Jimmy Graham??

[Hawktawk]

Just tell 'em "you're welcome", and "hope you can make it back for the rematch next year".

LOL classic. Brady agrees too.....

[Hawktawk]

Ive had time to digest this and now I am really getting pumped about the season. #1 OUR LINE SUCKED most of the last few years.It needs rebuilt. Unger got absolutely abused by pot roast in SB48 and without a great game from Wilson it was headed for a much less certain outcome.He struggled against bigger nose tackles. Polian said of Unger"he has a big reputation". I think the guy was a great technician but not too special even when on the field and he wasn't for 14 games the past 2 seasons.

The secret for Seattle is with Beast and Russ we dont really need a good line which has been proven. Now add a cant miss red zone option as well as a burner who can stretch the field and highpoint those awesome Wilson rainbows. In addition we have a defense decimated by injuries that may not be quite as stout. We may need to score more to win in 2015 and beyond.But in the present tense this is a huge move.SB 50 here we come.

Yeah I love the deal.

[burrrton]

Just tell 'em "you're welcome", and "hope you can make it back for the rematch next year".

Gold, Bob. GOLD.

[Zorn76]

I think Graham's attitude could easily be a concern if he feels he's not playing a big enough role in our offense.

Until otherwise proven, we are a run first O, with Marshawn Lynch as the star.

In fact, Beast was also our Leading TD receiver last year with 4. Next up was Baldwin, with 3 rec TD's, along with 66 catches for 825 yds.

After that, it falls way off with Kearse, who had 38 catches for 537 yds and 1 TD during the regular season. Lynch was 3rd with 37 catches.

That's why he's gonna need to put the team before himself right away. Anything short of that, and he's gonna start hearing it from others, coaches and players alike.

There's a lot of potential here with Graham in our offense, but he's gonna learn quickly that this ain't Drew (5,000 yd) Brees at the starting point of a pass play. This is him, among other things, having to run his routes hard at all times, whether he gets the ball or not.

I don't blame John and Pete for pulling the trigger on this. I just think they're gonna have to keep a close eye on him until he's proven that he's all in with the Seahawks.

[Hawktawk]

You've got a great point there Zorn. IMO not being all in is the only way this isn't a success. As for offensive touches we cant assume this acquisition is a zero sum game. Nobody outside of San Diego knew who Brees was for his first 3 years in the league. Wilson is a record setting QB with a ring. He throws a beautiful ball, one of the best deep balls in the league. Everybody will get their touches if they put up 500 yds and 50 points a game and nobody will be unhappy. The guy is that much of a difference maker. If he is all in....

[NorthHawk]

One issue that I have not heard brought up yet, is the team physicals that are coming up on both players. What if Unger fails his?

Then the trade is off and we go back to hatin' on Graham.

[mykc14]

One issue that I have not heard brought up yet, is the team physicals that are coming up on both players. What if Unger fails his?

Graham had a shoulder injury as well, not that it will hold anything up. I doubt an injury is going to hold up this trade but man wouldn't it be weird to be Unger or Graham having to go back to the team that wanted to trade you.

[Vegaseahawk]

Max was out for 10 games last year and we almost won it all.
He might be easier to replace than Okung would.

This.
It goes to show that the center position in Cable's system is one of replaceable parts. i.e., next man up. However, losing both Unger, & Carp just might be too much to bear, we shall see, we shall see.....
Personally, I think this offseason is going to put Tom to the test. Let's see how much ground we gain or lose....

[savvyman]

I heard a radio interview yesterday with a sports reporter for the largest newspaper in New Orleans who has covered the Saints for years. Here is what he had to say about Jimmy Graham:

1. Known as quiet, shy person in the locker room - he is definitely not a trash talker.
2. Is considered a really hard worker - shows up early and stays late.
3. A high quality person who is very involved with the community.
4. The players in in the locker room genuinely like and respect him.

The reporter said that because of these factors it has been such a shock to both the community and to the NO players when they heard about this trade.

Sounds like Jimmy will get along very well with Russell?

[savvyman]

One issue that I have not heard brought up yet, is the team physicals that are coming up on both players. What if Unger fails his?

