Jimmy Graham to Seattle

[SoxBandit]

I heard it was basically a calculated move with the understanding that Brees is now on the downside of his career, and the Saints will try to become a more balanced team with the run being a featured part of their program. It was this mindset that apparently led Ingram to want to remain with the team...promise of a heavier workload/featured role with Thomas gone.

[Bobby Brown]

John Clayton explained on Tuesday, Unger's salary is large enough that he may not have been kept on the Seahawks roster even if he hadn't been traded for Graham. "Max Unger was probably going to be a cap casualty, believe it or not," Clayton said.

 

 

 

 

Yikes.

[rajncajn]

Saints homers having a moment of silence and reflection

 

So...Josh Hill immediately relevant or is draft pick gonna be used to fill that hole?

 

Payton has been talking him up since last year, so I do believe he will have a much bigger role. Don't expect Graham 2.0.

Looks like Brees will end with 1 Super Bowl ring and no more. Unless they trade him next...

 

Not sure where the Saints are going with this - do they think Graham has suddenly gone TRich for some reason???

 

Last I checked Graham wasn't on the team in 2009.

Supposedly, graham was an issue in the locker room. I have no link for this though

 

Of course you don't because it's ridiculously false. Graham was close friends with most of the team. Even some of the defensive players were upset over the trade, especially Keenan Lewis.

I think it was a combination of being in salary cap hell and poor interior line play. Unlike most teams where pass protection is more related to stellar offensive tackle play, for Brees it's always been his interior line's play that makes him effective. Unger is a beast when healthy. The problem has been injuries the last two years, which combined with the chance to get a bonafied offensive difference maker made Seattle ok with trading him away.

 

Good posting, hit the nail on the head.

[rajncajn]

I woke up stunned by this one. Wonder if the Saints were worried about his previous injuries? Trying to find some sort of explanation for the trade. I just can't...

 

Injuries mounting, salary cap issues, teams figuring out how to defend Graham, the need for more draft picks to fix the defense and the need to address the offensive line.

I heard it was basically a calculated move with the understanding that Brees is now on the downside of his career, and the Saints will try to become a more balanced team with the run being a featured part of their program. It was this mindset that apparently led Ingram to want to remain with the team...promise of a heavier workload/featured role with Thomas gone.

 

Another good post. The Saints are trying to get back to what got them to the Superbowl before.

[rajncajn]

"There were reports."

 

You people will never learn. There were also "reports" that the Saints were negotiating with Tampa to trade Brees and select Winston. Like I said, ridiculously false.

[rajncajn]

Unless a person was actually in the locker room in person, what else would there be to go on other than "reports"? Were you in the locker room? Or are you basing your opinion on other "reports"? I do realize we are all so dumb and you are so smart. And clearly you are the world's foremost self-appointed authority on the Saints and anyone who disagrees with you about the Saints is a moran. But I'm taking Chris Mortensen's opinion over yours. He's pretty reliable.

 

 

I'm basing my opinion on what actual players and people within the organization have stated, not what some Entertainment and Sports Programming Network guy probably made up to garner web traffic and keep himself relevant. At this point I put just as much faith in ESPN as I would TMZ. I never called anyone dumb either, I said the report was ridiculous. I'm just astonished that anyone would still buy into half of anything Mortensen says that come from his so-called insider sources without some actual solid evidence. I've just seen way too many false reports to buy into any of it.

 

Honestly, I didn't mean to offend you, Don't take it personally. I'm not calling you whatever you think I am. I just really think it's sad that these guys can say pretty much whatever they want & quote some ghost source & most people just eat it up no matter how ridiculous it sounds. Especially the folks here that eat, drink & breathe this stuff and hear it all the time. Mortensen could say that he hears that there is a rift between Tom Brady and BB over his jump in the water and it'd be talked about for weeks, if not the majority of the season. I honestly believe these asses just sit around and try to come up with some crap that may sound slightly plausible and report on it as something they're "hearing" when the actual truth is that the only place they're hearing it from is the echo in the latrine where they had their epiphany.

