Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Sunday

Happy Sunday, ya'll.

Farewell to Red Bryant, a true Seahawks original | Jerry Brewer | The Seattle Times
Red Bryant will remain an original. And though the salary-cap savings is vital, it’s hard to lose an original.

Russell Wilson on Seahawks O: 'I have a lot of responsibility' - CBSSports.com
"I have a lot of responsibility already. I have a ton of checks at the line of scrimmage from run to pass and pass to run," Wilson said. "I think for our team we try to play a very, very physical game. Some teams play to their talents, which is five wide receivers and throw the ball the whole game and spread everyone out. We have great receivers plus a great running back. We arguably have the best running back in the National Football League and he's so physical. Our backup running back could easily be a starter on any team as well. To have guys like that with a physical running game and a great play action game and deep ball game ... and then when we want to go empty and spread everyone out we can do that as well. "I think that versatility really puts pressure on the defense and takes a lot of time off the clock too and does a lot of different things for us. On top of that we have a great defense too and that is a huge advantage for the Seattle Seahawks."

Bob McGinn - Packers draft outlook
Johnny Manziel*, QB, Texas A&M: 5-11½, 207. Third-year sophomore and two-year starter. Won Heisman Trophy in 2012. "Hit or miss? What the hell are they talking about?" one scout said. "He's a better passer than the guy (Russell Wilson) who won the Super Bowl, and he's got a better arm. Here comes the pressure, a guy breaks open and he finds the receiver. Does he have a gun? No. But he doesn't have a bad arm at all."

Larry Fitzgerald: Cards a good match for NFC West foes - NFL.com
Larry Fitzgerald is confident his team can complete in the NFL's toughest division. The wide receiver said the Arizona Cardinals match up well with the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers.

San Francisco 49ers' Marcus Lattimore finds positives in recovery - ESPN
When Marcus Lattimore suffered the second devastating knee injury of his college career, he knew it would be life altering.

Larry Fitzgerald wasn't concerned about Arizona losing Super Bowl
Cardinals star receiver Larry Fitzgerald says he wasn't concerned about the NFL taking the Super Bowl out of Arizona, because he didn't think Gov. Jan Brewer would sign into law the controversial bill that had the league considering its options.

Report: Redskins tagging Brian Orakpo a ‘close call’ - NFL.com
The Washington Redskins are agonizing on whether or not to retain Brian Orakpo. One source told The Washington Post it was "a really close call" on if the team would franchise tag the veteran linebacker.

Bucky's Big Board 2.0: Sammy Watkins, Khalil Mack rise up - NFL.com
On the heels of a strong performance at the NFL Scouting Combine, Pitt DT Aaron Donald made the biggest jump up Bucky Brooks' updated Big Board. See which prospects fill out the rest of the list.

Talking salary cap with OverTheCap.com | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
The Seahawks’ release Friday of Sidney Rice and Red Bryant was done to try to clear up salary cap space for prospective moves in the future.

Kasey Kahne plays tour guide to Seahawks QB Russell Wilson
Kasey Kahne escorted his friend Russell Wilson — the quarterback of Kahne's beloved Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks — on a tour of the Sprint Cup Series garage Saturday at Phoenix International Raceway.

Wilson's visit brings buzz to Cactus League - seattlepi.com
John Hicks still knows the scouting report. The former Virginia catcher remembers that when Russell Wilson was at the plate he would try and hit the ball back up the middle. And when Wilson was on the mound at North Carolina State, he liked to throw his slider.

Who could the Seahawks go after in free agency? | Seahawks Draft Blog
Could it happen again?

Seahawks Fever - YouTube
elebrating "The Fever" are Jenny Davies ( Nancy Guppy ) and Andy Weller ( John Keister ), who take a positive look as the Seahawks continue their run to the Superbowl! And don't forget Herb Lyons ( Pat Cashman ), who highlights his reports from earlier in the season!

What Riley Cooper's deal means for Golden Tate - 710sports.com
The new deal that wide receiver Riley Cooper signed earlier this week with the Eagles helps set expectations for what Seattle's Golden Tate might command as an unrestricted free agent.

Catching up with Arizona Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald - ESPN
I caught up with Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald very early Saturday morning – at least early here in Arizona. Fitzgerald was in Columbus, Ohio, for the esteemed Arnold Sports Festival. We talked about the Cardinals while he was there to talk about sports nutrition and EAS.