Yeah I was wondering the same thing - more worried about Unger - and if NO is suddenly having seconds thoughts about this (since nearly every publication has said that Seattle got the better of this deal) they can always find a way to fail a physical - like the Giants did to O'Brien Schofield after they signed him to a $4 million contract (that everyone panned) then a few days later they told Schofield that "He failed his physical" and took back their $4 million dollar offer.

[savvyman]

LOL - Classic Readers Comment on the trade from one of the New Orleans Newspapers:


>>>>>>worriedincal 1 day ago

Look you do not give up a star te for no name unhealthy player. No disrespect to unger but he is no differences kee like a kam chancellor or earl Thomas or Sherman. If we would have swapped for one of those guys it would have made sense. Man you can't even do this trade on madden 14. Even a video game knows this trade is dumb<<<<<<<<

[RiverDog]

Thanks for the info on Graham's background, savvy. I've never heard anything one way or another.

I read where the Hawks felt that there was only 13 players they felt were worthy of a #1 pick. The possibility of one of them falling to #31 and having it be a player that fills a specific need is pretty long, which explains why we were so willing to part with a first rounder for a developed player that's definitely worth a first round pick. It's the same philosophy they used when they traded for Harvin a few years back, although that one included multiple picks.

Given this information, I'm not at all displeased with trading a #1. You're probably not going to get an impact player sitting at #31 even in years when the draft is really deep. My concern is replacing Unger. JS has said that they are not planning any specific moves to replace Unger, says they'll be waiting for other teams to cut players and pick through the rejects, which doesn't make me feel very warm and fuzzy.

Here's an interview done yesterday with John Schneider about the Unger/Graham trade that you might find interesting. There's also a poll in there about un-retiring Largent's #80 for Graham. I hope like hell they aren't considering that. We don't need anymore controversies.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seah ... -your-job/

[Hawk Sista]

1. Pete did NOT express concern about the potential for locker room issues. He said that what happened in the past was "gamesmanship" & he wasn't too worried about it. Not sure how we heard that so differently, RD??

2. LOVE Max & hate to see him go. But let's be real, he got hurt in the KC game; we won the rest of our games from that point.

3. RW/center exchange accounted for some 12 fumbles or so. We recovered them all, but this speaks to running 4 dudes through that spot last season. I think Lewis, w/ a complete off-season, will be fine & could add some stability to the line as Max has played in 1/2 the games the last two years. Is he a drop-off from a healthy Max? Probably....but how long has it been that we have seen a healthy Max? & what did we gain? A Red Zone/short yardage threat extrordinaire.

4. The brass is all over signing the right dudes for lesser impact cap wise. Pretty nifty.

5. Jimmy will have to accept the role assigned to him. Sport'n said (on facebook) that Jimmy is just not hawk-like w/his mentality. This, of all of it, is the X factor. Can Jimmy tolerate 55 catches and 8 TDs? Who knows what his #s will be - it's just a question.

6. You cannot acquire a top 2 - 3 talent at a position (like Jimmy Graham IS) for nothing. It's how trades work. Anyone want to give me a Porsche Carrera for a Toyota? NO........... so Jimmy and a 4 + aging and oft injured Max for the second to the last spot in the first round (where experts only grade about 14 - 16 as having first round talent) is a trade more reflective of a Porsche for a Porsche. Depending on your viewpoint, you can decide who got the Boxter and who got the Carrera....but nobody got the Toyota.

[NorthHawk]

LOL - Classic Readers Comment on the trade from one of the New Orleans Newspapers:


>>>>>>worriedincal 1 day ago

Look you do not give up a star te for no name unhealthy player. No disrespect to unger but he is no differences kee like a kam chancellor or earl Thomas or Sherman. If we would have swapped for one of those guys it would have made sense. Man you can't even do this trade on madden 14. Even a video game knows this trade is dumb<<<<<<<<

It depends on who they have their eye on with their 2 first round picks.
Devon Funchess is almost as big a s Graham and has good hands and Maxx Williams also has great hands and also makes catches like WRs.
They might also be looking at Dorial Green-Beckham who is said to have Calvin Johnson like talent - but a question mark maturity level.

But that's just a guess on my part.

[savvyman]

Thanks for the info on Graham's background, savvy. I've never heard anything one way or another.

I read where the Hawks felt that there was only 13 players they felt were worthy of a #1 pick. The possibility of one of them falling to #31 and having it be a player that fills a specific need is pretty long, which explains why we were so willing to part with a first rounder for a developed player that's definitely worth a first round pick. It's the same philosophy they used when they traded for Harvin a few years back, although that one included multiple picks.

