Could the Seattle Seahawks be a better football team without tight end Jimmy Graham?
Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times seems to think so.
Graham is out for the season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee in Seattle's 39-30 victory Sunday over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle (6-5) enters December as the second wild card team in the NFC playoff race as it attempts to reach the Super Bowl for the third consecutive season.
"It wouldn't be the first time the loss of a star benefited Seattle," Calkins wrote. "When the Seahawks shipped Percy Harvin out after five games last year, they won 11 of their next 13 before falling in the Super Bowl.
"Harvin's departure allowed Seattle to return to its run-first identity, as Marshawn Lynch would carry the offense with Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse supplementing [quarterback Russell] Wilson.
"Besides, it's not like Graham was always dazzling. He was more inconsistent than anything else. Five times this season, he had three receptions or fewer, and he never had more than three catches two games in a row.
"The feeling was that, like with Harvin, the Seahawks were trying too hard to incorporate a big name -- that limiting Graham's targets was tantamount to wasting talent. It's an interesting theory, no doubt. But is it a valid one?
"What we do know is that the Seahawks scored two touchdowns after Graham left the game on Sunday. But we also know that Seattle's defense is suffering, and that the offense is now without Graham and Lynch.
"The Seahawks may still be all right, but 12s [Seahawks fans] would be right to worry. Getting the 6-7 tight end seemed like a steal in the offseason, but winning without him is a tall order."
He's done
Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke wrote Monday it was inevitable that Kobe Bryant would retire after this season.
Bryant, 37, announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2015-2016 season, Sunday on the Players' Tribune website.
"The last stop will be at Staples Center on April 13 against the Utah Jazz, an otherwise meaningless game that will become one of the hottest tickets in Los Angeles sports history," Plaschke wrote.
"Even in his struggles, there is a certain nobility to Bryant attempting to squeeze the final ounces of greatness out of a body whose game has brought so much joy to so many."
'Honest' headlines
From the weekly "Honest NFL Headlines" series at the satirical sports website sportspickle.com:
• "Broncos make America great again, beat Patriots"
• "Brady still winless all-time vs. Osweiler"
• "Jeff Fisher: 'Effort is not a problem. Team is just horribly coached.' "
• "Kobe: 'I wanted to retire before I got as bad as Peyton, no offense' "
• "NFC East so bad, Dan Snyder-run team in first place"
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald:
• "Kobe Bryant announced this will be his last season of professional basketball. As we went to press, it was unclear whether he was retiring or being traded to the Philadelphia 76ers."
• "The Boston Bruins are allowing Twitter users to choose the music played in the arena. This violates the biggest rule in life: Never allow Twitter users to choose anything."
SPORTS QUIZ
What year did Jimmy Graham enter the NFL?
ANSWER
2010, with the New Orleans Saints.
Sports on 12/01/2015