Jimmy!

New Orleans Saints All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham reached a 4 year/$40 million ($21 million guaranteed) agreement with the team Tuesday morning. The announcement came just hours before the 3:00 p.m. C.D.T. deadline for Franchise tagged players to either reach a long term agreement with their team, agree to the franchise tender salary for their positions, or elect not to play in the upcoming NFL season. Graham's franchise tender was $7 million, all of which would have counted against the Saints' 2014 salary cap had Graham played under those terms.

This worked out well for the Saints in the short run. They have their big playmaker at a reasonable salary that will not blow up their 2014 salary cap. Jimmy Graham (86 rec., 1,215 yds., 16 TDs in 2013) is taking a calculated risk on himself, a well calculated risk.

This four-year contract is going to either expire at a point of his career - 8 years in - when teams will either overbid for his services or the Saints, perhaps a year prior to expiration, will be put into a position in which they have to overpay because they need to restructure his contract. Either way, Graham comes out on top. This second career windfall would be predicated on Graham remaining healthy and productive, at a level near the top of NFL tight ends.

Thanks to the No Fun League, Saints fans won't be treated to all of Graham's talents next year.

Image from www.espn.com

Don’t Fake The Funk on the Nasty Dunk

The NFL has put “The Jimmy Graham Rule” in place. Starting next season, the teams of players who celebrate a touchdown by dunking the ball over the goal post will be penalized 15 yards. New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham has made this his trademark celebration during the past several seasons.

No Fun League

When it comes to sucking individual creativity, originality, and fun out of football, the NFL is the president, emperor, and king of fun ruining. The league is imposing this rule change under the guise of the continuity of the game. Graham, twice, unleveled the goal posts from his dunk celebration, causing the games to be delayed until the posts could be leveled properly.

Using this reasoning, the problem is with the delay of the game, not the celebration itself. So, why not penalize a celebration resulting in a delay? Chances are Graham and others would not dunk the ball so hard and/or not hang on the goal posts.

Regardless, the penalty-free touchdown dunk is now part of the NFL’s past. There’s nothing that excites the home crowd or the television audience, not residing in a cemetery, more than watching a game changing touchdown accompanied by the roar of the crowd and the scoring player calmly walking over to the official and handing him the football. The No Fun League strikes again! 

How about the team is penalized, but gets two points for the dunk?

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info.

Image from www.putusincoach.com

Showdown with Big D

The Saints were outcoached, outmanned, and out-physicaled at the New York Jets this past Sunday. As a result, they lost, 26-20, dropping their record to 6-2 and slimming their lead over the Carolina Panthers (5-3) in the NFC South division to one game.

Sorry, Saints fans. The Cowboys cheerleaders won't be there Sunday night. 1

THIS ONE COUNTS

No team wants to lose – ever. But if the Saints had to have two losses, the two that they lost were the least detrimental. Both the Patriots (7-2) and Jets (5-4) are good opponents. The Saints were on the road. Most importantly, they are both AFC opponents, meaning the impact of those losses on any tiebreaking scenarios is negligible at best.

This matchup against an up-and-down Dallas Cowboys team (5-4) on Sunday Night Football is important. The Saints cannot afford to give any more ground to the Panthers. With the Cowboys being an NFC opponent, this has an impact on tiebreaker scenarios that could determine the division championship and/or home field advantage throughout the playoffs down the line.

The Cowboys are strange fruit. They find innovative ways to lose games that they should win. The key is that they should have won said games. It is only a matter of time before the Cowboys stop snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

2

CHINKS IN THE ARMOR

The Saints are missing, or could be missing, some key cogs to their offensive machine that makes the offense lethal. Primary wide receiver Marques Colston (27 rec., 342 yds., 1 TD) missed last week’s game at the Jets with a knee injury. Jimmy Graham (49 rec., 746 yds., 10 TD) has been stuck in a lower gear the past two weeks (in spite of eye-popping fantasy football performances) with a foot injury that will likely linger for the rest of the season. Darren Sproles (37 rec., 368 yds., 1 TD) suffered a concussion early in last week’s game and is questionable for Sunday night.

These are important players that are interrelated in the Saints offensive scheme. The reason some receivers get open is often because of the route running abilities and downfield and/or positional threats posed by other receivers. No player on an offense exists in a vacuum.

I suppose half a "Graham" of Jimmy is more than a whole pound of any other tight end (rimshot). 3

HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS?

While a win over the hapless Minnesota Vikings (1-7) is not headline news, it helped restore some of the confidence that was likely stripped in the last second loss at the Detroit Lions two Sundays ago. Still, the Cowboys have the same old problems dogging them – patchwork offensive line play, an complete absence of depth at the running back position behind DeMarco Murray (459 yds., 3 TD, 4.8 avg.), and Swiss cheese on defense behind the front four.

