Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Tuesday

LINKS!

Dan Quinn on Jesse Williams, Greg Scruggs, and more | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
And here’s some of what Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn had to say to the media after today’s OTA:

Seahawks OTAs: Christine Michael, Korey Toomer stand out - Seattle Seahawks & NFL News
Speaking with reporters after the third of the Hawks’ OTA sessions open to the media, Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell backed off of his comments from last week that the Hawks may go with a running back by committee approach 2014 instead of leaning on Marshawn Lynch.

Carroll on dealing with expectations: ‘I take total responsibility for it’ | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Here’s what Pete Carroll had to say today:

Sherman: ‘For continuity and consistency you have to be (at voluntary workouts)’ | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
Here’s some of what Richard Sherman had to say Monday:

2nd-year AFC West player poised to break out, more questions | Audibles - SI.com
Chris Burke and Doug Farrar break down the burning questions from the AFC West, including breakout second-year players, the worst defense in the division and more. Which 2nd-year player in the AFC West is poised to break out in 2014? Chris Burke: Sio Moore, LB, Oakland.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | Factors: Ace Sanders
For a long time, I didn't understand why Jimmy Fallon was popular. He got a late-night show after what I saw as a very pedestrian run on Saturday Night Live. He overlaughed at his own jokes in every sketch. His comedic timing was hit-or-miss. In my mind, he's not classically handsome.

Shutdown Corner's Overrated and Underrated: 2014 offseason pickup | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
Oh, so you didn’t get enough crazy in Washington last season, you want more now? Strictly in football terms, Jackson is exactly what the Redskins need: one of the rare speedballs who can split safeties and tilt the field and change the way defenses play you. He also can take a short screen 30 yards in a blur, or string out an end-around and beat the end man on the line to the corner. Video-game speed, I call it.

Shutdown Corner's Overrated and Underrated: Roster building techniques | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo Sports
The market on quarterbacks is very inefficient, and that won't change soon. Guys like Matthew Stafford, Jay Cutler, Joe Flacco, Eli Manning and Sam Bradford have been average NFL starters at best for most of their careers, but are paid better than the best non-quarterbacks in the league.

Kaepernick deal could make it harder to sign other players | ProFootballTalk
49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick says he did a deal specifically aimed at allowing the team to retain other players.  But if the team wants to use Kaepernick's contract as a template for other negotiations, the terms could make it harder to get more deals done.

Browns waive safety Jamoris Slaughter, sign two players | ProFootballTalk
A sixth-round selection out of Notre Dame last April, Slaughter spent the 2013 regular season on the Browns’ practice squad. He appeared in one preseason game for Cleveland.

Schematic Changes That Could Make or Break NFL Teams in 2014 | Bleacher Report
No other team sport values coaching and strategy more than the NFL does. In this league, a team can make or break its season depending upon which scheme it uses to attack its opponents.  2014 looks to be a year ripe with exciting new innovations on offenses along with revamped classics and hybrid spread systems.

The Greatest QB of All-Time V, Part II: Career Rankings — FootballPerspective.com
Yesterday, I explained the methodology behind the formula involved in ranking every quarterback season since 1960. Today, I’m going to present the career results. Converting season value to career value isn’t as simple as it might seem. Generally, we don’t want a player who was very good for 12 years to rank ahead of a quarterback who was elite for ten. Additionally, we don’t want to give significant penalties to players who struggled as rookies or hung around too long; we’re mostly concerned with the peak value of the player.

The Greatest QB of All-Time V, Part I (Methodology) — FootballPerspective.com
In 2006, I took a stab at ranking every quarterback in NFL history. Two years later, I acquired more data and made enough improvements to merit publishing an updated and more accurate list of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen. In 2009, I tweaked the formula again, and published a set of career rankings, along with a set of strength of schedule, era and weather adjustments, and finally career rankings which include those adjustments and playoff performances.  And two years ago, I revised the formula and produced a new set of career rankings.

Carolina Panthers among teams that could regress in 2014 - NFL - ESPN
It has become almost an annual tradition in the NFL: a team rising from the basement of its division into the playoff picture in a matter of a single year.

Early signing period remains a hot topic | National Football Post
Could change be on the way in the world of recruiting?

Monday Morning MD | National Football Post
How to deal with muscle cramps in the NFL.

Eight NFL QBs look to be on hot seat; how long before a change? - CBSSports.com
With the likes of Johnny Manziel and Michael Vick on the bench right now, you have to wonder how long the likes of Brian Hoyer and Geno Smith keep starting jobs. And they're not alone.

PHOTO: Colin Kaepernick celebrates new contract with pool party - CBSSports.com
An inflatable swan isn't the only way to have fun if you're an NFL quarterback.

Kenny Britt making good impression on St. Louis Rams - NFL.com
The St. Louis Rams are raving about free-agent wide receiver Kenny Britt. Can the troubled former Tennessee Titans wideout emerge as Sam Bradford's No. 1 receiver?

Organic Email Chain: Picking playoff sleeper in 2014 - NFL.com
The Browns, Bucs and Lions all hired new coaches in 2014. The Around The League gang debates which team is most likely to make the playoffs this season in the latest ATL Organic Email Chain.

Seahawks running back by committee? Not so fast | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
"I was referring to a question at that thing, and I was thinking more out here — we’re kind of rolling (through) all those guys, we really like what we’re seeing from them, just kind of moving them around," Bevell said. "That’s not our policy, it’s not something that we talk about or do that way, so it was just something I threw out there really thinking about the OTAs."

Injury updates and thoughts from OTAs | Seahawks Insider - The News Tribune
First, let’s roundup the injury situation:

Notes and quotes from the Seahawks’ Monday OTA session | HeraldNet.com - Seattle Sidelines
The Seahawks kicked off their final week of OTAs Monday, here’s a bit of what we saw and heard...

