Before the Saints and Seahawks squared off on Sunday afternoon, Saints tight end Jimmy Graham squared off with members of the Seahawks defense during pregame warmups.
According to Seahawks linebacker Bruce Irvin, the skirmish began when he asked Graham to get out of the area where the Seahawks were warming up.
“He said, I’m Jimmy,” Irvin said, via Tom Pelissero of USA Today. “I said, who’s Jimmy?”
The game didn’t provide the answer that Graham would have preferred. After 86 catches for 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns in the regular season, Graham caught just one pass for eight yards in the 23-15 Seattle victory. Defensive end Michael Bennett didn’t pull any punches when asked after the contest why Graham was a non-factor in the proceedings.
“Because he’s overrated,” Bennett said, via Q13 FOX. “If he doesn’t get a chance to get the ball, that’s all he can really do -- he doesn’t help in the blocking game -- so I think he’s overrated and I’m not scared to say that on TV.”
The two teams will not play in the regular season next year, so a playoff rematch in 2015 would be Graham’s earliest chance to respond to Bennett on the field.