MontanaHawk05
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12forlife":3rngcma2 said:
"Get off JG's lap"? Now who's dragging down the discussions?
I cut that part for two reasons. 1) Because you led off with it, so it's the first thing I noticed; 2) because everything else you said has already been said by everyone else, so I didn't feel that it needed reinforcement; 3) because touchdowns are more important than anything else you mentioned.
Or, more accurately, touchdowns are the fulfillment of everything else you mentioned. Receptions between the 20's exist for the purpose of eventually scoring touchdowns. Run blocking exists for the purpose of eventually scoring touchdowns. If you have someone who can run block great, catch everything within the 20s, but can't get into the end zone, you're going to remember pretty quickly that those other things don't award points by themselves.
And, indeed, that accurately describes Seattle's passing offense from 2010-2016. Everyone wanted a bigger red-zone target, even with Lynch around. Graham promised that, but didn't provide it at first because Seattle's offense was still run-first and didn't become more evocative of spread offense until halfway through 2015. Graham prospered in Game 2 of that new offense (Steelers game), providing a big juggling deep catch and two jailbreak receptions on third-and-10+, then...got injured.
In 2016, he was doing a lot better between the numbers and dropped very little - in fact, he had some absolutely incredible highlight catches. But he didn't get into the end zone as much. The exact opposite of everyone's complaints in 2017, and something they have completely (or conveniently) forgotten.
So Graham never became a complete player and put it all together in Seattle. But guess what? Neither did Golden Tate, or Red Bryant, or Chris Clemons, or Bruce Irvin, or Kam Chancellor, or KJ Wright, or Russell Okung, or our better offensive linemen, or Jermaine Kearse, or even arguably Russell Wilson. They weren't paid to be complete players. That's never been Pete's modus operandi. They were paid to do a few things very well, things that were crucial to winning. And we felt their absence when they were gone.
So you can complain about the price disparity all you l ike, but in 2018, if we go back to ending all our drives in field goals and the Seattle media is once again bemoaning "red-zone struggles", then, well, you never appreciate what you've got until it's gone. I personally never had a problem paying big dollars for the most important offensive stat you could have (touchdowns).
Do I think other players will make up for it? Maybe. But it's not like Baldwin/Lockett/Richardson weren't scoring TD's themselves (and now one of them is gone). Graham ON TOP OF THEIR NUMBERS is what got Wilson his epic season. He was a matchup cheat code in the end zone with his effortless box-out scores. That's precisely why we WANTED a big red-zone target in the first place, for heaven's sake. I like Jaron Brown, Ed Dickson, and even Terrelle Pryor if he signs. They might make some noise. It gives us a hedge against Amara Darboh face-planting and against the draft not cooperating at those positions.
But one thing's for sure: for everyone else on this roster, we'll need massive scheming brilliance from Brian Schottenheimer to get them the ball. That's not something that Graham ever needed. That he didn't get used that way is the fault of a departed OC, not him. I wanted to see him used right, buttressed by a better-coached OL. That Graham really could have been worth $10m.
