Jimmy Graham Is Now The Perfect No. 3 WR ·

beast
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7 years ago

The Marcedes Lewis signing was tremendous.
But not just because the 6-foot-6, 267-pound road grader is an excellent blocker.
It’s because he now gives the Packers options — plenty of options.
One of the biggest question marks on offense is who will fill the No. 3 receiving void? Will it be the inconsistent Geronimo Allison, unproven Trevor Davis, DeAngelo Yancey or Michael Clark? Or will it be one of the three rookies?

Now head coach Mike McCarthy and offensive coordinator Joe Philbin don’t have to worry about that question as much because Jimmy Graham can be the Packers’ No. 3 receiver.
Think about it. Graham has been a pseudo receiver his entire career anyway, might as well go with it and let it happen.

Continue Reading @ CheeseheadTV

CheeseheadTV wrote:

Pretty good article, and it's correct that the Lewis signing certainly gives the Packers more options and we could be seeing a lot more 2 WRs, 2 TEs sets, which can give a lot more options and Graham can certainly work as a possession WR.

Packers have a lot of options if they can get everyone to stay healthy.

Edited by user 7 years ago | Reason: Not specified

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nerdmann
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7 years ago

Is Cobb supposed to be #2?

Not sure he can do that.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

Nonstopdrivel
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7 years ago

This monster receiving corps opens up so many intriguing possibilities. We might see the emergence of a old-fashioned deep-ball style of offense. Assuming his arm strength returns intact, he isn't running for his life on every other play, and his receivers don't suddenly develop a mysterious case of the dropsies, I could see Aaron Rodgers possibly breaking 10 yards per attempt this year, a feat he has never managed to accomplish. The closest he's ever gotten was 2011, when he averaged 9.2 ypa to lead the league. Can you imagine how much fun this would be to watch, even if it meant his interception numbers ticked up a bit?

To give you an idea of just how earthshaking this would be, only three quarterbacks have ever managed to break 10 yards per attempt for an entire season, and no one has accomplished that feat since 1954, when Norm Van Brocklin finished with 10.1 ypa. Otto Graham achieved these lofty heights not once, but twice in his career—in 1947 (10.2 ypa) and 1953 (10.6 ypa).* Sid Luckman, the all-time single-season leader, achieved an almost unfathomable 10.9 ypa in 1943.

The closest anyone has come to this kind of performance in the past 20 years was Kurt Warner in 2000, who averaged an exceptional 9.9 ypa. Matt Ryan (2016) is tied with Otto Graham (1953) and Johnny Unitas (1964) for 13th best all time at 9.3 ypa, while Aaron Rodgers is ranked 16th for his 2011 season.

It's worth pointing out that there are only 13 quarterbacks represented in the top 16, since Otto Graham dominated the league for years in a fashion no quarterback before or since has ever been able to dream of doing.

__________
* In fact, he also averaged 9.8 ypa in 1947 and 9.3 ypa in 1953. Of the twenty best season averages in NFL history, Otto Graham singlehandedly holds an astounding four of them!

Edited by user 7 years ago | Reason: Not specified

beast
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7 years ago

Assuming his arm strength returns intact, he isn't running for his life on every other play, and his receivers don't suddenly develop a mysterious case of the dropsies

Originally Posted by: Nonstopdrivel

I also have concerns with the OL, though the TE Lewis signing does potentially help those as well, and as Nerd pointed out ... it's be interesting who (if anyone) steps up for the #2 spot.

But while the Packers might miss out on the top end guys, it might be their depth where their 3rd/4th guys can beat the other teams 3rd/4th guys that make it all work.

Nonstopdrivel
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7 years ago

Agreed. This offense has all the tools it could possibly need this season, if only the offensive line can pull its weight.

In case anyone is wondering why I'm putting so much emphasis on yards per passing attempt, it's because that statistic is extremely well correlated with wins. It's been a few years since I ran the analysis, but other than possibly passer rating differential, there aren't many statistics more closely correlated with win percentage.

Nonstopdrivel
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7 years ago

Interestingly, Brett Favre only had one season in the 268 all-time best performances, averaging 7.9 ypa in 2009. Considering how often he threw the deep bomb, I would have expected him to have a few seasons averaging higher than 8 ypa. Apparently all the interceptions he threw drastically brought down his average.

nerdmann
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7 years ago

Aaron needs to hit the open guy.

We’ve got some big, fast guys in the pipeline if he wants to get some YAC. But he’s not gettig any younger. Sitting in the pocket for 8+ is not conducive to a long NFL career.

