Graham's dominance in OTA's is probably not an accident

[scutterhawk]

At least if he won MVP it would shut up the people he say he isn't "elite".

YEP. ^

 

[scutterhawk]

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy things are going as they are.

Kip points out an important aspect. NO CONTACT.
IMHO, contact is the best way to defend JG. It's no surprise to me (without contact) he is kicking butt.
GoHawks :{)

There's the fact too, JG is learning some new stuff from Cable, and is ready and willing to expand his wares, by blocking on defenders, and giving them some apprehension about just unloading on him...If you're going to dish it out, you'd better be ready to take it too. :thfight7:
I'm curious as to how well the big kid is coming along in that regards. :thirishdrinkers:

 

[Ruminator]

Shoot, it's going to be August before you know it -- when we finally get to start witnessing consistently good Seahawk red zone efficiency for the first time in a long while. Can. Not. Wait.

 

[Seafan]

At least if he won MVP it would shut up the people he say he isn't "elite".

And the arguments against paying him 22M+ would evaporate. I have no doubt the offense is going to start shifting to Wilson as the focal point. It's just how things work in the NFL. The quarterback gets paid and the team expects to get their money's worth. Fair is fair as they say.

Wilson won't get the numbers needed to get the MVP. Not that he isn't valuable. The offense in Seattle will always be focused on the running game as long as PC is head coach. Whether Wilson is elite is debateable but what is not debateable is he is the franchise QB and leader. Those guys will get paid as such. There are some iffy QBs making a lot of money. That's just the way the market is.

Graham represents the first true "go to receiver" of the Wilson era. Sidney was supposed to be that guy. When RW needs to get that first down or when they get into the red zone he'll have his go to guy. Russ is going to treat him like gold. Since he is.

 

[BadgerVid]

It's not like the Seahawks are trying to get Russell for $8 million per season. They have offered a fair contract. I think it would be silly for Russell's agent to get his client to try to get to free agency...

I think I must have missed the publication of this one. Might you give some specifics?

 

[Tical21]

I like that Russell is kicking the tires on his new toy. Russell is trying to get on the same page with Graham as quickly as possible. If they can turn it into one of those "I always know where he is and what he is thinking" relationships, you are on your way to becoming unstoppable. I think you're right that Russell views Graham as his ticket, although I think the MVP talk is about 1000 yards short realistically.

If we now automatically become efficient against man coverage, I am absolutely elated. I've gone on and on about how I see this as our biggest weakness as an offense. I would worry a bit about Russ hanging him out to dry, as he just about got Percy murdered by hanging the ball up to him in traffic when he was in trouble. But Graham is a big boy, hopefully he can take it.

If this combination is really that unstoppable against man coverage, teams will adjust, which in most ways will be really good for us. Some coordinators might try to play more zone. Marshawn will punish them for this. The read option will punish them for this. Other coordinators will double him. In this scenario, our passing game is pretty much in the same boat they've been in for the last two years, but that second defender that is now covering Graham would have normally been a blitzer or spy. Playing man coverage against Russell without a spy is a dangerous proposition. More importantly than all of these, it should free up our outside receivers. Not that we've been able to exploit that anyways. However, if one of them can step up, they'll have free reign. All good things.

 

[chris98251]

One area I'd like to see if RW can grow in is exploiting favorable match-ups, which I think you're almost always going to have if Graham is one-on-one in the redzone. The spread-it-around approach has been pretty successful so far, but sometimes our receivers and tight ends get lost for games at a time. Can't let that happen with Graham. Of course, you hope Wilson doesn't start forcing it for passing glory either, which in itself was problematic a couple times last year (most notably the NFCCG).

To me, hearing that Wilson is really looking for Graham during practice reps is good news. I say, let's forget the "blend him in" approach we tried with Harvin. Let's actually get a guy some respectable targets. If it leads RW to putting up a monster season, another 'ship and a monster deal, so be it. Greater good.

I think your way off the mark, we did anything but blend in Harvin, Bevell was Bubble screen left, bubble screen right, reverse, bubble screen again, the rest the offense was just going thru the motions. It worked for a game and then was bottled up.

The other receivers were open and the ball was forced to Harvin. I don't want to see that again,

 

[Anthony!]

If you got it, flaunt it. Russell is playing with his new toy and hopefully his new toy continues to give him happiness. I've read a bit about Matthews getting Russell's attention too, but since he is a relative unknown, he doesn't garner the attention from the media.

Jimmy Graham is one of the best TEs in the NFL and he now plays for the Seahawks. Russell knows he now has one of the best TEs in the NFL and knows it would be silly to go to his third rate WR corps when he now has a much better option in the red zone.