Given this information, I'm not at all displeased with trading a #1. You're probably not going to get an impact player sitting at #31 even in years when the draft is really deep. My concern is replacing Unger. JS has said that they are not planning any specific moves to replace Unger, says they'll be waiting for other teams to cut players and pick through the rejects, which doesn't make me feel very warm and fuzzy.

Here's an interview done yesterday with John Schneider about the Unger/Graham trade that you might find interesting. There's also a poll in there about un-retiring Largent's #80 for Graham. I hope like hell they aren't considering that. We don't need anymore controversies.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seah ... -your-job/

Yeah RD - You're point about JS feeling that there were on a few college players worthy of a first round pick - The Seahawk's are up against cap restraints - By Not selecting and paying a first round draft pick the Seahawk's will save another $3.5 million against the Cap. This is smart Football Business sense - why pay that amount to a player who is not worth it?

[savvyman]

6. You cannot acquire a top 2 - 3 talent at a position (like Jimmy Graham IS) for nothing. It's how trades work. Anyone want to give me a Porsche Carrera for a Toyota? NO........... so Jimmy and a 4 + aging and oft injured Max for the second to the last spot in the first round (where experts only grade about 14 - 16 as having first round talent) is a trade more reflective of a Porsche for a Porsche. Depending on your viewpoint, you can decide who got the Boxter and who got the Carrera....but nobody got the Toyota.

Exactly Sista - You have to give up something to get one of the Top players at their position in the NFL. Also remember that a great pass receiving Tight End is what Pete and John wanted more than anything for this team for next year. So we did not just get a top NFL player at their position we got the player at the one position of most need!

And look at who we did not have to give up to get him>

Russell
Marshawn
Okung
Avril
Bennett
Wagner
Wright
Chancellor
Sherman
Thomas

We got the second best player on New Orleans (and one of the top 3 at his position in the NFL) without giving up any of our top 10 players. At most we gave up our 10th best player to do this.

[NorthHawk]

The concern I have with Graham is his relative disappearance when playing us in important games.
Didn't one game we put KJ Wright on him and kept him in check? The other game it was someone else but he was largely ineffective.

[savvyman]

The concern I have with Graham is his relative disappearance when playing us in important games.
Didn't one game we put KJ Wright on him and kept him in check? The other game it was someone else but he was largely ineffective.

Uh Oh - Watch this Video - I am now having second thoughts on this trade - LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_KeTkXa0k0

[kalibane]

The concern I have with Graham is his relative disappearance when playing us in important games.
Didn't one game we put KJ Wright on him and kept him in check? The other game it was someone else but he was largely ineffective.

On the other hand he has a history of absolutely shredding the 49ers so it's not like any physical defense can make him disappear.

[savvyman]

I think the Standard Seahawk offensive set next year will be a two tight end offense.

I would imagine that at times we will bring in another offensive lineman as the second tight-end in the base set.

So two tight-end offense - Single back and two receivers (Richardson when Healthy and Baldwin). This is the offense with lots of smash mouth running, Play action and read option that that Pete is drooling to run.

Commit to much to stopping the run and teams will have to deal with Graham and Richardson, Baldwin one on one.

So unlike last year when teams stacked the box to stop our running game - this year they will pay dearly when they attempt to stack the box to stop Marshawn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9oDhyd-U8E

[Hawk Sista]

the Seahawks made a lot of really good players look paltry. His #s sustained over his career are solid.......... There can be fit questions, and feelings hurt questions, and does Jimmy block well questions...........but there are not questions about this guy being an impact player. Marshawn has had games with 38 yards and no TDs too. But he is a bad ass

[c_hawkbob]

Bob Condotta ‏@bcondotta 2m2 minutes ago

Carroll says Graham told him his off-season plans were that "wherever Russell (Wilson) is going, I'm going'' for workouts.

[NorthHawk]

I think the Standard Seahawk offensive set next year will be a two tight end offense.

I would imagine that at times we will bring in another offensive lineman as the second tight-end in the base set.

So two tight-end offense - Single back and two receivers (Richardson when Healthy and Baldwin). This is the offense with lots of smash mouth running, Play action and read option that that Pete is drooling to run.