That’s Brady’s REAL secret.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

Nonstopdrivel
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7 years ago

I can't resist pointing out that Otto Graham played in a pro football championship in 10 consecutive seasons, winning seven of them (four with the AAFC). No team since has managed to equal the Browns' feat of appearing in six consecutive NFL championship games, of which they won three. Graham's career passer rating (86.6) was the highest of what has been called the "pre-Live Ball Era"; no one has ever come close to touching his 9.0 ypa (!!!) career average, and even his 8.63 ypa NFL career average remains a league record. Only Sid Luckman (8.4 ypa) really comes close.

Now, of course, Bart Starr did accomplish the awesome feat of winning three NFL championships in a row, a record that stands to this day, not to mention five NFL championships overall, a string of success only Tom Brady has equaled. He lead the league in passer rating five times, an achievement only exceeded by Steve Young (six), and notched a season passing average over 8.2 ypa six times, a mark no quarterback in the league today has ever approached. And if I'm not mistaken, he still holds the NFL record for highest postseason passer rating at 104.8, with an unearthly low interception rate of just 1.41 percent.

I get that the degree of physicality in the league today is orders of magnitude beyond what it was back then, but still, these men were gods.

Edited by user 7 years ago | Reason: Not specified

beast
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7 years ago

Originally Posted by: nerdmann

If there is an open guy, then you're right sometimes he needs to hit them earlier against some of the top defenses, but at the same point, he's done a great job in his career of holding it longer and making an even bigger play.

I don't think Brady's real secret is that simply... I think a lot of it has to do with the system and how the Patriots demand their timing to be perfect, as well as teach their cuts, so they could then leave in multiple directions, so a defender doesn't know where they're going after that point.

buckeyepackfan
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7 years ago

#10

So Jimmy Graham is a wr?

The only problem with that is The Packers ask their Wr's to block for each other.

Something Graham has no idea how to do.

I think I'll quit trying to figure things out in May and enjoy The Summer before all the over analysis begins.

I was addicted to The Hokey Pokey, but I turned myself around!

beast
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7 years ago

#11

So Jimmy Graham is a wr?

The only problem with that is The Packers ask their Wr's to block for each other.

Something Graham has no idea how to do.

Originally Posted by: buckeyepackfan

No, he's a tweener that might be able to be used as both TE and WR. We're just talking potential options...

Yes the Packers ask their WRs to block, but they ask their TEs to block a LOT more... so asking Graham to block less might be a good thing.

And Graham sucks at blocking for a TE, but that doesn't mean he'd suck as a WR.

I remember a game where Graham's blocking gave Woodson hell trying to get off his blocks, because of Graham's freaking long arms, gave him time to reset whenever Woodson knocked his hands away... so Woodson had to knock his hands down twice (instead of the normal once) to get past him. Of course that was just one game. But Graham struggles blocking against power... he's won with length.

DarkaneRules
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7 years ago

#12

What does it matter what their number is? All our WRs have to cross train with all positions. We've got competition at this group. Let's see how it shakes out. Numbers are dumb. Fantasy football crap.

Circular Arguments: They are a heck of an annoyance

KRK
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7 years ago

#13

I continue to be concerned over the lack of depth at tight end and their relative inability to block bigger guys in short yardage situations.

In Luce tua Videmus Lucem KRK

TheKanataThrilla
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Veteran Member

7 years ago

#14

I continue to be concerned over the lack of depth at tight end and their relative inability to block bigger guys in short yardage situations.

Originally Posted by: KRK

Not sure why we are not putting Ripkowski in for those situations. That was what Kuhn used to do.

Cheesey
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7 years ago

#15

Originally Posted by: nerdmann

This is true. But one of the problems in recent years has been the inability of our WRs to get separation from DBs, which made AR hold onto the ball longer then he should have.
Hopefully the new guys will help end that.

gbguy20
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7 years ago

#16

Not convinced about the no separation storyline

BAD EMAIL because the address couldn ot be found, or is unable to receive mail.

KRK
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7 years ago

#17

I feel very strongly both ways. :-(

I think it’s more than fair to say we haven’t gotten much separation of late. The best example of this was against the Denver Broncos at Denver. The exposed our offense and two of us or extend our receivers as not being able to get separation.
But I think it’s equally fair to say that we’ve gotten away from the traditional West Coast offense ripe with slants, rubs, and picks etc. Hopefully, with the rexamination and reimplementation up some of the west coast basics, our guys will be able to get some separation.

In Luce tua Videmus Lucem KRK

DarkaneRules
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Veteran Member

7 years ago

#18

You've got to get quick separation in this league or pray for a defensive breakdown or free play. Separation is absolutely important.

Circular Arguments: They are a heck of an annoyance

nerdmann
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Premier Member

7 years ago

#19

Originally Posted by: KRK

6' 5" is it's own form of separation.

“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”

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