Christine Michael Flashes Explosion For The Seattle Seahawks - Oregon Sports News
The hype train is gaining steam on Christine Michael after the comments from Pete Carroll and Darrell Bevell. Those who have read this blog for a while know I see Michael as a Pro Bowl player once he gets enough carries if he can stay healthy. Coaches have talked about his explosive ability. What fans may not know is what that can mean in real terms.

Monday OTAs: Five impressions from Jenks, Condotta | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
1, One thing the Seahawks always bring up when talking about rookie wide receiver Kevin Norwood is his ability to make contested catches on jump balls. That attribute was noticeable during Monday’s practice, with Norwood hauling in a number of catches, including a jump ball in the end zone while practicing a Hail Mary situation. Norwood is 6-2 and 200 pounds, and Seattle’s scouts really liked his knack for going up and making contested catches. That could separate him in a competitive and crowded receiving corps.

The NFL's World Cup team | NFL.com
The world's biggest sporting event will kick off on June 12 when the World Cup host country of Brazil plays Croatia to begin the road toward determining a true world champion.

Fantasy instant debate: Comeback player of 2014 - NFL.com
Who's due to bounce back after a lackluster 2013 season? Our group debates who's going to be this season's fantasy Comeback Player of the Year.

SINGER: The tale of two football cities " Opinion " Niagara Gazette
Niagara Gazette — With the Bills’ future still to be decided, a new training season gears up amidst hopes simply for the coming football year. Meanwhile, straight across the country some 3,000 miles west on the 90 lies Seattle, where Buffalo alum Marshawn Lynch and a slew of other celebrated players, along with an entire city find themselves in the pleasant backwash of a well-earned Super Bowl victory.

Running back 'by committee?' Maybe not just yet | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell spoke to the media after today’s OTA, and you can watch some of the video below, including his answer to a question about his statement last week during the team’s Town Hall that Seattle might go with more of a by-committee approach at tailback this year.

Bevell's thoughts on Wilson and others - Seattle Seahawks Blog - ESPN
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell shook things up at the town hall meeting when he said the team would have a running game by committee in 2014, but he also had some other interesting comments. Here are a few of those:

Monday Musings: Exposing 2013 myths, ferreting out some for 2014 - CBSSports.com
Beast mode: You would think Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch ran wild in 2013 the way people jumped on the "Beast Mode" bandwagon. Reality: His numbers were down and his 4.2 per-carry average was far from being among the NFL's best. It was also significantly lower than the 5.0 he averaged in 2012. I know Seattle's line was down some, but you would think he was Jim Brown last season the way some in the media talked. One more thing to note about his game is that he had 39 yards rushing for a 2.2 average in the Super Bowl victory over Denver. Beast Mode, right?

Quick notes from Seahawks OT and Carroll video | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Carroll dropped that RB Robert Turbin had an off-season surgery to clean up his knee and looks a little faster now. Marshawn Lynch was again not present, leaving all the TB reps to Turbin and Christine Michael.

Seahawks chatting with former Bears MVP Dent for tutoring | CSN Chicago
The Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII with a pass rush on Peyton Manning that bordered on startling. Coach Pete Carroll has been in touch the MVP of Super Bowl XX — Hall of Fame and former Bear defensive end Richard Dent — about making that rush even more ferocious.

Coming Off Super Bowl Victory Seattle Seahawks Tickets Up 32% In 2014
Before the 2013 season, the Seattle Seahawks were one of the favorites to win the Super Bowl. Even as one of the frontrunners, the Seahawks had a middle of the pack average ticket price of $253 on the secondary market at the start of the 2013 season. Though at the middle of the pack, the average price was within 15% of the three previous Super Bowl Champions: 2010 Green Bay Packers – $221.56, 2011 New York Giants – $230.74, and 2012 Baltimore Ravens – $228.79.

All-22: Close-Up On Kelly's Use Of the Mesh | Birds 24/7
An All-22 look at Chip Kelly's use of the mesh concept to beat man coverage.

Brady doesn’t care about stats other than wins | ProFootballTalk
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady recently has found himself in the center of a stat-centric argument over whether he's still one of the best five quarterbacks in the game.

Jay Cutler, Marc Trestman lead Bears locker room change; Dr. Z awards | The MMQB with Peter King
SALISBURY, N.C. — Notes from the last pre-vacation MMQB—including Marc Trestman the people person, Jay Cutler the leader, and the first annual "Paul ‘Dr.

We fell in love with the European American Football championships - SBNation.com
Other countries play our sport sometimes, and if there's nothing else happening on a June Saturday, hell yeah, we'll watch it. Especially if it goes into double OT and has reverse passes.

Kap's deal does not guarantee Iupati, Crabtree will follow | CSN Bay Area
Quarterback Colin Kaepernick seemingly wanted to avoid squeezing the 49ers for every penny to allow the organization a better opportunity to keep as much of the team's roster together as possible.

What Does a Healthy Jermichael Finley Offer to NFL Teams? | Bleacher Report
The latest NFL news, rumors, scores, schedules, predictions, picks against the spread, free agent updates, power rankings, mock drafts and more

Recruiting for Peak Performance: San Francisco 49ers Rely on SuccessFactors to Simplify and Win
American football is one of the most lucrative sports in the world, generating approximately $9 billion last year. However, filling stadiums with happy fans requires a full team effort from employees on and off the field.

A look at the best (and worst) defensive front sevens. | SportsonEarth.com : Mike Tanier Article
Welcome back to the Rankings File, an ongoing spring and summer series rating the best and worst units in the NFL. This week, we examine defensive front sevens.