Commit to much to stopping the run and teams will have to deal with Graham and Richardson, Baldwin one on one.

So unlike last year when teams stacked the box to stop our running game - this year they will pay dearly when they attempt to stack the box to stop Marshawn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9oDhyd-U8E

It opens up a whole bunch of options.
They could have 2 TEs - one being Gilliam and have the heavy run look, but the WRs could be Graham and Matthews.
If you got really wild, you could have a toss sweep to Lynch and have him throw to one of the tall WRs.
Nobody would expect that.

[c_hawkbob]

Bob Condotta @bcondotta
Follow

Graham says after shock wore off he got "a big grin on my face'' realizing "I was going to the best team in football.''
4:08 PM - 12 Mar 2015

[monkey]

I don't like this trade at all personally. Graham is a prima donna and doesn't block worth a damn. Plus the Saints have a dearth of weapons in the passing game so why would they be willing to dump their only established playmaker?

I know the Saints have major cap issues but this doesn't smell right.

This was my first reaction as well. I can't stand watching him pretend to block, it's ugly.
After about an hour of thought later though, it hit me that we now have a red zone MONSTER at TE/WR, who may just be the most difficult player in the NFL, along with Rob Gronkowski, to effectively cover. That is EASILY worth what we gave up!

We'll replace Unger easily enough, and he only played something like 6 games last year, and we still won without him (clearly he's not irreplaceable), but Graham is literally a one of a kind talent, the exact big-body type of receiver Pete has wanted here since day one.

IMO, this is a brilliant trade, absolutely, and the more I think about it the more I think that this is quite easily the best move of this off season, by far.

[monkey]

We have been saying we need a big, tall receiver with skills for some time now. Now we have one. Perhaps he will be used more as a WR than as a TE, anyway. It seems to me that he and his agent tried to argue that he was a WR for salary reasons a year or so ago.

Unger played 6 games in the regular season last year, and while our numbers suffered some, we still won.

This is how I see it as well.
Unger was a good but brittle center, who missed ten games last year. He's a good player, no doubt, but he's far from irreplaceable.
Graham is a one of a kind type of TE/WR.
An offense with Wilson, Lynch, Graham, and Richardson is INCREDIBLY scary! We'll have the run game that defenses won't know what to do with, and now we'll have the height and speed to make defenses fear our pass game as well.
Once free agency and the draft is over, I suspect that none of us will even remember our worries about Unger and Carpenter's departures. We'll probably have completely, adequately replaced them both,all while adding one of the most difficult players in all of football to cover.

I call that a big time win!!
I for one cannot wait to see the two TE sets we will no doubt run a ton of next season. We're going to have a VERY studly TE group with Willson, Helfet as speed TE's and Anthony McCoy (who will probably become the primary blocking TE now, even though we've almost forgotten about him due to his back to back missed seasons...the guy is good and can flat out play!).
We're going to have an offense that can really be tough to match up with now! This is the kind of offense that Pete has envisioned from the get go.

[c_hawkbob]

The Tacoma News Tribune's Seahawk Insider posted the transcript of a phone interview with Graham that allayed most of my concerns about him and his attitude:

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks ... motivated/

It makes me think that what we have seen about his attitude has been from an opponent's viewpoint, much like what others might see from Richard Sherman. In his own locker room, he is loved and valued. Says he doesn't care about the numbers, only wants to win, and will go where Russell wants in order to build chemistry. I am jacked.

I listened to that yesterday and aside from a prodigious "um" count was totally impressed with the guy. He"s got a great head on his shoulders and seems to be willing to put in the time it takes to be great. He'll fit right in with Russ and Sherm and Earl and the guys that way. The best thing for me is that he seemed as excited to get started Working with Russ as I know Russ is excited to work with him.

Can't wait for this season to get started now!

[Hawk Sista]

YES! He said all that I would want from a newly signed player...so far so good. That piece about his parents dropping him off at social services was heart-breaking. That he overcame what no child should have to endure, went to college, became a super-star and got his pilot's lic. in his spare time is impressive.

So far, so good.

[burrrton]

That piece about his parents dropping him off at social services was heart-breaking. That he overcame what no child should have to endure, went to college, became a super-star and got his pilot's lic. in his spare time is impressive.

So far, so good.

