Seattle Seahawks News: Pete Carroll Does Not Regret Jimmy Graham Trade
The latest Seattle Seahawks news is that head coach Pete Carroll has publicly stated that he does not regret making a trade with the New Orleans Saints for tight end Jimmy Graham, according to NFL.com.
Pete Carroll does not regret Jimmy Graham trade
Back in March, Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll made quite the big splash. Offensively, his team was good since quarterback Russell Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch were two of the best at their respective positions. However, Seattle simply could not put the ball into the end zone often enough once they got into the red zone. Carroll needed a solution, so he called the New Orleans Saints to see if they were willing to give up tight end Jimmy Graham, who had produced a whopping 26 touchdowns over a two year stretch.
The trade went through. The Seahawks got Graham by sacrificing their starting center, Max Unger, who had anchored the offensive line with offensive tackle Russell Okung. Carroll had to swap his first round draft pick for a fourth round draft pick. Things didn’t start out too hot for Graham in Seattle. It took him some time to find his place on the offense. Once he started catching on, the former University of Miami star was injured for the season. Despite all of that, though, Carroll opted to publicly state that he does not regret the move whatsoever.
When Pete Carroll traded away center Max Unger, he knew that he was giving up a good player. He was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and made the first team All-Pro during 2012. Carroll just didn’t know how much he was downgrading his offensive line. Offensive guard J.R. Sweezy and offensive tackle Russell Okung are really good players but that line took a hit when Unger left. Max was really good at calling out the blocking schemes and blitzes, which enabled the entire unit to function better.
The weakened offensive line is one of the biggest reasons why the Seattle Seahawks are sitting on a 6-5 record. Many had them pegged to win the NFC West but the Arizona Cardinals currently occupy the top spot with a 9-2 record. During every single game, Russell Wilson can be spotted running for his life on passing plays. Very few quarterbacks are as good as Wilson when it comes to escaping the rush and making things happen, but Wilson would much rather not rely on that too often. Marshawn Lynch has also had trouble adjusting to the new offensive line.
Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell is a smart coach. For whatever reasons, though, he didn’t make enough modifications to his offensive scheme whenever the team picked up a dynamic player like Jimmy Graham. He is not the type of player that you simply insert into an existing offensive scheme. Graham is the type of player that you build your playbook around. Instead, Bevell opted to utilize the 6’7?, 265 pound star as just another blocking tight end as his scheme does not do a lot of passing to that position.
Bevell needs to study tapes of how the New Orleans Saints utilized Graham in their offensive scheme. There, he was moved around all over the place, much like the Joker position is utilized by New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel. By doing that, defensive coordinators always have to know where Graham is on the field. That makes play calling a lot more difficult for them. Jimmy is especially dominant when lined up outside against a smaller corner back.
Who do you think got the best of the Jimmy Graham trade?
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