Saints fans have cause to raise an eyebrow at their team, having lost two out of their last three. However, the Who Dat Nation should not have any cause for alarm, barring any additional significant injuries. The Saints have a significant stake in the outcome of Sunday’s nationally televised game and I expect them to leave the Mercedes-Benz Superdome with their stake intact.

Say what you want about Dez, but the Cowboys took the lead after he blew his stack and got the ball more. Get your popcorn ready! 4

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info. 

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/.


1) Image from www.kmod.com
2) Image from www.canalstreetchronicles.com via www.sbnation.com
3) Image from http://sports.yahoo.com
4) Image from http://si.nfl.com

Stop! Who Dat Time!

The Daily Hat Trick covers all manner of sports but is Louisiana based. with a 2-0 start, with both wins against NFC South opponents, this is as good a time as any to serve up some home cookin' to the Who Dat Nation. So far..so good, but Saints fans shouldn't rest too easily yet.

THE GOOD

The good is plentiful and obvious. The Saints are 2-0. Teams that start the season 2-0 have, more times than not, gone to the playoffs in the last quarter-century. Both wins were over division rivals, with one coming on the road. There are only three 2-0 teams in the NFC. The Saints could not have asked for a better start to their 2013 season, especially considering their disastrous 0-4 start last season.

The defense looks good. In fact, they look like the '85 Bears after having the worst total defense in the 94 season history of the National Football League. After holding the defending NFC South champion Atlanta Falcons to 17 points, including a goal line stand in the final seconds to seal a victory, the Saints' encore was a smothering performance that limited the Buccaneers to seven offensive points and only 113 passing yards.

Saints tight end Jimmy Graham: during the offseason I would have a free lunch if I had a quarter for every time I read or heard he is, "considered by some to be, arguably, the best tight end in the league". That argument is winning, especially in light of New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski's injury problems, former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez's legal problems, and Father Time gaining some ground on Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers and Jason Witten of the Dallas Cowboys. Graham has 224 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions in the first two weeks of the season.

Finally, there's Drew Brees. He has been far from perfect this season (which will be discussed shortly), but he's been pretty damn good. Brees is in position to record a third consecutive 5,000 yard passing season. He led the Saints from a 10-0 deficit to take the lead against the Falcons in Week 1 and led the Saints down the field in the final minute, with no timeouts remaining at the beginning of the drive, to set up a game winning field goal against the Bucs. The Saints have a chance to win any game with Brees under center.

Jimmy Graham is on a tear out of the gate in 2013. 2

THE BAD   

Drew Brees needs to take better care of the football. Saints fans hate hearing me say this and I probably sound like a broken record (for those of you old enough to have used a record player): among elite quarterbacks (i.e. Brees, Rodgers, the Manning brothers, and Brady), Brees is often the worst at taking care of the ball. To an extent, he is victimized by his own ability.

Brees is the most accurate passer I have ever seen. That isn't hyperbole. I think he is the most accurate passer in NFL history. Because he is so accurate, he is willing to take bigger risks by trying to put the ball into smaller holes and he usually succeeds. However, trying to thread the needle often raises the risk of picks. Brees threw two touchdown passes on Sunday, one was to Buccaneers linebacker Mason Foster to give the Bucs a lead in the second half. At the moment, Brees' touchdown to interception ratio is 3 to 3 and that has to improve if he plans to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February.

There's a chance of seeing a touchdown every time Brees throws the ball.

THE UGLY

The Saints have failed to crack 80 team rushing yards for the second consecutive week. As passing heavy as today's NFL is, that is still not good enough for a serious championship contender. Other than Pierre Thomas, no Saints running back is averaging 4.0 yards per carry or more. That isn't good enough and it needs to be turned around.

While the next NFL game I coach will be my first, I don't see how running backs can rush the ball effectively if they cannot build a rhythm over the course of a game. The Saints' Running Back by Committee scheme has resulted in back-to-back weeks in which no player has eclipsed 10 rushing attempts in a game. Sean Payton has won a Super Bowl and I never will, but the fact of the matter is that the running game is inept and no one player has gotten enough carries to get on a roll.

Saints running game: ugly. the weather yesterday: ugly. This dedicated entertainer: not ugly! The game must go on, rain or no rain. 4

WHO DAT

All of that said, 2-0 is 2-0. A win is a win and wins in the division carry the most weight come playoff time. I have not observed anything that the Saints cannot correct and get turned around. The Who Dat Nation has a lot of cause for guarded optimism about where this season is going.

A win is a win! 3

Don't forget to vote in the fan polls! 

To advertise with The Daily Hat Trick, or to submit a guest column, please contact the editor at eric@thedailyhattrick.info. 

The Daily Hat Trick is sponsored by Sports N Stuff. For great deals on jerseys, shirts, cologne, and other guy stuff, visit http://www.sportsnstuff.biz/. 

1) Image from www.fansides.com
2, 3) Images from www.canalstreetchronicles.com
4) Image from www.azstarnet.com