Why I wanted to trade Jimmy Graham
Posted 06-08-2014 at 03:52 PM by SAINTstunna
Hear me out before you jump to conclusions and wrongfully bash me. I am sick of this Jimmy Graham saga and wish he goes away. As many of you have posted in the past, JG is one dimensional and is soft as doctor's cotton. He can't block or create separation against bigger corners guarding him. On any other team with any other quarter back he would not have those spectacular numbers. I want him to test the market and see if the grass is greener on the other side. Yes, he will get more money, but his production will be cut in half. We can't cripple the team giving this dude this contract and have almost 200 million tied up between Him and Drew Brees.
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Not quite sure how you would want to let go of a 6'6 270 pound TE who runs like a deer when healthy. The guy was having a MONSTER season until his injury week 6. He tore his Plantar Fascia man, this causes some serious pain. Still, his play only suffered in a few games against teams who had good game plans to take him out of the game. He finished the season with 86 grabs for 1,215 yards with 16 TDs(league leading) with a 14.1 average. Including six 100+ yard games. Some one else has to step up in games against teams that have an effective game plan, Jimmy can't do everything. With Cooks being the threat he is I think the pressure will be taken back off a Graham and he will have another monster season. Not trying to bash you. I just feel like he's worth it.Posted 06-08-2014 at 04:54 PM by whodatson504
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POSTED THIS ABOUT A WEEK AGO
I'm so tired of this bull with Graham...U know u r not a wide receiver...U even was elected to the Pro Bowl as a Tight End... The Saints were willing to make u the highest paid tight end which u rightfully deserved... I don't know if Graham is taking this approach himself or listening to his agent or what but it needs to come to an end... Like I've stated before, we won a ring without him, even though it would be very nice to have him for this run, we've shown we can do it without him... And now with the pieces we've added I feel this team is just as good if not better than the '09 team... So if he can't get his mind right, Mickey should go ahead and pull the trigger for a trade and take a 1st and two 3s ... We wouldn't have the burden of his contract and we can sign a Jermicheal Finley if he is physically fit...
Talk to a team of our liking, preferably Tennessee or Buffalo (AFC)
Seattle, New England and San Francisco can offer all they want but no dice...
JUST MY THOUGHTSPosted 06-08-2014 at 05:09 PM by davethe3
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As I believe I've pointed out in other posts the ship of JG being gone has sailed. There are only three possible outcomes and one is virtually impossible:
1. Long term contract
2. JG plays under the 1 year tender.
3. JG holds out the entire season (this is the virtually impossibility)
It's just not possible to separate a player from the context they play in. Stating that JG would be a lesser player on another team is a moot point. The point is over the last 3 years JG has had close to historic production for a TE in the system he's in. To let that production get away for nothing would be foolish on the team's part.
As for the money, we all know that all NFL contracts are barely worth the paper they are written on. The only money that counts is the guaranteed money. Everything else is subject to restructure or if necessary releasing the player on the back end of the contract. As you can see from the last 4-5 QB contracts, that Brees' $60 million guaranteed is almost a bargain. And he will restructure when the times comes and if he wants to continue playing.
And Dave, it's not possible to trade a player that you do not have under contract. As of this moment JG is a free agent. The Saints only rights to him are under the franchise tender. They have no rights to trade.
And once again I just have to wonder about everyone's frustration about someone trying to get paid a fair wage to do their job. Despite the fact that the discussion is about 10s of millions of dollars, I'd bet a dime to a dollar that we would all operate under the same principles if we were in a similar situation.
1. If you were doing a job for a training wage and you were doing the job better than anyone has ever done it, when it was time to sign for the contract, would you not want to get as much as you could?
2. If you had an opportunity to reclassify your job position and get a 20% raise, would you not put in the paperwork?
3. If other companies were offering you top dollar for your services, would you not go back to the company you were working for and ask for a raise that's close the offers you are getting from others?
