Graham: Right now, I'm a bust
Brandon Graham knows what fans think of him, and he's embracing it.
Graham: Right now, I'm a bust
Jonathan Tamari
Brandon Graham knows what fans think of him, and he's embracing it.
"I haven’t (done) nothing really," Graham said today after the Eagles first full-team practice of the year. "Right now, I’m a bust, so I’m going to deal with that. I’m a bust and I’m going to keep being a bust, even when I make plays, I’m going to still act like I’m a bust, you know what I’m saying?"
Graham was clearly using the criticism he has faced during his first two seasons to fuel him for what he -- and the team -- hope is a breakout third year for the 2010 first round draft pick. Graham hardly played last season after having microfracture knee surgery to help recovery from a torn ACL his rookie year. That left him with three sacks, all in his first season, to show for a pass rusher that the Eagles traded up to draft.
"Just going through that whole thing last year, not playing, I just grew as a person, that was number one," Graham said. "I've moved on from it now it’s time for me to defend myself."
He said he feels more confident in his repaired knee and brought his weight down to 265, from a high of 285 last season. With Jason Babin away and missing the voluntary camp, Graham got some snaps with the first team defense.
Graham played in just three games last year. Twice he dressed but didn't get on the field. Now, more than a year removed from his knee injury, Graham faces a make-or-break season. Several people within the organization have said they have high hopes for Graham, but that he has something to prove this year.
I remember years ago when Dan Marino threw for over 5000 yards during what I think was his second season. People said he would be the greatest qb of his time and would lead the dolphins to many super bowls. I remember thinking that people were dumb and that might be the greatest season he ever had...it was...and of course on superbowls. To annoint JPP to the Hall is crazy, unless of course you think Tiger is going to win more majors than Jack or Arnie. You have to let things play out and that is a long time away. JPP first has to play for another ten years....then...maybe...and it's a big maybe, you can talk about the HOF.— ceocreates- It's not entirely fair. He was horribly misused in his first year and injured in his 2nd. I'd agree that this is a very big year for him, but I don't have any reason to believe that he can't have a nice year and develop into an NFL pass rusher.— doctorhim
- He seems like a good kid, hope he pulls it out. Alot of monday morning drafters here, Graham was highly touted and universally thought of as a good pick at that spot while Pierre-Paul was described as a project. Things don't turn out the way you think but don't act like you knew it all along.— Sidewinder7
- I meant "no" super bowls. This will be a great season for the birds. What happened to all the people who forecast 4-12 last year. Sure it was a disappointing season, but I don't see all the prognosticators acknowledging their BS predictions.— ceocreates
- I wouldn't sweat it Brandon. You could have 9 years in the league ,have 2 playoff wins,Cant read a defense, killed a few dogs, and spent time in jail. I would consider that a bust!— Geno D
Comment removed.- I still think if the knee is healthy Graham can be a very good player for the Eagles he just needs a chance to prove it to everyone. If he gets the chance and fails than it is a different story.— srcdaddy1216
- He may be misplaced, I know this may sound crazy but I would love to see him play linebacker, he looks like the perfect size and athletic combination of strength and speed for MLB. I do like his character so best of luck to him changing his bust status because that is real so far. He just looked too small and out of place up front.— BCRock
- Wow a bunch of scouts are commenting on philly.com today what a treat LOL! NOT! Stop acting as if you know so much because I'm sure if you had the reigns on draft day all of you know it all's would make several terrible picks. The kid was having a decent rookie year and got hurt so give him a chance before calling him a bust. Oh and about JPP, he is a very good player but lets give him a few more years before putting him in the Hall of Fame.— ceez0341
- Comment removed.
- how retarted are you? how can you expect BG to produce when he's been hurt so much in his career? if you weren't an idiot maybe you'd realize that he was producing at a good rate in his rookie season before he got hurt, improving every game it seemed like. — djacked
- thank you Sidewinder and Tonguewagger. What a bunch of hypocrites really. On one side after the fact, to claim JPP was highly touted is just not true, he was touted only for his workouts but mostly deemed a work in progress in a lot of circles. What I mean by hypocrite, is when those same attributes are used to draft a guy, ala Mamula and it is a complete failure you kill the GMs for making those picks. You cant have it both ways. Some draft analysis at the time:
"A raw talent. Hasn’t had much experience at all. Transferred from one JUCO, to another JUCO, and only played in 13 games with 7 starts at USF. Doesn’t hold up well when teams rush directly at him. Can be over-aggressive at times and will over-run the play. Needs to get stronger at the point of attack, especially in the run game. Limited awareness."
"Pierre-Paul is somewhat of an enigma of a defensive end. He’s highly regarded as a pass rusher, but only managed 6.5 sacks in 2009. He’s extremely inexperienced and has the makings of being a player who has to wait and learn for a season before making an impact."
Of course, now he is great and well.....how dare the Eagles FO not know that. They have not had the best drafts, everyone gets that, but fans of a team need to live outside the bubble of their own team sometimes. Success in the draft comes in spurts, some yrs better than others. When you have a few bad yrs, it sets a team back.— peteike - Ok if Pierre Paul is the hindsight pick, Earl Thomas is not. They let Dawkins walk and had no replacement. They traded up and a highly touted replacement was on the board. We got another undersized DE. We still lack a safety. The fact that they drafted a bust DE instead of the all pro DE is icing on the turd.
- You can't predict injuries like this when drafting. Any dummy can criticize draft picks after the fact with 20/20 hindsight. This guy isn't Mike Mamula yet...he just hasn't been able to play much because of injuries.— JimG
- Let's give him a chance! See what he can do this year. He had a great college career and should be a great DE now that he is healed and ready to play. If he is worth of the 1st round pick 9and I think he was/is) then we'll all be quite happy to see him making sacks!— connorjr
