Archive for the ‘New Orleans Saints’ Category

Owners of Jimmy Graham, and I’m one of them, have been waiting for some good news regarding his playing status this week against the Denver Broncos. I was getting pretty sick of searching the wire for tight ends that couldn’t come close to numbers Graham would put up week-to-week. Joel Dreessen (4.9 percent owned in ESPN leagues/19 percent in Yahoo), Anthony Fasano (1.9 percent owned in ESPN leagues/five percent in Yahoo), Jacob Tamme (68 percent owned in ESPN leagues/43 percent in Yahoo) and Chris Cooley (0.6 percent owned in ESPN leagues/three percent in Yahoo) are available in my ESPN league, but let’s be honest, I need Graham back on the field just as much as you do.

According to head coach Joe Vitt, Graham, who missed last week with a sprained ankle suffered in week 5 against the Chargers, was limited to land-based activities in Wednesday’s practice, but at least there seems to be optimism surrounding the former 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft playing this week.

#Saints TE Jimmy Graham looked “very, very good,” Vitt said. He hasn’t given an injury report yet.

— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) October 24, 2012

In his absence, David Thomas started the week 6 matchup against the Buccaneers, recording two catches for only 27 yards. If Graham happens to miss this week, Thomas will remain in the starting lineup, but don’t expect much more than the 27 yards he recorded against the Bucs. The Broncos defense ranks 10th in the NFL allowing 215.3 yards per game.

With this in mind, hitting the wire for the players listed above is a far better option than starting Thomas.

I know, this burns. It burns so deep, but at this point on a Friday afternoon, you have little choice but to find an option at tight end who isn’t named Jimmy Graham. Please take a moment to collect your thoughts.

OK, moving on then.

If I’m delivered a finely slice and diced helping of crow by Graham when he plays and still posts solid numbers during a Herculean effort while injured, I’ll gladly eat and enjoy. But let’s consider the facts around our Graham case that could quite easily align to create tears on Sunday. So many tears.

He didn’t practice Wednesday due to his injured ankle, and he was limited Thursday and today. He maintained that poor practice status despite the Saints’ bye last week, meaning his ankle had 10 days to heal before his team’s next practice to prepare for a football game. That’s what’s led to his questionable status this week for the Saints game against Tampa, and his potential absence during that matchup induces even more pain since the Bucs have the league’s 31st ranked secondary, allowing an average of 312.2 passing yards per game.

But oh, it gets worse for Graham, because of course.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jimmy Graham’s leaping ability sets him apart. Doctors I contacted informed me the ‘ankle’ plays a large role in jumping.

Unfortunately, Graham’s ankle injury held him out of practice today. Considering JG had a week to rest – the Saints were on their bye week – his absence from practice doesn’t bode well for Sunday’s divisional clash with Tampa Bay.

Via rotoworld, interim head coach Aaron Kromer said Graham looked good doing work on the side. Hedge your bets – Coby Fleener and Lance Kendricks are options in case of emergency.

Update: Adam Schefter reports it’s uncertain whether Graham will be active on Sunday.

Read the rest of this entry »