++ Sis

[Seahawks4Ever]

The BEST thing about having a T.E./Receiver the caliber of Jimmy Graham is that he will be the big reliable target that Russell Wilson has NEVER had before. I am sorry we had to give up Max Unger AND our #1 pick (though our #1 was more like a high #2) but a player the caliber of Graham will help the entire offense.

Now, however, John and Pete have got to rebuild our O-Line and make it a priority.

Two trips to the Super Bowl with a barely adequate O-Line is almost unheard of and we can't believe we can keep the same level of success w/o seriously upgrading our line.

[RiverDog]

The BEST thing about having a T.E./Receiver the caliber of Jimmy Graham is that he will be the big reliable target that Russell Wilson has NEVER had before. I am sorry we had to give up Max Unger AND our #1 pick (though our #1 was more like a high #2) but a player the caliber of Graham will help the entire offense.

Now, however, John and Pete have got to rebuild our O-Line and make it a priority.

Two trips to the Super Bowl with a barely adequate O-Line is almost unheard of and we can't believe we can keep the same level of success w/o seriously upgrading our line.

I wouldn't say that Russell has never had a 'big reliable target.' Sidney Rice was a big, reliable target in 2012, and Zach Miller wasn't bad, either, but neither could stay healthy.

But I get your point. Graham is just the type of player we've been asking for.

[c_hawkbob]

I wouldn't say that Russell has never had a 'big reliable target.' Sidney Rice was a big, reliable target in 2012, and Zach Miller wasn't bad, either, but neither could stay healthy.

But I get your point. Graham is just the type of player we've been asking for.

Zach and Sidney were about a 3 and a 4 on the Graham (10) scale. Russ has truly never had this.

[RiverDog]

Zach and Sidney were about a 3 and a 4 on the Graham (10) scale. Russ has truly never had this.

A 3 or a 4? IMO that's a bit of an exaggeration. If we were to apply that scale to number of receptions, Graham would have to have about 150 receptions.

But I do agree with the premise that Graham has the potential to be the biggest receiving weapon that Russell has had since he's been here.

[Uppercut]

I really like the trade and see great value in 2 TE sets etc and weird stuff. But the fly in the ointment is Bevell, Mr. Bubble Screen, wrong play at wrong time.

[kalibane]

I wouldn't say that Russell has never had a 'big reliable target.' Sidney Rice was a big, reliable target in 2012, and Zach Miller wasn't bad, either, but neither could stay healthy.

But I get your point. Graham is just the type of player we've been asking for.

Sidney Rice was a tall receiver. He wasn't a big physical guy or a jump ball receiver. Graham is the first guy that Wilson has had that he can really just put the ball in the air and he has both the hands, athleticism and the size to dominate. Before Graham Tate was the best jump ball guy we had. Miller is a capable receiver and a good target but have you ever seen someone throw a fade to him? He doesn't qualify.

[c_hawkbob]

A 3 or a 4? IMO that's a bit of an exaggeration. If we were to apply that scale to number of receptions, Graham would have to have about 150 receptions.

But I do agree with the premise that Graham has the potential to be the biggest receiving weapon that Russell has had since he's been here.

No it's not an exaggeration, and of course it's not in number of catches, it's comparative talent level.

[jshawaii22]

The Trade is actually not finalized. Max is (was) at home on the Big Island when the trade came and didn't fly to NO for his physical. Until he passes that, the trade could be killed. At this point, that would be interesting.

js

[RiverDog]

No it's not an exaggeration, and of course it's not in number of catches, it's comparative talent level.

Well, if were not just talking about receiving talent, then for sure 3-4 is an exaggeration as Graham's inline blocking is not nearly as good as the guy he's replacing.

I don't mean to belittle your point, just that he's not Megatron or Dez Bryant, which is what that kind of disparity suggests to me.

[NorthHawk]

We don't know if he will be used as a traditional TE and might not be asked to block.
Perhaps they intend to split him out wider in the majority of plays to spread the Defense.
Besides, his value is as a receiver, not a blocker.

[c_hawkbob]

Well evidently we disagree, I'm saying Megatron and Dez are exactly the type of talent he compares to. Might have to extend the scale to 11 for Megatron, but he, as an offensive weapon, is exactly that caliber of difference maker.

I can't remember which scout said it but the quote is

"Complaining about Jimmy Graham's blocking is like complaining that Kate Upton doesn't cook like Mario Batali"