and wants input from all sides of the organization.

NFL Scouting Combine as much about business as it is about prospects | The MMQB with Peter King
The NFL recently held its annual corporate convention at the Super Bowl, a week full of hospitality, over-the-top parties and celebration around the league’s main event (there was a game as well).

How an NFL Front Office Prepares for the Scouting Combine
Starting today, all 32 NFL clubs will be sending a large contingent of personnel to Indianapolis for the annual NFL Scouting Combine. The combine isn't just about who runs the fastest and who jumps the highest. There is a lot more to it than that and clubs spend a lot of time preparing for the event.

Utilizing a Comprehensive "Check with Me" System
How many times have you reviewed film the day after the game and said that a play you called was dead before it started because of the defensive look you got? The freeze and check with me methods are a way to eliminate dead play calls. We use the freeze and check with me methods to take a quick picture of how the defense is lining up and making the best play call we have versus that look. Some of our biggest plays have come from these methods.

Peshek: TE Metrics - Out Of The Box - Rotoworld.com
This tight end class boasts a number of extremely productive players which makes analysis of their receiving targets very interesting. However, each player examined here was successful in a unique way which is what actually makes them worth analyzing. In this piece, I broke them down only by their receiving targets but added in a few metrics that would separate this from past wide receiver columns.

NFL Prospect Focus: Kyle Van Noy and Bishop Sankey | National Football Post
Two potential steals on opposite sides of the ball.

San Francisco 49ers – Niner Insider Blog » Roman’s formula for beating Seahawks screams for more speed
Roman spelled them out earlier this month in an interview with 97.3 ESPN in Atlantic City: “Here’s the formula for beating them: You can’t turn the ball over and you’ve got to create some big plays in the run or pass game.”

Seahawks still have high hopes for 2013 draft class | Seahawks | The Seattle Times
Seahawks drafted players in 2013 with an eye to the future and could be in a similar situation at this spring’s draft.

Even at Super Bowl, draft preparation continued
Even with the Seahawks sequestered in New Jersey for the Super Bowl, it didn’t stop John Schneider, Scott Fitterer and the scouting department from doing their prep work for the NFL Scouting Combine.

Hawk Talk: Tate, Baldwin in different positions - 710sports.com
Neither Golden Tate nor Doug Baldwin are under contract for next season, but the Seahawks receivers are in completely different positions as free agency approaches. Tate is unrestricted while Baldwin is restricted, a distinction that Danny O'Neil noted and explained during the latest edition of "Hawk Talk". The entire transcript can be found here. Highlights are below.

Rams Have More Cause Than Ever to Consider Moving on from Sam Bradford
St. Louis Rams news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

On the bubble: 25 AFC players who could be cut - NFL.com
Are veterans Champ Bailey and Troy Polamalu on the roster bubble? Around The League’s Chris Wesseling offers his comprehensive list of AFC cap-casualty candidates.

Eric Winston: Miami Dolphins' locker room an 'outlier' - NFL.com
Arizona Cardinals offensive tackle Eric Winston says most NFL locker rooms are good places to work and fans shouldn't think that what happened with the Miami Dolphins is typical.

Competition committee discusses making PATs longer - NFL.com
The extra point doesn't seem to be in danger for the 2014 season, but the NFL Competition Committee did discuss two potential alternatives for helping to fix one of the game's most mundane acts.

NFL combine: Chris Johnson's 4.24 40 moves him into 1st round in 2008 - CBSSports.com
All it took was 4.24 seconds to make East Carolina's Chris Johnson a first-round pick in 2008.

2014 NFL Combine: From 40 times to Fritos, 10 Bold Predictions - CBSSports.com
Who is going to fun the fastest? What impact will skipping the Combine workouts have on Johnny Manziel? Who is going to challenge the famed Wonderlic test? Can Michael Sam re-focus attention back onto his athleticism? Who needs to impress most at the Combine?

2014 NFL Combine: 10 prospects with the most to gain/lose - CBSSports.com
The annual NFL Scouting Combine provides a stage for prospects to perform for all 32 teams, but these 10 players stand out as prospects who could make or lose money in Indianapolis

Tight end Jermichael Finley works to return from spinal surgery | The MMQB with Peter King
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — There’s a question on Jermichael Finley’s mind. No, not the one you’re thinking. On an 81-degree afternoon in the desert, Finley is asking himself, “How can I make catching as hard as possible?” This sounds a bit absurd.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Futures: A Trio of Sleepers
According to most fantasy football writers, the term "Sleeper" is dead, buried, and the wake held in its honor featured a stuffed mushroom dish with creamed spinach and Italian breadcrumbs soaked in butter. Considering that many football writers at the wake sported IV drips topped with Crisco, finger food is always underrated.

Bucs sign CFL linebacker Damaso Munoz | ProFootballTalk
Another CFL player is heading south in pursuit of a career in the NFL.

Steve Spurrier compares Connor Shaw to Russell Wilson | ProFootballTalk
“He became a starter three years ago, he’s been the quarterback on all three of these 11-win seasons,” Spurrier said. “Connor’s just a winner. He’s a lot like Russell Wilson. He takes care of the ball, doesn’t do stupid stuff, doesn’t take careless sacks, he can throw it away, and he’s really a good passer. Any time you see a guy who can run as well as Connor you don’t think he’s that good of a passer. I think he’s going to wow them at the Combine coming up this week and I hope he’s a mid-round pick, maybe even better. The kid is a winner, he can run with it and he can throw.”

Graham grievance would take NFL into uncharted waters | ProFootballTalk
If/when the Saints apply the franchise tag to tight end Jimmy Graham and if/when (when) Graham instantly challenges the notion that he’s a tight end, the pin will be pulled on a grenade with shrapnel that can fly in many different directions.

Predictions in Review: NFC West — FootballPerspective.com
During the 2013 offseason, I wrote 32 articles under the RPO 2013 tag. In my Predictions in Review series, I review those preview articles with the benefit of hindsight. Last week was the AFC West; this week, the NFC West.

B/R NFL 1000: Top 35 Left Tackles
The NFL is a passing league these days, which means the quarterback must be protected. So who is the best at keeping him upright? We take a look at the top left tackles in the league, not based on their total career, but based on 2013.

Derek Carr, Zack Martin will impress in 'intangibles' category - NFL.com
Intangibles -- like effort, leadership, attitude and intelligence -- can make or break a prospect in the NFL draft. We've identified five players who will impress scouts in this category.

Dri Archer has sights set on Chris Johnson's 4.24 40 time - NFL.com
Kent State's Dri Archer battled foot and ankle injuries in 2013, but he says he is healthy now and ready to show off his explosiveness at the NFL Scouting Combine.

2014 Combine: Clowney leads Top 64 prospects - CBSSports.com
Entering the 2014 NFL Scouting Combine, South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney is the top prospect in NFLDraftScout.com's Top 64, but the class is deep and rates as the best this century.

2014 NFL Combine: Bridgewater may throw; Carr waiting until Pro Day - CBSSports.com
Top-rated quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn't yet decided if he's going to participate in athletic drills at the Combine. He'll have less competition if he does so as Fresno State's Carr -- a projected first round pick -- is joining Texas A&M's Johnny Manziel in electing to wait until his Pro Day to work out for scouts.

Justin Gilbert, Dri Archer head race to be combine's fastest man - NFL.com
Daniel Jeremiah runs through the five best candidates to post the top 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine, including speedsters Justin Gilbert and Dri Archer.

Pre-combine mock draft, big changes: 19th February | Seahawks Draft Blog
This week I’ve tried to project what a lot of mocks could look like immediately after the combine.