Russell isn't going anywhere anytime soon and his agent can huff and puff and threaten to blow the house down all he wants and Russell will still be a Seahawk and his client will be playing without a guaranteed contract for at least three seasons. Soon, Russell's agent will figure out that Russell's best interest will be to have a long term contract that has a bunch of money guaranteed. It's not like the Seahawks are trying to get Russell for $8 million per season. They have offered a fair contract. I think it would be silly for Russell's agent to get his client to try to get to free agency. It makes much more sense to believe that Russell could cash in on his next two contracts, because that is what Russell will have a chance to do.

The Seahawks have 45 players signed through next season and will have approximately $40 million in cap space next season to use to fill out their roster. Besides Russell and Wags, does anyone see anyone on this list of free agents next year that the Seahawks can't live without?

PLAYER (34) POS. AGE FROM TO 2015 CAP HIT STATUS
Russell Okung LT 27 SEA TBD $7,280,000 UFA
Brandon Mebane DT 30 SEA TBD $5,700,000 UFA
Tony McDaniel DT 30 SEA TBD $3,625,000 UFA
Bruce Irvin OLB 25 SEA TBD $2,895,542 UFA
Ahtyba Rubin DT 28 SEA TBD $2,553,125 UFA
Jermaine Kearse WR 25 SEA TBD $2,356,000 UFA
Russell Wilson QB 26 SEA TBD $1,696,868 UFA
J.R. Sweezy G 26 SEA TBD $1,556,212 UFA
Jon Ryan P 33 SEA TBD $1,500,000 UFA
Bobby Wagner ILB 24 SEA TBD $1,370,663 UFA
Michael Morgan OLB 27 SEA TBD $1,000,000 UFA
Greg Scruggs DE 24 SEA TBD $785,000 UFA
Robert Turbin RB 25 SEA TBD $774,114 UFA
Anthony McCoy TE 27 SEA TBD $735,000 UFA
Jeremy Lane CB 24 SEA TBD $691,279 UFA
Will Tukuafu FB 31 SEA TBD $665,000 UFA
Will Blackmon CB 30 SEA TBD $665,000 UFA
Lemuel Jeanpierre C 28 SEA TBD $665,000 UFA
Demarcus Dobbs DE 27 SEA TBD $665,000 UFA
Deshawn Shead S 26 SEA TBD $660,000 UFA
Ricardo Lockette WR 29 SEA TBD $660,000 UFA
D'Anthony Smith DT 26 SEA TBD $635,000 UFA
Alvin Bailey G 23 SEA TBD $587,000 RFA
Derrick Coleman FB 24 SEA TBD $585,000 RFA
Patrick Lewis C 24 SEA TBD $585,000 RFA
Mister Alexander LB 27 SEA TBD $585,000 RFA
Keavon Milton TE 24 SEA TBD $510,000 RFA
Cooper Helfet TE 26 SEA TBD $510,000 RFA
Marcus Burley CB 24 SEA TBD $510,000 ERFA
David King DE 25 SEA TBD $510,000 ERFA
Chris Matthews WR 25 SEA TBD $510,000 ERFA
Steven Terrell S 24 SEA TBD $510,000 ERFA
Jesse Williams DT 24 SEA TBD $435,000 ERFA
Kona Schwenke DT 23 SEA TBD $435,000 ERFA

I know I'm all over the place with this post...I blame inebriation.

Edit: I took the time to space all those names and numbers out and they still crunched together. I don't know what I did wrong.

a few things number 1 the tag number for next year is 25 mil, the year after over 30 do they cannot afford Rw for 3 years as all of it hits the cap that year and at once. Next if the offer you are referring to that is the 4 year 80 mil than you missed thee mark as that was not a fair offer given what Tannenhill and newton got.

 

[Sterlinghawk]

I'll bet he's trying to "silence the lambs" in his head after the last red zone play he made.

#5 receiver with not enough want to on a slant in traffic from the one yard line....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I never force the ball, I'm almost too cautious....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I know we had Beast but I wanted to be mvp and look what chasing personal goals got me (toss & catch to JG)

We'll show em this time (toss $ catch to JG)

Ad as many as you want cause I'll bet it doesn't even come close to what's gone through RW 's head

Just some musings from my twisted brain.

It's gotta suck claiming you want to be G.O.A.T. and later throw the interception that lost the Superbowl

 

[Anthony!]

I'll bet he's trying to "silence the lambs" in his head after the last red zone play he made.

#5 receiver with not enough want to on a slant in traffic from the one yard line....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I never force the ball, I'm almost too cautious....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I know we had Beast but I wanted to be mvp and look what chasing personal goals got me (toss & catch to JG)

We'll show em this time (toss $ catch to JG)

Ad as many as you want cause I'll bet it doesn't even come close to what's gone through RW 's head

Just some musings from my twisted brain.

It's gotta suck claiming you want to be G.O.A.T. and later throw the interception that lost the Superbowl

You realize some of what you said is like not even correct.

 

[Sterlinghawk]

I'll bet he's trying to "silence the lambs" in his head after the last red zone play he made.

