eaglesnut
Well-Known Member
I hadn't noticed before that Chris Long was blowing up his blocker so bad that he almost pushed him into Brandon's path.Well, it predated this board, but I think very few fans were pissed off by the initial selection. Some did want Earl Thomas as a Dawk successor. But Graham was not an unpopular pick.
What DID happen is that Graham was slow to contribute and JPP emerged as a major force early, so a lot of fans second guessed whether we took the right DE. In the end, I think the choice was the right one, but Graham took a while to blossom.
His now-classic strip sack of Brady is a textbook example of what is known as a push-pull move. The guard, Shaq Mason, was trying to push him away. So Graham pulled Mason in that direction and did a slingshot move past him, using Mason's own momentum against him. Subtle but very pretty pass rush move by a veteran D lineman.