4. Would you expect your family and friends to get mad with you because you are trying to get paid?
5. Finally if the offer wasn't as good as the outside offers would you stay with your current company and give them "the hometown discount" out of loyalty?
I know we are all passionate about the Saints. But this is business and making a living for the players, staff, and organizations. I fully expect that top rated players are going ask for, and are often given, close to fair market value for their services. To expect otherwise is nonsensical.
I still shake my head at fans that thought that we needed to let Brees go during his last contract negotiation.
Let me give you some prospective on this. There are currently 8 tight ends in the NFL HOF (with Gonzales and Gates to be locks). With 41 TDs over 4 years Graham has already passed 3 of them on the all time TD list. With 15 more (not an unreasonable goal for 2014), he will have passed everyone except for Shannon Sharpe. He will have more TDs than Jason Witten (currently at 52) in half the time.
Just think about it a bit...
SFIAHPosted 06-09-2014 at 11:06 AM by SaintFanInATLHELL
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I understand your point Stunna and I believe I know what you're thinking. Graham does not block or break tackles like a 260lb man should. Someone should show him some film of Mike Ditka playing TE. Maybe our inept running game is all Graham's fault.
In regards to your desire to trade Jimmy Graham I could only agree if the other team was offering something like what Minnesota gave Dallas for Herschel Walker or what we gave up to draft Ricky Williams. Before injuring his foot last year, Graham was putting up NFL MVP type numbers and yes I believe he could one day earn that title. First of all I want to clarify my position completely on Graham. I believe he is a WR. And I believe he is the best WR in the NFL. He lined up in a three point stance about a third of the time last year. He also caught more fade routes than anyone else in the league and almost always against the opposing teams best cover corner. I would take Jimmy Graham over Calvin Johnson. Even if I'm wrong here it's not by much. If Graham is not the best WR in the league he's definetely in the top 5. Before the injury he was completely unstoppable. Graham is 6"6 260 lbs and runs a 4.4 40 yd dash(he repeatedly claims this). If you don't believe he's that fast, ask yourself how he led the league in fade route catches. And height will not get you open deep consistently. Colston doesn't catch many fade routes. Also use your eyes. Have you ever seen a linebacker run with him? He is big tall and fast. A matchup nightmare. I would love to see the Saints go all in and plAy him at WR full time. He's way faster than Colston ever was. What can Colston do that Graham can't? Besides BLOCK! Sorry I couldn't resist. But seriously I believe his talents would be best utilized as a WR full time. That is unless he decided to get nasty and was actually able to effectively run block. I actually believed the same thing about Reggie Bush when he was a Saint. Reggie is a good tailback but could've been the best WR in the league. Bush ran a 4.3 40 yd dash and like Graham caught a lot of fade routes. Bush had in my opinion the best hands on the team catching 90 passes as a rookie tailback. Bush was a polished route runner and most importantly could break tackles, make people miss and had the rare ability to turn a 5 yd curl into an 80 yd TD catch. One year Reggie was in New Orleans, Pittsburgh won the SuperBowl. The SuperBowl MVP was Santonio Holmes, a comparable athlete to Reggie except smaller weaker slower and less dependable hands. Like Graham, Reggie often lined up as a WR and also like Jimmy was also almost always covered by the opposing defenses best cover corner. I promise you Reggie would've been a better WR than Lance Moore or Devery Henderson. The beauty of Jimmy Graham is that it doesn't matter where you play him because virtually no one can match up with him. I don't think anyone can when he's healthy and when he is from now on I predict Graham will draw constant double teams. Finally if Graham does stAy at TE even as a poor run blocker he still bolsters your run game. Defenses cover Jimmy with corners not LB so most defenses are playing the Saints with a nickle package to try and cover Jimmy. I am still hoping that Jimmy Graham will one day completely shed the image of a basketball player and become a mean and nasty football player. If he could run block and steamroll corners like others his size have before, with his pass catching ability, I believe he could become one of the best football players ever and even potentially threaten some of Jerry Rices receiving records.Posted 07-27-2014 at 05:19 AM by billyt81
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