Matt Calkins: Could losing Jimmy Graham somehow help the Seahawks?

Eleven weeks in, the Seahawks have a better record now than they’ve had all year.

But you have to wonder if they are better off.

The joy of the biggest win they’ve had this season is tempered by a giant loss.

Jimmy Graham, the whale of a tight end Seattle acquired last offseason, is out for the season after tearing the patellar tendon in his right knee.

So now the question becomes – can the Seahawks possibly recover?

There is no simple answer because Graham has been a 79-inch question mark since the day he arrived in the Northwest. Was he worth giving up Pro Bowl center Max Unger for? Could he thrive in a run-first offense? Would he align with Russell Wilson’s skill set?

These were the preseason mysteries that, to a certain extent, remained unsolved through November. Just what did Jimmy Graham contribute – or not contribute – to the Seahawks?

On one hand, you could say that Graham brought a dynamism to the offense that Seattle hadn’t seen in the CenuryLink Field era. This was a tight end with wide-receiver speed and NBA hops that regularly wrote himself into the highlight reel.

He had a touchdown catch in is first game as a Hawk, which could have been the difference had Dion Bailey not given up that late TD pass in the loss to St. Louis. He had eight catches for 140 yards against Carolina, which would have been the difference had Seattle’s secondary not given up 13 fourth-quarter points. He had seven catches for 75 yards against the Cowboys – including two on the Seahawks’ final drive – which was the difference in the one-point win.

As Seattle coach Pete Carroll said of Jimmy: “We’re going to miss the heck out of him the rest of the season. He’s been a fantastic addition.”

With that body of evidence, it would be easy to conclude that Graham’s absence is damning – that the bliss of Sunday night’s win pales in comparison to the pain of Monday morning’s hangover.

But what if somehow this was a blessing for the Hawks? What if Graham’s fall leads to a meteoric rise?

It wouldn’t be the first time the loss of a star benefited Seattle. When the Seahawks shipped Percy Harvin out after five games last year, they won 11 of their next 13 before falling in the Super Bowl.

Harvin’s departure allowed Seattle to return to its run-first identity, as Marshawn Lynch would carry the offense with Doug Baldwin and Jermaine Kearse supplementing Wilson.

Besides, it’s not like Graham was always dazzling. He was more inconsistent than anything else. Five times this season, he had three receptions or fewer, and he never had more than three catches two games in a row.

The feeling was that, like with Harvin, the Seahawks were trying too hard to incorporate a big name – that limiting Graham’s targets was tantamount to wasting talent. It’s an interesting theory, no doubt. But is it a valid one?

A few days after the Seahawks’ loss to the Packers, when Jimmy had just one reception on two targets, Seattle offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell was asked about Graham in comparison to Harvin. Bevell’s response?

There is no comparison.

“Speaking specifically to Percy, we were trying to do things obviously to incorporate Percy in, and I don’t think that Jimmy is in the same category as that,” Bevell said. “He’s a tight end. We’re able to plug him in and use him that way, and I think everything’s going to be fine. We don’t really have an issue getting him the ball.”

Turns out that there were some issues getting Graham the ball, but Bevell’s point is well taken. Graham is a tight end who was going to be on the field no matter what. So could he really be slowing down the offense in any capacity?

I suppose that’s what we’re going to find out in the next few weeks.

What we do know is that the Seahawks scored two touchdowns after Graham left the game on Sunday. But we also know that Seattle’s defense is suffering, and that the offense is now without Graham and Lynch.

The Seahawks may still be all right, but 12s would be right to worry. Getting the 6-foot-7 tight end seemed like a steal in the offseason, but winning without him is a tall order.