Giants facing tough test from TE Graham
New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham reacts after catching a touchdown pass. (Nov. 13, 2011) Credit: AP
Tight ends used to come in two types. There was the slender, sleek model who could go out for a pass, or the stocky, bulky one who would stay in and block. Occasionally a player would come along who could do both, but they were rarities and almost always with a tilt toward one discipline.
"Now there just seems like there are some guys out there that are just such big, physical, strong specimens," Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. "They can do everything . . . You see some of these athletes now at the tight end position and just kind of shake your head."
Brees may have the biggest head-shaker in the league right now as he prepares to face the Giants on Monday night. Jimmy Graham, the Saints' do-everything tight end, has become Brees' weapon of choice. Graham (62 catches) and running back Darren Sproles (60) have become Brees' top two targets.
Sproles, who is having a terrific season after joining New Orleans as a free agent, leads the NFL in all-purpose yardage, but he is not a surprise. Graham is the stunner, the one who is leading a league-wide renaissance at the position after playing four years for the University of Miami.
Four years of basketball, that is. He suited up for the football team for just one season and was drafted by the Saints in the third round in 2010.
Last season, he didn't score his first touchdown until Week 9 and never had a game with more than five receptions. In 2011, he hasn't had a game with fewer than four receptions and has four games with more than 100 yards.
"His development happened very quickly, and at the end of last year, his rookie season, I think the last four or five weeks of that season, each week you saw him improve and improve," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "He's playing with a ton of confidence right now."
The Giants have not had succes stopping those type of players in recent weeks. When they faced the Pats, Rob Gronkowski caught eight passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. A week later, against the 49ers, Vernon Davis caught a 31-yard touchdown pass that gave his team the lead for good. The Giants kept the Eagles' Brent Celek out of the end zone, but he still caught six passes for 60 yards against them.
It won't help the Giants that the guys they'll likely have covering Graham -- their linebackers -- do not match up well. Their best shot might be Michael Boley, but he'll likely miss a second straight game with a hamstring injury. That leaves converted defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka, who is much better as a run-stopper than in pass coverage, or any of the rookies the Giants have come to lean on such as Mark Herzlich, Jacquian Williams or Spencer Paysinger.
The Giants have to figure out how to stop players such as Graham because most of the elite teams seem to have one. Next week they'll face the Packers, who have Jermichael Finley. And before the season is over, they'll have to face the Cowboys and Jason Witten twice.
