Will Jimmy Graham ask for a trade?

[seahawkfreak]

I think he will hold out at the least. He won't be at OTAs and won't show to training camp. He will try to force a trade but it won't work next year but he will be gone after 2017.

Still haven't seen anyone say why he would want to leave, unless he doesn't think Seattle would extend him.

 

[Josea16]

[urltargetblank]http://www.espn.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/13232/jimmy-graham[/urltargetblank]

Going by that he definitely isn't being under utilized considering the offense we run.

 

[zchurch74]

no reason why she shouldn't have 10 + touchdowns and over a thousand yards in this offense

 

[seahawkfreak]

no reason why she shouldn't have 10 + touchdowns and over a thousand yards in this offense

Did you see anything saying he was upset about this?

 

[floor13]

I certainly hope he doesnt ask for a trade. Bevell is a joke no doubt. I understand we are a running team but we also need to adjust to talent on the team. If you have the one of the best TE in the NFL on your team you dont limit their use. This is exactly what Bevell is doing. JG is being used so poorly that I wouldnt be surprised if he wants out of seattle.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Yes
When he was brought on, it was expected that he would get less touches due to us being a run team first..

This year we were not a running team and he still didn't get the ball

95 targets. Second to Baldwin.

We could have done more, don't get me wrong, but he was hardly ignored.

He's rarely targeted intelligently. Agree or disagree?

 

[floor13]

Agree!!!! 3rd and 7 and JG is 15 yards down the field while RW runs for his life.

 

[nash72]

Reality is setting in for the fans, not the coaches.

This was the reload year. This was very likely expected and planned for. They played with a ton of young talent this year. How can this year not be viewed as the rebuilding year? Looking back...do you think the organization believes they were ready to be the most elite team in the NFL?

Trust in the process. This was the low; next year we go back up.

Everybody keeps saying this was the reload or rebuilding year,,,,how so? I agree we have a lot of youth on the team and they saw their fair share of playing time, but who in the world has shown any kind of potential among them? If we are rebuilding with these same players, this team is in a crap load of trouble.

We played with something like 20 different rookies on our active roster this year. It's called evaluating talent, identify who can be developed. Same thing we did with Britt, Ifedi, Glowinski, Baldwin, Sherman...hell thats how this team was built was through developing talent.

And i'll ask again, who did you feel out of those 20 players was worth a damn?. I don't see a difference maker in any of them. Prosise has some talent but he seems like he might be made out of glass with how small he is. Fill us in on who your happy with.

 

[themunn]

Wouldn't blame him. At all. He deserves better. What a slap in the face to him to completely ignore him in the red zone after the first TD. I guess we decided we didn't like scoring touch downs anymore.

You're kidding right? Literally our first RZ pass attempt after the TD was an 11 yard completion to Graham.

Wilson then overthrew Baldwin on third down and we kicked a FG.

Then in the third quarter we're back in the RZ, the pocket collapses on 2nd down and Wilson throws it away. On 3rd down Wilson overthrows a wide open Baldwin and we kick a FG.

That's it. 3 trips to the redzone all game.

 

[jkitsune]

Graham had the 3rd most yards for a TE this year, 923, and 6 touchdowns (leader had 8). He essentially missed 2 games getting back up to full speed. This includes several games where the offense was a catastrophe. He was an enormous part of this offense when it was humming, set club records for production from a TE, and would have had easily over 1000 yards if he had played a full season. Anyone who watched him this year saw how incredibly dominant he was for our team. This is coming back from a catastrophic knee injury. Some of you will never be happy unless he's getting 80+ yards every single game, but God damn, it's not like he was a ghost this year. Until our late-season slide he was the leading TE in the league.

So, no. I don't think he will ask for a trade. He had an excellent year.

 

[Largent80]

Wouldn't blame him. At all. He deserves better. What a slap in the face to him to completely ignore him in the red zone after the first TD. I guess we decided we didn't like scoring touch downs anymore.

Yeah, 10 million slaps to the face every season is hard to take. There are a lot of people complaining in here that didn't endure the early years of never even sniffing a playoff game.

 

[Siouxhawk]

Jimmy had a touchdown and was the primary target on another of our few red zone chances against the Falcons. He also set a season franchise record for tight ends. He's being utilized as he should and isn't going anywhere.

