Anyone Watching TE Ben Watson in the New Orleans Game?

[xgeoff]

If so, you'll see that the magic was not necessarily Jimmy Graham. It was how he was used. Watson is having a monster day and it's not really magic. They have him running routes over the middle where there is lots of room. Brock Huard called this out as well this week.

Why run Graham on 3yd out routes? There is tons of room over the middle when teams line up in man-to-man, yet we seem to refuse to put Graham on those routes. The one time that I remember that we did was when Graham scored against Chicago.

I'm not saying that if you look at the numbers that Graham's production is bad, cause it isn't. And I realize that early in the season the O-line made doing anything challenging. But now that the O-line might actually be protecting Russ, I think it is time to learn some lessons from the Saints, and the Patriots, and the Bengals...

We need better plays Darrell, especially in 3rd and short situations. And especially in the 4th Quarter

 

[gonzhawk]

It's still less about Graham and more about Russ when it comes to throwing over the middle-
someone put up a scatter plot of his throws since he has been here and maybe its by O Coordinator design, but
we seem to never use the middle for backs, WR and even TE's
Please someone correct me if I am wrong?

Those throws mean you have to hold in the pocket and less "Scramble" plays which is what does not occur with
this offense-

 

[Blitzer88]

We need to have Brees come out here and give Russell some advice on how to step up in the pocket and utilize the middle of the field as a shorter QB.

 

[Tech Worlds]

Yep. Picked him up this afternoon for my fantasy team.

 

[massari]

Watson has 500 yards in 3 seasons with the Saints.

How could you say "the magic was not Jimmy Graham"?

Name one TE on the Saints other than Graham that's had any significant production over the course of a full season when it comes to recieving.

BTW, Zach Miller had 142 yeards and a TD in game with the Seahawks aswell.

 

[Threedee]

It's all about the Bevell.

 

[BlackandGolden]

We need to have Brees come out here and give Russell some advice on how to step up in the pocket and utilize the middle of the field as a shorter QB.

I believe he may have, back when Brees met RW in the pro bowl.

 

[theENGLISHseahawk]

Graham runs over the middle fairly frequently.

Rather than assume Bevell to blame, let's consider:

a.) Wilson very rarely steps into the pocket and throws over the middle.

B.) The pass protection has been so bad at times from the left guard and center he hasn't been able to stick long enough to be effective on this type of throw.

FWIW, the Seahawks had a very effective and well designed rub on a key late third down. Graham ran a seam out and the DB fell over after contact with the pick. Wilson took a sack. He was wide open.

But yeah. Bevell.

 

[Popeyejones]

Watson has 500 yards in 3 seasons with the Saints.

How could you say "the magic was not Jimmy Graham"?

Why are you counting the two years he spent sitting behind Graham?

Here's how you say "the magic was not Jimmy Graham":

Since the trade, so far this year a 34 year old, marginally talented Ben Watson has more receptions, more yards, and the same number of TDs as Jimmy Graham.

Not saying it's true, but if you want an answer for why "the magic was not Jimmy Graham" it's short and sweet and there it is.

 

[kearly]

When Pete is asked about Graham's lack of production, he's consistently put the onus on his coaching staff for needing to 'figure things out' rather than challenging Russell to improve at his reads and anticipation. Pete is not afraid to challenge Russell from the presser either- he's done it before- most recently after the Lions game he challenged Russell to get the ball out quicker.

I would agree that Wilson shares a slice of the blame but at the same time, it's up to the coaches to design a system that puts Wilson in position to make those plays with his tendencies and give Wilson open looks more than just occasionally.

To me the problem with the passing offense is that everyone in the NFL has the Seahawks blueprint. When Seattle runs short routes, often all of the receivers will run the same short route. When they go deep, often they'll have all the receivers go deep. By the end of the Cincy game, the Bengals were running routes for our receivers because it didn't take long before they got a feel for how the routes went and how Wilson would react to defensive looks. Brock Huard is a Bevell defender and even he was exasperated by this.

Having the book on Seattle extends to other areas. We have a QB who needs to get outside the pocket to buy time, and every time Seattle calls a bootleg, teams auto-blitz it because they know Seattle won't counter the bootleg blitz.

The Seahawks have an offense that depends on the players to beat their assignment to get open. If you line up five receivers, and one of them wins the assignment, that's great, but only if Wilson happens to see it and is capable of making the throw at that moment (pressure). This is why I think Richardson got off to a really nice start before the injury, because his route running was so good that he could win his assignment with consistency and Wilson started looking to Richardson as a 1st read.

This is in contrast to a team like say the Eagles that acquires middling WR/QB talent but makes them look like all stars because the route combinations free guys open on most of their plays. I don't pretend to know more than our coaches, but I have never heard any explanation for why Seattle avoids a similar route philosophy, especially considering how much Wilson would thrive in a system that consistently manufactured wide open targets. You look around the league and the best passing offenses are the ones that are the very best at using route combinations and even some 'cheap' tactics to get guys open. So why not Seattle?

The fact that Seattle has a decent passing attack by simply asking players to win matchups on their own speaks glowingly of the talent we have.

Long story short, Seattle has obvious tendencies on offense and has relied on execution to overcome them. But the more other teams get the book on our team, the harder this becomes, especially with the offensive line not giving enough time.

 

[SalishHawkFan]

So what you're saying, Kearly, is Fire Bevell.

 

[massari]

Watson has 500 yards in 3 seasons with the Saints.

How could you say "the magic was not Jimmy Graham"?

Why are you counting the two years he spent sitting behind Graham?

Here's how you say "the magic was not Jimmy Graham":

Since the trade, so far this year a 34 year old, marginally talented Ben Watson has more receptions, more yards, and the same number of TDs as Jimmy Graham.

Not saying it's true, but if you want an answer for why "the magic was not Jimmy Graham" it's short and sweet and there it is.

Why was he sitting behind Graham for the two years? Not because he is better, i'm guessing.

Before that big game by Watson last week, the most yards a Saints TE has had in a game this season was 42 yards.

Obviously if Wilson and Bevell choose not to throw the ball to Graham and use him properly, he's not going to put up numbers. Nor would prime Jerry Rice.