On next Kaepernick deal and advanced data - NFC West Blog - ESPN
Entering the final year of his rookie contract, an extension for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick could be on the horizon.

Why the Arizona Cardinals Should Pursue D'Qwell Jackson
It’s evident general manager Steve Keim and the Arizona Cardinals aren’t going to sit and wait around for inside linebacker Karlos Dansby to make a decision about his future. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Cardinals are trying to get in contact with the agent of inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson.

Free agency primer: Top 10 linebackers - NFL.com
Looking for a pass rushing 3-4 linebacker this offseason? There aren't many options in free agency. That's why we'll be watching the Washington Redskins' decision regarding Brian Orakpo closely.

Patriots say they wanted to keep WR Wes Welker for 2013 - CBSSports.com
Patriots president Jonathan Kraft says the team wanted to keep Wes Welker in a New England uniform.'

2014 NFL combine: Real winners, losers, surprises of 40-yard dash - CBSSports.com
These Combine close-ups are meant to identify some players whose athleticism (or lack thereof) demonstrated in a specific drill really will have an impact on where they are selected May 8-10 in the 2014 NFL Draft.

Quarterback Ball Velocity at NFL Combine 2008-2014 | Ourlads' NFL Football & Scouting Blog
Ourlads’ Guide to the NFL Draft is the only source that gives the number for the quarterback’s velocity at the NFL Combine. Velocity is measured by a radar gun in miles per hour.

Jets kicker Nick Folk receives franchise tag, salary increases from $780K to $3.38 million | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
New York Jets kicker Nick Folk might be the first NFL player who does not outwardly view the franchise tag as a slap in his face.

Jonathan Kraft: Wes Welker’s agent had unrealistic expectations | ProFootballTalk
“We had actually offered Wes a deal the summer before that on a three-year basis would’ve left him in a financially better place than what he’s gonna end up having been in over those three years. But we were willing to do that at a certain time when his production was at a certain level, his age was at a certain level, and he was performing as a player. When we went another year into the process, we still in our head had a value that we were able to place on the player. The player and his agent thought that their value in the open market was going to be greater,” Kraft said.

Pittsburgh’s Aaron Donald Was Your Combine MVP — FootballPerspective.com
Building on yesterday’s post, I decided to crown a combine MVP because it’s February and there’s nothing else to do. I looked at each player’s combine results, courtesy of the great NFLSavant.com, in four different tests.

Breaking Down Florida State WR Kelvin Benjamin
Throughout the course of the draft process, former NFL defensive back Matt Bowen will break down some of the top prospects. Here he looks at Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin.

Podcast: $133 mil salary cap, franchise players, trades, Cowboys, Seahawks, and Eagles - Over the Cap
In this weeks OTC podcast I share my thoughts on the new salary cap, jump into the franchise tags given to Nick Folk, Greg Hardy, and Jimmy Graham, look at the ways to facilitate trades, do a quick overview of the Cowboys salary cap, give my thoughts on the Eagles spending spree plus more of your questions about the NFL.

Seahawks' Jermaine Kearse among potential 'step-up' players for 2014 - NFL - ESPN
While the NFL combine serves as an extended look for coaches and scouts at the draft prospects who represent the NFL's future, a prevailing theme arose from news conferences held by head coaches and general managers in Indianapolis.

Grantland NFL Podcast: NFL Combine and Offseason Moves «
Mays and Barnwell share their combine experiences before getting to the first cuts and signings of the offseason.

Bridging the Analytics Gap «
Even though we're just about a decade into the statistical awakening in sports, there are still nonbelievers who need help seeing the light

Top 5 2014 NFL Draft prospects by position: Quarterbacks - NFL.com
The 2014 quarterback class doesn't have a sure bet at the position, but features a pair of intriguing franchise quarterback possibilities in Teddy Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel. While Bridgewater is the classic pocket passer capable of fitting into any system, Manziel is a budding star capable of changing the game with his spectacular improvisational skills. Blake Bortles is the wild card of the group with a set of physical tools that could make him an elite player in time.

2014 NFL Draft: eDraft's Official Post-Combine Running Back Position Rankings
When running backs enter the NFL, they are immediately on borrowed time. The running back position is always in contact whether it's with the football or pass blocking for their quarterback. This running back class is extremely intriguing. There are freak athletes, and then there are guys who can make plays out of the backifeld. While more teams have started using the "running back committee" idea, the position still has important in the NFL.