Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Monday

Read 'em.

Beasts still roam in backfield: Demise of RBs in NFL greatly exaggerated - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: The Seahawks won a Super Bowl with the running game as the starting point, and Marshawn Lynch as the tempo setter. Yes, they had a great defense, but the point is the process, the approach, the belief that running the ball with commitment and power is a viable way to win championships in the NFL.

Marcus Allen: Run game will regain prominence in NFL - NFL.com
Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen understands the devaluation of the running game. However, Allen believes the NFL will return to a ground emphasis again.

Number Crunch: Run game value as healthy as ever
We've heard over and over how running backs are devalued in the draft because it's a passing league. Buffalobills.com uncovered some numbers that effectively refute that contention.

Dee Ford's pass rush plan - SBNation.com
The former Auburn star has a plan to sack quarterbacks and it just might land him in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Why we could see a lot of WR’s going in round one | Seahawks Draft Blog
This Tweet doesn’t lock in the Cowboys taking a receiver. Far from it. But it does hint at an approach teams could take in the #10-25 portion of this draft.

Why Tre Mason's skills may be best suited for NFL over trio of fellow RBs | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: The former Auburn standout may not be the first back drafted, but he could be a better than Ka'Deem Carey, Lache Seastrunk and Bishop Sankey.

The Domino Game «
The no. 1 pick in the NFL draft is anyone’s guess at this point, but once it’s made everything else will fall into place

First-Round Wide Receivers 101 | The Tailgater
This year’s wide receiver draft class has the potential to be the best since 1996, and perhaps even better.

The Evolution of Quarterbacks — FootballPerspective.com
With the NFL draft approaching, you’ll hear a lot of statements about how the quarterback position is changing. Mobile quarterbacks are now “in”, which is a good thing for Johnny Manziel. A 6’4 frame is no longer required, which is a good thing for… well, Manziel, and negates some of the value of a player like Blake Bortles or Tom Savage. And, heck, do you even need to get a quarterback in the first round? If Teddy Bridgewater falls to the second round, how much of an outlier does that make him? What about say, Aaron Murray, who is both short and expected to be a late round pick?

Inside an NFL Draft Room: From the GM's Perspective | Bleacher Report
There is clean air for NFL scouts in the fall as they go about evaluating players for the next draft. But after the college football championship game in January, Phil Savage says a fog starts to roll in...

NFL Teams Make Prospects' Draft Stocks Plummet by Probing for Character Flaws | Bleacher Report
With the alleged criminal activity of players such as Aaron Hernandez looming over the draft, NFL teams are increasingly looking for information they can't get from game tape or stopwatches...

Highlighting the Biggest Surprises of the 2014 NFL Draft Process | Bleacher Report
The 2014 NFL draft has been ripe with juicy stories. Some of these stories have been more substance-based than others, but it certainly hasn't been a boring NFL offseason...

Final rundown of fifth-year options for 2011 first-round picks | ProFootballTalk
May 3 has come and gone.  Which means that the window for exercising the fifth-year options on 2011 first-round picks has closed. Which means that a final list of the options exercised and not exercised can be prepared. Of the 32 players eligible for the option, 21 teams exercised the option.

Before the 2011 draft, 49ers saw Aldon Smith as a high-character guy | ProFootballTalk
All the talk about players with checkered pasts and character red flags heading into the draft ignores something important: Players who turn out to be off-field troublemakers in the NFL aren't always the players who were viewed as character concerns heading into the draft.

Curious lack of extensions for 2011 first-round picks | ProFootballTalk
Of the 32 first-round draft picks from 2011, 21 have had their fifth-year options exercised.  But none have received new contracts. None.  As it not a single one.

NFL Draft Top 50, Nos. 31-40: DL talent strong with Lawrence, Jernigan, others | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: Shutdown Corner is ranking the top 50 players for the 2014 NFL draft in groups of 10 leading up to the draft on May 8-10.

NFL Draft Top 50, Nos. 21-30: Who is the better wide receiver, Benjamin or Cooks? | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
From Yahoo Sports: Shutdown Corner is ranking the top 50 players for the 2014 NFL draft in groups of 10 leading up to the draft on May 8-10.

Draft top 5: Centers/Guards | National Football Post
Could these prospects fill a hole in your line?

Pete Carroll's Seattle Seahawks embrace championship spotlight - NFL.com
Fresh off an awe-inspiring Super Bowl triumph, the Seattle Seahawks want more. Pete Carroll and Richard Sherman explain to Albert Breer why this hungry group is only just getting started.

Packers, Mike McCarthy reportedly talking extension - NFL.com
The Green Bay Packers reportedly began working on a contract extension for coach Mike McCarthy. How could the uncertainty of general manager Ted Thompson's future play into the coach's extension?

Draft 2014: How the Seahawks might view QB, RB and WR | HeraldNet.com - Sports
Each day this week, The Herald takes a look at some of the top players in the 2014 NFL draft at each position, and how the Seattle Seahawks might view that position heading into the draft.

Seahawks looking for players in draft for 2015 and beyond | HeraldNet.com - Sports
John Schneider was probably exaggerating for effect, at least a little, but the way the Seattle general manager describes a typical postgame phone conversation with his father is the perfect anecdote to kick off draft week for the Seahawks.

Seahawks reporter Todd Dybas' 2014 NFL mock draft | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Seahawks beat reporter Todd Dybas predicts what players will be drafted in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft:

2014 NFL Draft is a sea of question marks | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Underdeveloped underclassmen and flawed stars atop this year’s storylines for the NFL’s biggest offseason event

Will daunting NFC West be bolstered in NFL Draft? | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
After finishing 7-9 last season, the St. Louis Rams are the bottom-feeders of the NFC West.

LA Times beat writer mock draft: And my pick is. … | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
The LA Times published its annual beat writer mock draft today, with yours truly doing the honors of picking for the Seahawks at No. 32. You can read it here. As you can see, I chose UCLA OL Xavier Su'a-Filo, saying in the paragraph alloted: 'The Seahawks lost two of their...

President Barack Obama jokingly mocks Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman - NFL Videos
President Barack Obama shows off his comical side during the White House Correspondents Dinner and jokes around with Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman about his famous rant.

2014 NFL mock draft: Going with the right feeling on Jadeveon Clowney and more - SBNation.com
Forget the rumors or the speculation. This week's mock draft is all about what feels right. In the cold draft process, let this week's mock draft be your warm blanket.

What it's like for players who *aren't* picked at the NFL Draft - SBNation.com
Phil Lutzenkirchen set an Auburn touchdowns record, but had to wait for the St. Louis Rams to sign him as an undrafted free agent in order to make one football dream come true.

SB Nation NFL mock draft final grades are in - SBNation.com
The draft is complete and the grades are in. See who got the best grades and who got the worst.

Bob McGinn - Packers must start looking into their future with Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy
It's considered almost a foregone conclusion among his colleagues and friends that Schneider regards the Packers as his dream job.