"Seahawks are stupid if they don't throw to JG every time."

Paraphrasing Jim Zorn's assessment whom my mom met at a charity event. After her donation of 1K resulted in a signed ball and Jim came up with the ball to say thank you. After she told him that Jim is her favorite Seahawk of all time, they talked shop for a bit.

Jim mentioned he had talked with Drew Brees post Jimmy Graham trade to Seattle. Not only was Brees still upset that his best weapon was traded to away for minimal compensation but Brees lamented that Seattle might not even utilize JG to his top production. It was both Brees' and Zorn's opinion that the Hawks should use Graham in motion or decoy on run plays and throw to him on every passing play because flat out he has the best chance of catching the ball even with defenders hanging on him.

I have to agree with Zorn and Brees but with our offensive strategy of protecting the ball will forcing the ball to Jimmy result in unwanted turnovers? Basically we would split the offensive production/touches between Beast and Jimmy with Russell and remaining cast as the wildcards the defense must contend with. The Hawks now have two guys on offense who can gash for yards downfield even when the defense knows whats coming. The question is will PC and Bevell push to give JG so many opportunities?

Dude....

Has anyone ever accused you of taking things too literally?

3/10.

At least paragraphs were used, so I guess that's a decent start. Guess what, we have other options beyond being New Orleans Northwest.

MizzouHawkGal":2557zot3 said:

3/10.

At least paragraphs were used, so I guess that's a decent start. Guess what, we have other options beyond being New Orleans Northwest.

Click to expand...

Let's be fair...I think 4/10 is more fair.

Seemed like a pretty good OP. I must have missed something. Is this guy Prelag or something?

The Zorn / Brees assessment sounds believable and is hard to argue with. I would be very surprised if Seattle was able to use Graham as efficiently as the Saints did.

Seattle tends to throw the ball to targets based on things Seattle feels they can exploit based on pre-snap looks. If a defense tries to take away Graham in a given game, you can expect his targets to be headed elsewhere. At the same time, there is something to be said of the value of having someone other than Marshawn Lynch commanding attention.

I think the OP's onto something. I mean, you wouldn't even have to put in a game plan.

The op just wrote the game plan.

Hyperbole or whatever aside, the 'Hawks had better listen to Zorn here. It's kinda obvious, really. Like if a former Buffalo Bill had told us to just hand Marshawn the ball and wait for the result.

Also a good way to ensure he's listed on the injury report week in and week out.

Colston has averaged more than 100 targets a year from Brees, though he's also a taller WR and probably better than any on the Seahawks roster. Graham has gotten about 135 targets per season from Brees' 660-ish attempts... I'd guess while the targets may decline, that ratio will at least be equal.

Will definitely be among the most interesting three- and four-receiver sets Seahawks have ever utilized. And it's about who gets open, not let's force-feed the superstar.

Imagine unconventional sets like Luke Willson, JG, Chris Matthews, and one other wideout. Crazy.

If every time means "as a safety blanket whenever our play breaks down."

then HELL YEAH!

My fear with Graham is that we don't find that balance, and we force it to him too often when he's not open and make him vulnerable to DB's running full speed at him. Looking for him too often when plays broke down almost got Percy decapitated the first time he took the field for us.

Tical21":2nk69pee said:

My fear with Graham is that we don't find that balance, and we force it to him too often when he's not open and make him vulnerable to DB's running full speed at him. Looking for him too often when plays broke down almost got Percy decapitated the first time he took the field for us.

Click to expand...

Luckily, there is a bit of size difference between Graham and Harvin.

Maybe that's why we drafted all those O-Linemen?

We got with an 8 man line, JG lined up at WR, Wilson at center and Lynch at tailback.

Keeps Wilson well protected and Graham is uncoverable, so just wait until he gets to the endzone and throw the ball

They still have to stack the box to stop Lynch

GENIUS

What I DON'T want to see is a radically different offense now that Graham is our TE.

Hopefully, Pete and Bevell learned something when they tried to do that for Harvin.

Yes, the offense will be different now that Graham is here... but let's not go overboard with drastic changes.

I thought the same thing when we had Percy Harvin. Then I saw them try to force-feed him the ball with jet sweeps, bubble screens, short crossing routes, etc. And it was awful. When the defense knows who is going to get the ball, it's almost impossible to execute.

A more pragmatic approach, I think, is to use Jimmy Graham in a balanced way, so that he gets the ball a lot, but is used as a decoy as well. Hopefully this allows Marshawn a little more breathing room because the D won't be able to focus on him, and I would expect this would allow Baldwin and Kearse (and add Lockett) to continue to do good things and make plays.

What I especially like is how this may affect matchups down in the Red Zone. With Graham and Matthews available as large pass targets, and Marshawn (and Russ) as run threats, we can really put a lot of pressure on opposing defenses.

I love the idea that a defense really won't know what to expect. If we can keep opposing D's off balance, we'll be able to move the ball.

I think we're going to have to use a lot of 4 TE packages next year. Line them all up on the line and hide Wilson behind them for nonstop QB sneaks. Maybe we can trade for Sproles or Trindon Holliday to hide back there too.

#1 offense, 3rd place in their division.

I'll take the Seahawks strategy.

Thanks for your input Drew.

I agree with the sentiment. As our No. 1 receiver, Graham should be lining up at Split End or in the slot, not as an in-line TE, in this offense.

People seem to think this would somehow be an alteration of our offense, when I think the opposite is true. Using Graham at TE would weaken the blocking at that position and sap Graham's energy. A much more natural position for Graham in this offense would be as a big receiver at the Split End position. He has almost the exact same measurables as BMW. I want to see him commanding double teams, drawing a safety from outside the box, and opening up opportunities for other players to exploit mismatches. Lining him up inside at TE would be a near total waste of his talents.