 

[WindCityHawk]

A cursory search brought up these results regarding why Graham was brought on board.

Here, Carroll talks specifically about Graham's ability to catch passes in crowds and put up points.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...roll-on-jimmy-graham-marshawn-lynch-and-more/

"It’s pretty clear, he’s a big receiver, plays big, makes plays in a crowd, makes plays on top of guys, he’s a very effective player in the red zone, he has been a terrific, consistent scorer..."

Here, at 1:21, Schneider speaks specifically to Graham's red zone production.

http://www.seahawks.com/video/2015/03/10/john-schneider-deal-graham-was-one-we-had-make

Then here, in September, Bevell basically admits to using Graham as a decoy for the other receivers.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...n-jimmy-graham-hell-continue-to-grow-with-us/

"We talk so much about Jimmy since we’ve got him, but look at what Doug Baldwin did at the end of last year, Jermaine Kearse has always been a staple, Tyler Lockett you can see how he’s coming on and becoming a big part of us... There’s playmakers all over, and Jimmy can dictate coverage and help out those other guys, those other guys start playing then they dictate coverage and help Jimmy.”

In that same article, Bevell defends Wilson for ignoring a single-covered Graham in the endzone for Kearse instead.

It's not a stretch to wonder if Bevell has zero say in acquiring Graham, and possibly even resents being told who to use. Evidence suggests that Bevell is a very stubborn OC, hesitant to adjust for other defenses, or even his own offensive lineup.

How anyone could defend Kearse over a TE on track for the HoF is beyond me, but the larger question is: will Graham ever be welcome in this offense?

This is conjecture, but I believe Bevell has stuck around for so long because of his rapport with Wilson (Bevell, too, is a former Wisconsin QB). And I wonder if he's telling Wilson not to buy into Jimmy's hype and to instead trust his (Bevell's) gameplan, whereas a different, more disinterested OC would say flat out, "Russ, that's Jimmy effing Graham out there, just throw it up for him." You don't call plays in the red zone, you call players. Insisting on Kearse over Graham in the end zone will never cease to amaze me, and it's a microcosm of why Bevell needs to get out of town, and out of this offense's way.

*For the record, I don't think Graham needs more targets, per se, I think he needs smarter targets.

 

[semiahmoo]

A cursory search brought up these results regarding why Graham was brought on board.

Here, Carroll talks specifically about Graham's ability to catch passes in crowds and put up points.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...roll-on-jimmy-graham-marshawn-lynch-and-more/

"It’s pretty clear, he’s a big receiver, plays big, makes plays in a crowd, makes plays on top of guys, he’s a very effective player in the red zone, he has been a terrific, consistent scorer..."

Here, at 1:21, Schneider speaks specifically to Graham's red zone production.

http://www.seahawks.com/video/2015/03/10/john-schneider-deal-graham-was-one-we-had-make

Then here, in September, Bevell basically admits to using Graham as a decoy for the other receivers.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/...n-jimmy-graham-hell-continue-to-grow-with-us/

"We talk so much about Jimmy since we’ve got him, but look at what Doug Baldwin did at the end of last year, Jermaine Kearse has always been a staple, Tyler Lockett you can see how he’s coming on and becoming a big part of us... There’s playmakers all over, and Jimmy can dictate coverage and help out those other guys, those other guys start playing then they dictate coverage and help Jimmy.”

In that same article, Bevell defends Wilson for ignoring a single-covered Graham in the endzone for Kearse instead.

It's not a stretch to wonder if Bevell has zero say in acquiring Graham, and possibly even resents being told who to use. Evidence suggests that Bevell is a very stubborn OC, hesitant to adjust for other defenses, or even his own offensive lineup.

How anyone could defend Kearse over a TE on track for the HoF is beyond me, but the larger question is: will Graham ever be welcome in this offense?

This is conjecture, but I believe Bevell has stuck around for so long because of his rapport with Wilson (Bevell, too, is a former Wisconsin QB). And I wonder if he's telling Wilson not to buy into Jimmy's hype and to instead trust his (Bevell's) gameplan, whereas a different, more disinterested OC would say flat out, "Russ, that's Jimmy effing Graham out there, just throw it up for him." You don't call plays in the red zone, you call players. Insisting on Kearse over Graham in the end zone will never cease to amaze me, and it's a microcosm of why Bevell needs to get out of town, and out of this offense's way.

*For the record, I don't think Graham needs more targets, per se, I think he needs smarter targets.

One of the best Graham-related posts in here. Well done.

Bevell's game calling is tired-tired-tired. Other teams have adjusted, and he seems unable, or unwilling to do the same. As for Jimmy G specifically, RW's sandlot style QBing does not fit with Graham's timing route experience for many seasons in New Orleans. There is some rapport developing with RW, but it's been slow going due in great part (IMO) to Bevell being the wrong OC for this particularly Seahawk team. When it was a healthy Marshawn Lynch, just about any OC could look like a genius. Pummel defenses, get them tired, and roll over them come the 2nd half while our own defense continues to shut down their offense.

Without that scenario, Bevell's considerable limitations are being exposed.

 

[scrummymustard]

Jimmy had a touchdown and was the primary target on another of our few red zone chances against the Falcons. He also set a season franchise record for tight ends. He's being utilized as he should and isn't going anywhere.

:sarcasm_on: ?????

 

[Siouxhawk]

Jimmy had a touchdown and was the primary target on another of our few red zone chances against the Falcons. He also set a season franchise record for tight ends. He's being utilized as he should and isn't going anywhere.

:sarcasm_on: ?????

It's not sarcasm at all. Other than Russ and the O line, Jimmy had more snaps than anyone on the offense. He set a franchise record for tight end yardage in a single season. Yes, I understand he was asked to block, and he was actually pretty decent at it, and that is an organizational philosophy dictated by Pete and the play of a substandard line.

On Saturday he was a huge red zone emphasis, scoring one TD and going out on routes in the other 2 opportunities. An overthrown Russ pass prevented him from 2 TD receptions.

 

[WindCityHawk]

One of the best Graham-related posts in here. Well done.

Bevell's game calling is tired-tired-tired. Other teams have adjusted, and he seems unable, or unwilling to do the same. As for Jimmy G specifically, RW's sandlot style QBing does not fit with Graham's timing route experience for many seasons in New Orleans. There is some rapport developing with RW, but it's been slow going due in great part (IMO) to Bevell being the wrong OC for this particularly Seahawk team. When it was a healthy Marshawn Lynch, just about any OC could look like a genius. Pummel defenses, get them tired, and roll over them come the 2nd half while our own defense continues to shut down their offense.

Without that scenario, Bevell's considerable limitations are being exposed.

I agree on all fronts. "Exposed" is exactly the right word for what's happened to Bevell's offense. Last year we saw it explode behind a healthy and emerging Thomas Rawls. DCs adjusted to it, and Bevell is, as you said, either too stubborn or too stupid to counter. Either case is indefensible, and exposes his limitations at the professional level.

But to bring it back to the topic at hand, Graham has been shoe-horned into this offense. Either the offense needs to adapt to utilize him better (not more, but better), or he needs to be traded away to someplace he can flourish, and in return we should get someone who fits Bevell's vision.

In any case, it seems clear that there was little to no communication between Schneider and Bevell when this trade went down. If there's that kind of schism in the front office, the weak link is obvious. It's not Schneider, who is a consistently great GM, and it't not Graham, who could be a HoF player...

 

[semiahmoo]

One of the best Graham-related posts in here. Well done.

Bevell's game calling is tired-tired-tired. Other teams have adjusted, and he seems unable, or unwilling to do the same. As for Jimmy G specifically, RW's sandlot style QBing does not fit with Graham's timing route experience for many seasons in New Orleans. There is some rapport developing with RW, but it's been slow going due in great part (IMO) to Bevell being the wrong OC for this particularly Seahawk team. When it was a healthy Marshawn Lynch, just about any OC could look like a genius. Pummel defenses, get them tired, and roll over them come the 2nd half while our own defense continues to shut down their offense.

Without that scenario, Bevell's considerable limitations are being exposed.

I agree on all fronts. "Exposed" is exactly the right word for what's happened to Bevell's offense. Last year we saw it explode behind a healthy and emerging Thomas Rawls. DCs adjusted to it, and Bevell is, as you said, either too stubborn or too stupid to counter. Either case is indefensible, and exposes his limitations at the professional level.

But to bring it back to the topic at hand, Graham has been shoe-horned into this offense. Either the offense needs to adapt to utilize him better (not more, but better), or he needs to be traded away to someplace he can flourish, and in return we should get someone who fits Bevell's vision.

In any case, it seems clear that there was little to no communication between Schneider and Bevell when this trade went down. If there's that kind of schism in the front office, the weak link is obvious. It's not Schneider, who is a consistently great GM, and it't not Graham, who could be a HoF player...

RIGHT ON. A healthy Graham could give the organization another 3-4 years of very productive/dominant play from the TE position. The thought of having Bevell calling the offense for another 3-4 years makes me shudder.

Bevell needs to go. Clearly his presence has contributed to considerable tension on the sideline. Opposing defenses have no fear of his OC abilities and for good reason. The offense this year was a times, horrid. Yes, there were a few games where it sputtered to life, but even then there would be plays called that made zero sense and it's that factor that has more than a few on the team seeming to express some WTF moments.

If the front office were to choose Bevell over Graham, that is a front office that will lose even more credibility with some of the core players of this team and the ugly slide will get very steep very fast.

 

[WindCityHawk]

RIGHT ON. A healthy Graham could give the organization another 3-4 years of very productive/dominant play from the TE position. The thought of having Bevell calling the offense for another 3-4 years makes me shudder.

Bevell needs to go. Clearly his presence has contributed to considerable tension on the sideline. Opposing defenses have no fear of his OC abilities and for good reason. The offense this year was a times, horrid. Yes, there were a few games where it sputtered to life, but even then there would be plays called that made zero sense and it's that factor that has more than a few on the team seeming to express some WTF moments.

If the front office were to choose Bevell over Graham, that is a front office that will lose even more credibility with some of the core players of this team and the ugly slide will get very steep very fast.

Indeed. I still believe that firing Bevell, even as a gesture, would send a clear message to the whole organization that if you don't perform to championship standards, you will not be part of this team.

Unfairly or not, he should have been sacked after XLIX, just to send that message. Keeping the offensive coaching staff together after a historical blunder like that has been a slow poison for this team, and the insistence that everything is fine isn't fooling anyone.

You could also argue that going out and getting a tall red zone threat in JG was a silly, a knee-jerk reaction to the same play. In either case, a mistake has been made in one of these areas, and must be rectified if this team is going to shake their demons and move forward.

If the team insists on keeping Bevell, fine, but then they should trade Graham and put his money into the O-line to better fit Bevell's vision of the offense. It's a severe ultimatum, but the team really should choose between Graham and Bevell.

 

[semiahmoo]

RIGHT ON. A healthy Graham could give the organization another 3-4 years of very productive/dominant play from the TE position. The thought of having Bevell calling the offense for another 3-4 years makes me shudder.

Bevell needs to go. Clearly his presence has contributed to considerable tension on the sideline. Opposing defenses have no fear of his OC abilities and for good reason. The offense this year was a times, horrid. Yes, there were a few games where it sputtered to life, but even then there would be plays called that made zero sense and it's that factor that has more than a few on the team seeming to express some WTF moments.

If the front office were to choose Bevell over Graham, that is a front office that will lose even more credibility with some of the core players of this team and the ugly slide will get very steep very fast.

Indeed. I still believe that firing Bevell, even as a gesture, would send a clear message to the whole organization that if you don't perform to championship standards, you will not be part of this team.

Unfairly or not, he should have been sacked after XLIX, just to send that message. Keeping the offensive coaching staff together after a historical blunder like that has been a slow poison for this team, and the insistence that everything is fine isn't fooling anyone.

You could also argue that going out and getting a tall red zone threat in JG was a silly, a knee-jerk reaction to the same play. In either case, a mistake has been made in one of these areas, and must be rectified if this team is going to shake their demons and move forward.

If the team insists on keeping Bevell, fine, but then they should trade Graham and put his money into the O-line to better fit Bevell's vision of the offense. It's a severe ultimatum, but the team really should choose between Graham and Bevell.

And dimes to dollars that conversation is going on right now.

Wonder which side Wilson will support, or if he wimps out and keeps quiet?

Little guy needs to step up and sound off to the Front Office. Him and Graham are supposed to be good friends now. Would love to see RW tell Schnieder it's time for Bevell to move on. That would also send a message to the entire team that RW has the power to send them packing. Step up, perform, and don't piss off the franchise QB.