The Seattle Seahawks are not exactly having the season they predicted. The team who is aiming to get back to the Super Bowl and avenge their loss to the New England Patriots is going to need some major improvements if they are going to even make the playoffs. After making roster adjustments in the offseason, the Seahawks are not seeing a return on value especially with Jimmy Graham and head coach Pete Carroll admits that he is frustrated with the tight end's production.
The Seahawks gave up a lot to get Graham. They sent starting center Max Unger and a first-round draft pick to acquire the tight end from the New Orleans Saints as he is set to earn $10 million per year in his contract signed last offseason. However, through five games in the season, Graham has merely been a blur on the field, barely getting active. Last week against the Bengals, Graham was not even targeted until the third quarter and the pass was intercepted. Carroll is frustrated.
"We'd love to get more," Carroll said, via ESPN.com. "We'd love to get more from everybody. I'd love to get the ball in his hands more. He did well in this game, but we could use more. We only completed 15 passes in this game, so we need to get more activity out of him, just like we need to get more out of the other guys too. But he's working hard at it."
If the Seahawks are going to improve, the Russell Wilson-Graham connection must improve. The team needs the tight end to put up bigger numbers. According to ESPN, Graham appears to be lining up more as an in-line tight end and going out for passes far less than he did with the Saints. New Orleans utilized the versatility of Graham and the Seahawks are using him to help their weakened offensive line instead.
The Seahawks are preparing to play the Carolina Panthers in Week 6 and they need Graham to get more active. The team is expecting to have Marshawn Lynch back on the field according to the Seattle Times which could help the offense move forward after Thomas Rawls filled in for the veteran who has been dealing with a hamstring issue. Rawls was a quality option for the Seahawks with Lynch out and they could try and utilize a two-back system with the passing game lacking right now.
It is unclear exactly what the Seahawks offense is lacking. The team just simply cannot seem to remain consistent. With Graham not making an impact, Tyler Lockett and Jermaine Kearse are needed much more. Wilson is not making the breakout rushes he did a year ago. Carroll is hopeful that increased help from Graham will get the offense moving in a better direction.