Jimmy Graham Promises He'll "Be Back" as Elite Performer
Bears cornerback Kevin Toliver took a look at tight end Jimmy Graham repeatedly making plays against the Bears secondary this week and knew he'd seen something like this before.
It was on the big screen.
"Like the Terminator," Toliver said. "That's what I called him the other day.
"He looks just like the Terminator. He walks like him and everything. He's a beast, he's a freak, but he's gonna get us better each and every day."
Graham already has been doing damage against the Bears' defense in scrimmage, one-on-one passing or 7-on-7 to a similar extent as wide receiver Allen Robinson.
Graham's celebrations after catches and the catches in general are giving the Bears cause to think the narrative about their new 33-year-old tight end being too old is mis-information. The bulk of the narrative was written north of the Illinois-Wisconsin line where Graham seemed to struggle last year.
"I don't think he has anything to prove, but I think right now with where he's at, he's at a point in his career, he's played a long time in this league and he wants to do everything he can to be on a championship team," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "So none of this has anything to do with proving people wrong or trying to prove somebody right.
"For him, when you play this game for a long time, you want to win the Super Bowl. That's everybody’s goal. The longer you're in this league and it doesn't happen, the more you want it, I think, because you realize that Father Time ends up creeping up on all of us. So I just love how great of shape he's in, I love where he's at mentally, I love where he's at as a mentor to these younger guys, and not just the tight ends."
Bears defensive players seemed a little less pleased about Graham early in the week. They took some exception to Graham over-celebrating catches in scrimmage.
Perhaps it's because they've realized how much better it is to see the tight end catching a pass than it was last year when this was a rarity in practice or games, but the furor over his emotional play has subsided by Thursday's practice.
Graham is in Chicago because the Bears unsuccessfully tried just about everyone else possible at the position last year whether they were on or off the roster.
While Packer fans complained of Graham's 38 receptions and only three touchdowns in 2019, the Bears had two touchdown catches and only 46 total catches by all their tight ends put together.
"I'm not sure what happened here last year," Graham said. "But it's a new year. For me, I'm going to bring my mindset and my work ethic. I'm going to make sure that our room holds ourselves accountable. We're going to give everything we got each and every play. I can guarantee that. I can guarantee no loafs. "
Graham knows the Bears-Packers rivalry usually needs no extra push because of the way fans feel.
"I mean, aside from the fact that they both hate each other?" is how he put it.
And now it's going to heat up even more than it did last year when the Packers had Bears safety Adrian Amos and the Bears had former Packers safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
"Obviously two years with the Packers for me was a unique time," Graham said. 'Going through the head coach change there wasn't something I was expecting. And to go to a new coach and have a new offense—this will be my fourth offense in four years.
"The Bears organization from top down—nothing on the Packers, I had a great season last year going to the playoffs—but this team, all they care about is winning. All they care about is that Super Bowl. From the owner to the GM to the head coach, the complete focus is on how to do it and do it now. The amount of energy that's in this building and the amount of hard work that we're doing over here is special. This team has a lot to prove, and we know that we're going to just work each and every day to get better and better."
While Graham was in Green Bay, he couldn't help but notice from about 200 miles away the Bears' 2018 division title and "Club Dub" season.
"I remember two years ago when they won and they were going to the playoffs and the party that they had going in that locker room," Graham said. 'I remember what that looked like on TV. I knew what type of team, what type of guys I was coming into in this locker room.
"Akiem Hicks, me and him go back a long ways (to New Orleans). He's a big reason why I am here. I mean, I know the type of player he is and the passion he brings to this defense."
For various reasons, much of it to do with offense and a lot of that the tight ends, Club Dub sort of fizzled last year.
Perhaps it will be restored with Graham, Cole Kmet and Demetrius Harris bringing the tight end position back to life in Chicago's offense.
"You can feel the buzz in this building," Graham said. "There's no excuses."
Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven
