Finally, Jimmy Graham gives Seahawks' offense the beast it needs

Vinnie Iyer

•
Finally, Jimmy Graham gives Seahawks' offense the beast it needs image

Jimmy Graham came to Seattle as a fantastic beast. It's about time the Seahawks knew where to find him.

Monday Night Football was a great time for the dominant athletic receiving tight end to have his best game as a Seahawk. Graham's team needed every bit of his immense talent to outscore the visiting Bills in a 31-25 surprise shootout victory.

The Seahawks' No. 1 scoring defense, missing the injured Michael Bennett and Kam Chancellor, was lost and undisciplined against a creative, balanced Buffalo offense for most of the game, until the final gun. The Seahawks' offense had more massive problems running the ball. Russell Wilson, still not totally healthy himself, was under more consistent pressure while still getting impact plays from only one wide receiver, Doug Baldwin.

FANTASY: Week 10 tight end rankings

Leave it to Graham then to explode in his natural habitat. Graham lit up the Bills for eight catches, 103 yards and two nasty one-handed touchdowns, both tone-setters in the first half. Going back to his younger Saints glory days, he has 12 receiving TDs on MNF, most among active players.

It was a throwback to that more consistent, more dominant and healthy time of his career, but also a important fast forward for a slumping Seahawks' offense in search of a boost. With no 'Beast Mode 2" yet out of their Marshawn Lynch-less, Thomas Rawls-down rushing attack, the Seahawks have lacked matching the same physical intimidation they bring with their defense when it's at full strength.

Last season — his first in Seattle after a rare NFL blockbuster trade — was a mess. He was an outsider learning a new offense that was more fine tuned to stretch the field with wideouts and pound more with backs in the red zone. Just as a light came on for both team and player late in 2015, Graham suffered a torn patellar tendon, effectively ending his rebirth.

Many veteran players would be felled by that and never regain their big, bad self. It has taken a while for Graham's still banged-up knee to heal and for his play not to be limited in any way.

FANTASY: Week 10 defense/special teams rankings

Then came his long-awaited absolute best against Buffalo. He was the ultimate combination of deep- and red-zone threat, shooting into routes before he collected a pair of Wilson strikes just inside the 20 — from 17 and then 18 yards out. It's hard for anyone to single-handedly win a game in the NFL, but Graham literally made his case with those amazing grabs.

For good measure, he even added some of those old basketball hops, hurdling Bills cornerback Stephon Gilmore in route to his second score. Heck, there was even some strong blocking from Graham at more than a few points in the game.

WATCH: Seahawks-Bills officiating disaster

Looking at some of the Seahawks' offensive line woes the past two seasons, especially in '16, there have been many to declare their deal for Graham as an all-out bust. That's because former Seahawks center Max Unger has been a durable, veteran rock for the Saints.  

There was more fuel to that fire last week. Graham had a silent day back in New Orleans, while Unger was an anchor in front of a victorious Drew Brees. 

There were, however, a lot more obstacles for Graham than Unger had. Graham needed to re-create the great chemistry with Wilson that he had once with Brees. He needed to find his way in a new scheme with some unfamiliar usage. The team had to figure out how to incorporate him within the flow of the offense without forcing the ball to him.

Health was the last obstacle to clear. He may have made jumping over Gilmore look easy now, but it was a difficult road to even get back to that athletic high point.

MORE: Seattle's offensive rebirth and nine more things that will happen

The Bills came in very stingy defensively against the tight end, save for two matchup with the Patriots. Rob Gronkowski was the one who destroyed them last week.

You remember Gronk, right? He's the guy that Graham used to be neck-and-neck with as the premier game-changer at the position. Being able to do what Gronk can do again is a great development.for Graham.

Guess who the Seahawks (5-2-1) play next week on Sunday night? Yep, Gronk's Patriots. Given it's a short week plus a long road trip for a discombobulated defense, they'll need every bit of the great Graham and then some to get enough offense to beat Tom Brady and post-bye New England in Foxborough.

Seattle's schedule then is stacked with NFC foes for the stretch run, many of which are even tougher than Buffalo on tight ends. The Seahawks, however, must keep trusting Graham to come through with a high degree of difficulty.

For other things to open up again in the Seahawks' up-tempo offense, Graham needs to remain the main attraction. They should see that he's fully, finally capable of delivering with that task.

 

Vinnie Iyer

Vinnie Iyer Photo

Vinnie Iyer, has been with TSN since 1999, not long after graduating from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. He has produced NFL content for more than 20 years, turning his attention to full-time writing in 2007. A native of St. Louis, Mo. but now a long-time resident of Charlotte, N.C. Vinnie’s top two professional sports teams are Cardinals and Blues, but he also carries purple pride for all things Northwestern Wildcats. He covers every aspect of the NFL for TSN including player evaluations, gambling and fantasy football, where he is a key contributor. Vinnie represents TSN as host of the “Locked On Fantasy Football” podcast on the Locked On network. Over his many years at TSN, he’s also written about MLB, NBA, NASCAR, college football, tennis, horse racing, film and television. His can’t-miss program remains “Jeopardy!”, where he was once a three-day champion and he is still avid about crossword puzzles and trivia games. When not watching sports or his favorite game show, Vinnie is probably watching a DC, Marvel or Star Wars-related TV or movie.