Graham had his best day as a Seahawk. That’s particularly notable given that reports surfaced this week that Graham was unhappy with his role in Seattle after having just one catch last week in Green Bay.
It was while Jimmy Graham talked at his locker that a familiar voice boomed a message from the other side of the room.
“Don’t matter!” Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson shouted. “Don’t matter!”
Fitting, given those words have been something of a mantra this season for Graham, the Seahawks tight end. Graham has reminded Wilson that sometimes he is open even if he doesn’t look it, particularly on throws in the seams down the middle.
“That’s something that takes time, because a lot of times you’re going to be covered,” Graham said. “A guy is going to be draped on you, but like I tell Russ, ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Big guys like me and that man right there” — he nodded at Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews — “sometimes you just have to throw it. That’s something that we’re working on. He knows where to place the ball, and he knows what to do. We’ll just keep working on that chemistry.”
Said Wilson, “We always talk about that. That’s the philosophy and mindset to play with.”
Graham had his best game in a Seahawks uniform in a 26-0 victory Sunday against the Bears. He caught seven passes for 83 yards and a touchdown and was targeted a team-high eight times.
Graham caught just one pass last week in a defeat at Green Bay, and reports surfaced he was frustrated and unhappy with his role in the offense.
“I didn’t know I was frustrated last week,” Graham said, “but just to clarify things I’m not frustrated at all because we won. That’s really all I care about.”
He has shown his potential as a game-changing threat through three games in Seattle, but the reality is that all parties are still feeling their way through a new relationship.
Graham’s ability presents both a gift and a challenge for Wilson: Graham can make tough catches in traffic even with defenders all around him, but that requires a level of trust and chemistry that takes time to develop.
It was one of the concerns NFL analyst Heath Evans had when the Seahawks traded for Graham. Evans, a former fullback, played with Graham in New Orleans.
“So much of what Jimmy Graham brought to the Saints, I ask myself, ‘Can Russell make those throws yet?’ ” Evans said this summer. “When you look at what Drew (Brees) and Jimmy did in New Orleans, a lot of times Drew was throwing him open. Jimmy is a great athletic freak of nature, but at times when you put safeties on him, he doesn’t create a lot of space. Drew was just spot-on perfect at forcing the ball in a window that I’m not sure Russell can do yet.”
Wilson has searched for that balance between not forcing the ball and still giving Graham opportunities, but he looked much crisper against the Bears.
At the end of the first half, Wilson floated a pass to Graham in the end zone on a fade route. Graham couldn’t haul in the leaping catch over a defensive back, but Graham can punish teams in those situations if Wilson and the Seahawks keep giving him chances.
On Graham’s 30-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter, Wilson had enough time to wait for Graham to work open over the middle. Wilson initially had Doug Baldwin open in the flat, but he saw Graham had one-on-one coverage. Graham rewarded Wilson’s patience by breaking free.
“Russ was real patient in the pocket and really waited for me,” Graham said. “He knew it was man-to-man and threw a great strike. Obviously we’re getting better, our connection.”
Coach Pete Carroll was impressed by what happened after Graham caught the pass. Graham slipped free from a tackle and plowed into two defensive backs to score.
“That’s playmaking,” Carroll said. “That’s a special play right there. It’s great to see him part of it. We had some other chances today, too. You don’t realize it, but they had some really good (opportunities) to get him the ball, too, and they didn’t quite happen.”
Graham has 14 catches for 145 yards and two touchdowns this season.
There is work to be done, but it was clear that he and Wilson made progress.
“We have to keep that up, keep that chemistry going,” Graham said.