Jimmy Graham breaks the 'Jimmy Graham Rule' twice after preseason TDs

Let the record show that at his first opportunity, Jimmy Graham broke the “Jimmy Graham Rule.” And then he did it again.

This offseason the NFL outlawed dunking over the goal post after touchdowns. That was in response to Graham, the Saints’ tight end and former college basketball player who celebrates scores by throwing it down over the goal post.

In New Orleans’ preseason game on Friday night, Luke McCown found Graham for a 6-yard touchdown on the Saints’ first drive. And then Graham did what he always does, which is run to the back of the end zone and threw down a dunk. Unlike the other times, the official threw a flag and gave Graham a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The rule was put into place mostly because of the potential delays if the goal post needs to be fixed after a dunk.

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Then McCown hit Graham for a second score, a pretty 19-yard score. And once more, Graham spiked it.

You have to think this wasn't just habit. Graham had to have plenty of time to think about it as he ran from the corner of the end zone to the middle), or maybe this was Graham just wanting to get in a few jams before the regular season, when a penalty like that would not be looked upon too kindly by Saints coach Sean Payton.

Maybe it's Graham's way of telling the NFL what he thinks of their rule.

Graham dunked in a scrimmage and also dunked in pregame warmups last week against St. Louis, so he’s not being a stickler for the rules so far. He might want to start being more careful, because it stands to reason that officials aren’t going to miss when Graham breaks the “Jimmy Graham Rule.”

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab