Coffee & Cigarettes: Seahawks links for Monday

Monday is my favorite time of yearrrrrr.

Sunday links: Seahawks weren't alone in drafting poorly in 2009 | Seahawks Blog | Seattle Times
Seahawks’ fans won’t argue as Seattle’s 2009 draft — the last of the Tim Ruskell era — ranks by any measure as one of the least productive in team history, one that helped set the stage for the overhaul of the team that was to come a year later when Pete Carroll and John Schneider took over.

Dave Boling: Lynch has given Seahawks more than what they paid for | Seattle Seahawks | The News Tribune
Seahawks fans and national media continue to play the What’s Marshawn Thinking? game.

Is a repeat in the cards? | National Football Post
The NFC West is loaded, but the defending champs have what it takes to get back to the big game.

Jackson Jeffcoat hoping to follow in his father’s footsteps
Happy Father’s Day: Former NFL defensive end Jim Jeffcoat received an early gift by getting to watch his son – Jackson, a rookie free agent – participate in the Seahawks’ recent OTA practices.

Report: Marshawn Lynch mulling retirement if no new deal - CBSSports.com
An ex-teammate says Marshawn Lynch wants a raise and he might be willing to go to drastic measures to get it.

Rookie Whispers: Jace Amaro lining up everywhere - NFL.com
Second-round draft pick Jace Amaro has been impressive for the New York Jets so far as the "move" tight end. Will he help quarterback Geno Smith improve? Find out what else we're hearing about first-year players.

Bills aim to run NFL's fastest offense - CBSSports.com
The Bills and Eagles were the only teams to average fewer than 24 seconds per play last year. Buffalo will play faster and could lead the league in offensive snaps.

Cardinals S Tyrann Mathieu: My life was headed for suicide in jail - CBSSports.com
Tyrann Mathieu admits that he almost decided to take his own life while sitting in a jail cell in late 2012.

Terrell Thomas knows teams are concerned about his knee | ProFootballTalk
In 2013, cornerback Terrell Thomas made an impressive return to the NFL after missing two seasons with a twice-torn ACL.  But after appearing in 16 regular-season games (including seven starts) and two preseason games with the Giants, Thomas hasn't been able to find a new home.

San Francisco 49ers News — Niner Insider Blog » Jimmie Ward: 49ers’ first-round pick has overcome weighty matters
Northern Illinois defensive end George Rainey laughed dismissively after he’d sized up the true freshman with big dreams and a bantamweight body.

Jay Gruden: Read option won’t be a focal point of our offense | ProFootballTalk
“Personally my belief is the read option is better as an element of surprise,” Gruden told Don Banks of Sports Illustrated. “If you’re making it a major focal point of your offense — though they had success with it — that’s problematic. You want to have some of it, no question, because it’s the way to get the numbers back in your favor offensively. And with a quarterback like him, why wouldn’t you have some of it? But we’re trying to develop him as an all-around quarterback. And I don’t know if they had that [as a goal]. I’m sure they did a little bit, but I think that’s the clear intent moving forward, to develop him as an all-around quarterback. That’s part of his growth, from ’12 to ’13 to now.”

St. Louis Rams: Chris Givens - A Tale of Two Seasons - Turf Show Times
What explains his drop in production last year and what can we expect of Givens this coming season?

Here's how rookie contracts break down for the St. Louis Rams - Turf Show Times
After building camaraderie and completing money management and life skill seminars, the 11 rookies drafted by the St. Louis Rams were offered and have signed their four-year contracts. Here's how their contracts break down.

Fantasy football:Breaking Down Cardinals Wide Receiver Corps - Revenge of the Birds
Carson Palmer was a savior for the Arizona Cardinals in 2013. Sure, he got them to 10-6 and looked more than just competent down the stretch of the season, but he did something even better: he...

Assessing the San Francisco 49ers 2015 salary cap obligations - Niners Nation
The San Francisco 49ers have significant salary obligations in 2015. In light of Colin Kaepernick's contract extension, we take a look at where the team stands for 2015, and what could be done to bring that number down.

A few things some of us did not know about 49ers general manager Trent Baalke - Niners Nation
Greg Bedard recently put together a fantastic bio on 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. We take a look at 9 interesting facts from the story.