#5 receiver with not enough want to on a slant in traffic from the one yard line....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I never force the ball, I'm almost too cautious....what was I thinking (toss & catch to JG)

I know we had Beast but I wanted to be mvp and look what chasing personal goals got me (toss & catch to JG)

We'll show em this time (toss $ catch to JG)

Ad as many as you want cause I'll bet it doesn't even come close to what's gone through RW 's head

Just some musings from my twisted brain.

It's gotta suck claiming you want to be G.O.A.T. and later throw the interception that lost the Superbowl

You realize some of what you said is like not even correct.

Yep

 

[aawolf]

I just hope that we haven't shown too much with all this OTA hype and that teams will actually cover Graham one-on-one. The more hype, the more teams are going to be focusing on Graham in the Red Zone. We need to keep this under wraps IMO.

Wilson excels in getting balls to WR's running beyond the coverage and getting WR's the ball who can out jump the secondary. Graham has the speed and the size to thrive with these types of throws so long as he is not double covered.

 

[McGruff]

We need to keep Jimmy Graham under wraps?

Really? You think that's going to happen?

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

If this combination is really that unstoppable against man coverage, teams will adjust, which in most ways will be really good for us. Some coordinators might try to play more zone. Marshawn will punish them for this. The read option will punish them for this. Other coordinators will double him. In this scenario, our passing game is pretty much in the same boat they've been in for the last two years, but that second defender that is now covering Graham would have normally been a blitzer or spy. Playing man coverage against Russell without a spy is a dangerous proposition. More importantly than all of these, it should free up our outside receivers. Not that we've been able to exploit that anyways. However, if one of them can step up, they'll have free reign. All good things.

Definitely the addition of Graham was fortuitous in all the on-field, Xs and Os ways mentioned by Tical. I also think it coincides perfectly for what should be a natural increase in Russell's awareness. As productive and intuitive as he's been, I'm expecting the game to slow down for him even more going into his 4th year.

The most common complaints about RW's game are his hesitancy, not seeing open receivers, and occasionally floating some passes. I don't expect a 180° turnaround, but a healthy 15-20% upgrade in awareness seems reasonable. Add to that a catch-radius monster who can dominate over the middle and down the seam, and RW could at least get people talking about MVP – even if voters aren't yet able to wrap their heads around a QB candidate from a run-heavy team.

 

[sutz]

OTAs are about personnel, evaluating what the team has and who is in shape

Scheme and play calling are practiced in training camp.

 

[chris98251]

I see us using Graham like we used Sydney Rice, will go down 10 to 15 yds and sideline, high pass with no interception chance if off target, then the fake and streak down the field for the big gain. Redzone may get first look, deep fade or the jump ball depending on coverage, or used as a clean out and a under coverage guy comes in to make a catch.

 

[Hasselbeck]

I see it more as Wilson is trying to create chemistry with Graham as quickly as possible more than anything else. If you recall, he never really had a chance to create that with Harvin until a year later.. and even then, Bevell was trying to figure out how the hell to use him properly.

 

[Trenchbroom]

The most likely explanation as to why he threw to Graham in the red zone is, uh...that he was OPEN? That he's instantly the best receiver on the field when he takes his first step on the grass every day--that have something to do with why he was targeted all the time maybe?

Kip you are a must read around here, but I think your post is a bit too conspiracy theory.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

I'm actually worried about how much Wilson throws to Graham. No receiver is invincible, can't be double-covered, or can't be put in a trap by savvy DC's.

Graham's value lies not in just being a reliable target, but opening up opportunities for other receivers. Wilson is still a young QB. He's shown the distinct look-for-the-big-play tendency, often passing up other shorter throws in order to hang on to it. I do hope he's not about the transfer this "lock-on" tendency to Graham. This season of his development is about scanning on the field and taking what the defense gives you.

 

[DavidSeven]

One area I'd like to see if RW can grow in is exploiting favorable match-ups, which I think you're almost always going to have if Graham is one-on-one in the redzone. The spread-it-around approach has been pretty successful so far, but sometimes our receivers and tight ends get lost for games at a time. Can't let that happen with Graham. Of course, you hope Wilson doesn't start forcing it for passing glory either, which in itself was problematic a couple times last year (most notably the NFCCG).

To me, hearing that Wilson is really looking for Graham during practice reps is good news. I say, let's forget the "blend him in" approach we tried with Harvin. Let's actually get a guy some respectable targets. If it leads RW to putting up a monster season, another 'ship and a monster deal, so be it. Greater good.

I think your way off the mark, we did anything but blend in Harvin, Bevell was Bubble screen left, bubble screen right, reverse, bubble screen again, the rest the offense was just going thru the motions. It worked for a game and then was bottled up.

The other receivers were open and the ball was forced to Harvin. I don't want to see that again,

Besides the Dallas game where our entire receiving corps flat-out quit on Harvin, name me one game where this was even remotely true.

Harvin was used effectively against Green Bay, Denver, and Washington. He was pouting during the San Diego game but barely even played.