Panthers' rivalry with Jimmy Graham reignites in Seattle
SEATTLE – Seattle Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham finally had the breakout performance Sunday the team had envisioned when they traded for him in March, as he posted eight catches for 140 yards in Seattle’s 27-23 loss.
But don’t consider the Panthers impressed.
“He’s probably one of those guys that is excited right now about his production, and not really worried about the team losing the game,” Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis said. “That’s the kind of guy he is.”
This isn’t a new rivalry, with Graham having spent the previous five seasons playing for the New Orleans Saints, which meant two games a year against Carolina. The bad blood remains, even though Graham has changed teams.
Sunday’s game became chippy early, and Graham found himself in the middle of several scrums, including one in which he received a personal foul for pulling another player off of a pile. Davis said Graham was “talking trash” all game to try to get into the heads of the Panthers' defensive players.
“I tried to leave him alone early on, but he ended up pushing me in the back on the sideline,” Davis said. “He talked trash about pushing someone in the back, it shows you the kind of guy he is.”
Carolina head coach Ron Rivera was far more deferential to Graham, praising the type of effect the tight end had on Seattle’s offense. The Panthers managed to keep Graham out of the end zone, but his 140 receiving yards are a season high, as well as the most he’s had in 11 career games against Carolina.
“It was inevitable,” Rivera said.
Getting Graham going was about the only positive change for the Seahawks offense after some struggles in recent weeks. Wilson managed to find Graham for several long gains in critical moments, including a 45-yard connection down the sideline on the first play of the fourth quarter. Graham celebrated that catch with Seattle fans seated just behind Carolina’s bench.
“It was a really good job by Russell to find him,” Seattle head coach Pete Carroll said. “The really encouraging thing is that that’s the first time we’ve really seen Jimmy in the scramble situations, really come to life. He played a fantastic game.”
Follow Lindsay H. Jones on Twitter @bylindsayhjones.
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