My takeaway from the Pro Bowl is potentially the most loathsome start to any sentence in the history of organized (or disorganized, for that matter) words. Trying to make declarations about a player after their performance in a game they only accepted an invite to because it came with an all-expenses-paid vacation is nothing short of stupid. Seriously, I hate myself for watching even a second of football that was so pointless that it makes a Brock Osweiler five step drop on 3rd and long seem hopeful by comparison, so it really pains me to waste time talking about specific plays from it. That said, the specific plays in question support a thought process that so was evident in past games that actually did count that it ultimately got a transcendent talent traded out of an offense in which he was on pace to go down as one of the prolific tight ends (or wide receivers, depending who you ask) of all time. Jimmy Graham letting a hit that was probably a little higher and harder than it needed to be* get so far in his head that the next time he crossed the middle he gifted a game ending interception on a ball that a man of his skill set could catch in his sleep is sadly a series of events that is all too reminiscent to Saints fans. I was the victim of nostalgia earlier in the weekend when this picture struck me right in all my feels and started giving me both rational and irrational illusions of what could have been.... Between that and watching him regain his propensity for the spectacular in Seattle this year, I admittedly did start to miss the best dunker in Saints' history a little bit. However, Jimmy Graham's on-field fit in response to physicality and subsequent drop reminded me that the Saints didn't just move him because they really needed a reliable, veteran center. They moved him because he too often lost the mental battle against players that had no business intimidating him given his physical stature. The Pro Bowl means less than nothing, but that doesn't mean it didn't give us a retrospective glimpse into the rationale of both parties involved in the Jimmy Graham trade nearly two years after it shocked the sports world. He took part in a game that features the best players in the world so he's still almost unfairly talented, but the biggest hole in his game was on full display whether or not the result counted last night. *Given the fact that every hit that takes place during a meaningless game is completely unnecessary.
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