 

Here is Mickey Loomis' quote when asked about the possibility of a Brees trade. He sounds a lot more believable than anything Mort had to say:

http://www.neworleanssaints.com/news-and-events/article-1/Mickey-Loomis-talks-about-the-Jimmy-Graham-trade/8fba2e56-897d-4457-987a-9d02349c3976

"I don't know where those got manufactured from," Loomis said from the NFL owners meetings. "I haven't made a single call asking anybody about Drew Brees. I think that's, in general, some media members having too much time on their hands and you start coming up with these 'what if' scenarios. That's the extent of that."

The rash of moves with the Saints this offseason has opened up speculation for everyone's future on the team's roster, including Brees. Loomis said the perception the Saints are involved in a fire sale isn't reality.

"We've never put a for sale sign out on all of our players. I've read that a couple of times that anything and everything was up for grabs," Loomis said. "That was never true and isn't true. And yet at the same time, you get calls from teams all the time asking about certain things and certain players. Listen, we're always available to listen.

"That doesn't mean we're shopping players or we're trying to make wholesale roster changes or anything in the way that some of these articles describe it."

 

As for Graham, I've never once heard or read anything quoted from a player or a person in the Saints organization expressing any kind of displeasure with Graham. Actually, a large number of players and coaches as well as Loomis spoke out in support of him when he was traded, Brees & Keenan Lewis especially. Josh Hill says "He was always there for me. We became pretty good friends the last couple of years. It'll definitely be different without him.". That certainly doesn't sound like a cancer to me. Here are a few quotes from players:

 

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2015/03/jimmy_graham_saints_seahawks_t.html

 

And here is what Brees had to say:

 

"Jimmy was like a brother to me," Brees told WWL Radio in New Orleans on Thursday night. "He was close to so many guys on the team. That part of it is something that people lose track of.

"As a football player, he's a rare, rare talent. Not having a guy like that on the field with you is a difference-maker. Just the relationships that you build in the locker room, that's really the part that's the hardest, just because you're used to being around each other and the way your families do things together. You build a relationship and you become very close. But then, things happen and all of the sudden you're on a different team. It doesn't change the way we feel about each other. We're just not going to see each other all that often."

 

 

If you have time, go to WWL radio's web page and listen to a few of the player interviews, including Payton's, talking about Graham. There is absolutely nothing in there that would indicate that Graham was any sort of a problem.

 

And yeah, I think I should know more about my own team than most, if not all of the people on this board who are not either another Saints fan or someone who actually gets paid to know more. I'm pretty certain I listen to more local sports radio than any of you and spend way more time on the Saints forums than any of you. So, while I wouldn't say that I'm the "world's foremost self-appointed authority on the Saints," I do believe that I have a slightly more informed opinion than most on this board. Maybe that comes across as a bit of arrogance on my part at times, but then again, I've always been known around here as "Your friendly, yet arrogant local Saints homer."

[Bobby Brown]

But I'm taking Chris Mortensen's opinion over yours. He's pretty reliable.

 

 

At best, Chris Mortensen is a drama queen John Clayton wannabe.

 

Chris Mortensen reported on espn that Marshawn Lynch was going to be cut about week 6 or 7 of the 2014 season; only if it wasn't for fullback Derrick Coleman going on IR. It was a completely stupid premise and his source was ultimately tracked down to Percy Harvin's agent, at least concluded here locally, who had a vendetta after Seattle cut ties.

 

It created a buzz and many people took it to heart because it was Chris Mortensen who reported it.

 

Seattle cuts Lynch, except for a deaf FB who Seattle previously used on about 20% of their offensive snaps? Yea...Okay.

[stevegrab]

http://bigeasybeliev...what-you-think/

 

So, sure enough; when the ESPN Insiders’ Chris Mortensen was asked why the trade was made, he shed some light on just what may have caused Saints brain trust to broker this deal and move in a new direction.

Mortensen stated that there were reports that Jimmy was a locker room disruption, and that he wasn’t too happy about receiving the money as a TE, instead of the money he would have gotten had he gotten his wish and been designated as a WR before last season when he tried to argue against being designated a TE in contract negotiations.

 

The same Chris Mortenson reporting that "the Browns are 90% moved on from Johnny Manziel".

 

Sorry but most of these guys are just flapping their gums and making honda up. Or they're trusting sources who do the same. The factual reporting is pathetic, and "a report of something" seems to be all that is needed for many to believe it is fact (not the speculation, rumor and 2nd/3rd hand stories that it is). Heck other news agencies write their own stories and site these guys (Mort, etc.) as their source, spreadiong the rumor further.

