Perhaps the biggest area of weakness for this Seattle Seahawks defense is their coverage of tight ends. Their commitment to the 4-3 base defense often leaves either an outside linebacker, or strong safety Bradley McDougald, in pass coverage, which creates mismatches opposing teams have learned to exploit.
It is part of the reason Seattle’s pass rush did not materialize as anticipated this year, since opposing quarterbacks could get the ball out quickly and find open tight ends in short yardage situations, thanks to Seattle’s below average coverage.
The Packers are almost certainly going to attempt to exploit that weakness on Sunday, and they have a familiar face to do the exploiting – former Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham, who just finished his second year in Green Bay.
“There’s a lot of good things he’s done this year for us,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said to Seattle media members on Wednesday. “His numbers don’t always reflect how important he is to us in terms of how we’ve been spreading the ball around, but he is a big part of what we do.”
Graham finished the regular season with 38 receptions for 447 yards and three touchdowns, numbers that are considerably down from his first season in Green Bay and his last season in Seattle. In fact, his 60 targets were the lowest total since his rookie season, back in 2010 with New Orleans.
Still, the Seahawks know first hand what Graham is capable of, and they are not planning to take him lightly.
“He’s such a monster of a player and an athlete that you know he can just make things happen,” coach Pete Carroll said. “We’ll give him a lot of respect.”
Graham’s size and athleticism make him a tough matchup for Seattle, and Aaron Rodgers’ elite skill set could make the tandem a tough one for the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon.
However, that doesn’t mean the Seahawks are scared – quite the opposite.
“I’m going to try to hit him,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said of defending Graham. “100%. I’m going to try to hit him a lot. If he tries to box me out, he thinks he’s good at basketball. He knows I’ll beat him.”
The Seahawks will get their chance to take on Graham, Rodgers and the rest of the Packers on Sunday afternoon starting at 3:40 p.m. PT.
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