 

There were reports that the Browns offered a first round pick to the Rams for Bradford, And somebody reported that Haslam told Farmer to draft JF because a homeless guy told him to, I guess it all must be true (because some "expert" said it).

 

What constitutes "pretty reliable" to you? Have you researched all of Mort's claims to verify their vailidity and come up with a number? I doubt it is even close to 50%.

 

rajn nailed it with this

"I just really think it's sad that these guys can say pretty much whatever they want & quote some ghost source & most people just eat it up no matter how ridiculous it sounds."

 

 

I'm to the point where I believe none of it from most of these guys, because they all report a lot of rumor and are wrong far too often. Even the supposedly "mostly reliable ones" which differe quite a bit from person to person.

[Seahawks21]

LOL at the Carroll/Lynch conspiracy theory. And they're going to tell that to Mort. Sorry dude, but this is downright delusional.

 

Mort is a laughing stock, even of the guys on his own network.

[Bobby Brown]

But that is what Pete Carroll told Mort. Don't shoot the messenger.

 

 

I'm not Capt. Hook of the Seahawks, but I got insider info on this early on. Now that your idea of Mort being reliable has been debunked, you are just making stuff up for your church of Chris Mortensen worship.

[rajncajn]

When he reported that Jimmy Graham was an issue in the locker room, his source more than likely was Sean Payton.

I seriously doubt it as Payton has made it obvious on multiple occasions that he despises ESPN. Given all that happened, I doubt Payton would talk to any of them as much as spit on them if he were not required to. No, I'm pretty certain Mort got his info from local media speculation, as that was the first place it was speculated, not from anyone within the organization.

 

A year ago, Mort reported that Jimmy Graham might be traded to the Seahawks. He has insider information that most reporters don't have. And Mort didn't report it, but it's a possibility that the Saints have talked with teams about trading Brees.

A year ago there were all kinds of reports of what the Saints could possibly do with Graham. There were also reports that Graham would refuse to sign as a tight end and that there was no way the Saints could fit him under the cap. None of which were the truth. I'm guessing that Mort's report that he might be traded to the Seahawks included a number of other teams that might have been interested in trading for Graham? Anyone can throw darts without an inside source.

 

As for trading Brees, I have no doubt that teams may have contacted the Saints regarding trading for him. That's a far stretch from the Saints actually considering it and even farther from the Saints actually initiating talks.

 

And Rajn, I don't doubt you know a lot about the Saints. Probably more than anyone on this board. Your Marques Colston insight from 9 years ago helped me win 2 leagues. But you are one of the homers who thinks you know everything and everyone else knows nothing. You think that we should just listen to you about the Saints and take it as the word of God. And if we disagree with your opinion, we'd better be ready to be insulted by you. Personally, I take what you say about the Saints with a grain of salt. Your emotions sway your opinions. There's 95% chance that Jimmy Graham was a malcontent in the locker room last year because he was upset about his contract. You probably have a Sports Illustrated poster of Jimmy above your bed. The only thing "ridiculously false" is your objectivity.

 

 

Any kidding aside, I seriously think you have me confused with someone else.

 

I'll be the first to say that I may be wrong just as much as I'm right and I'll also be the first to say that my opinion is just that and nothing more. Yes, do take it with a grain of salt just as you would any other. I wouldn't expect anything more (actually makes me feel less responsible when I've given bad info).

 

However I will say this, when giving any analysis on Saints players I always try my best to be as objective as possible & use what I know of the Saints to form my opinion and then try to back that up with examples or just state that I simply have a good/bad feeling. Otherwise I feel like I am doing everyone here who may actually value my opinion a great disservice. When I do give an opinion and somebody disagrees, I actually enjoy debating it. Sometimes we find common ground, sometimes we don't, but I don't ever remember denigrating anyone who wasn't already being antagonistic combative themselves and oftentimes I will still engage them in some meaningful debate. If you have some examples of what you are saying then please provide so I can at least defend myself. If there is one thing I do take seriously here it's providing info, insight and yes, opinion on the Saints and if I'm doing anything to damage anyone's opinion of what I have to say then I'd really like to know so that, maybe, I can change their mind.