Free Agency '06 (Moulds isn't coming. 17.8 million in cap space.)

[General_Failure]

I don't mind Joe at all. He's not the answer, but he's better than what we've got.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

As I've said, the Eagles are not going to sign a WR any better than Jurevicius.  So, hope for that.

[troyhstewart]

I wanted them to sign Joe when he went to the Bucs several years ago. He's not a #1, but he's a good posession receiver that fits well in this offense.

[hunt]

yay...a guy even more mediocre than givens.

reese was right!

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

yay...a guy even more mediocre than givens.

reese was right!

No, he'll be right if the Eagles get no one at WR and say they're "fine" with what they have.

[ice grillin you]

getting only jurevicious would be saying they are basically fine at wr...hes a waste

i love the idea of pickett...much cheaper than bernard and a better player....he needs to be more consistent but when hes on hes a really really good run stopper

[Rome]

If the Eagles aren't seriously targeting a wide receiver in free agency (a notion Spads quasi-confirmed this morning, btw) they have to be looking at the position in the draft.

I don't know if Santonio Holmes is the answer or they're planning on trading down but it's pretty clear they have nothing behind Reggie Brown right now.

Very strange.

[SunMo]

is Ryan Pickett more of a pass rusher or run stopper?

[PhillyPhreak54]

He's more of a run stuffing clog shtein up type. I believe he has like 6 sacks in his career. Some of that could be playing in that STL defense though. He'd be a younger and better version of Hollis.

Walker
Patterson
Rayburn
Pickett
Bunkley

That would be excellent, IMO.

[Rome]

Pickett's bio from Scouts, Inc:

2005 Scouting Report - Scouts Inc.
Grade: 69 | Key
Alert: None

Comment:
Has the upper body strength to maintain separation from defenders and flashes the ability to shed blocks quickly. Takes adequate pursuit angles and shows adequate range. Possesses good athletic ability and is an adequate open field tackler. Flashes the ability to shoot the inside gap and takes the shortest path to the quarterback. Is a powerful bull rusher when plays with good leverage and he flashes the ability to collapse the pocket. However, Pickett hasn't progressed as expected and he doesn't make enough big plays. Appears to wear down when teams consistently run at him, plays too high when gets tired and can get driven back when doesn't play with good leverage. Doesn't always use hands well and takes too long to shed blocks at times.

[SunMo]

Appears to wear down when teams consistently run at him, plays too high when gets tired and can get driven back when doesn't play with good leverage. Doesn't always use hands well and takes too long to shed blocks at times.

sounds like he would be more effective if he plays in a consistent rotation

[Diomedes]

I don't know anything about the guy, but he's obviously a massive upgrade, so that pleases me. 

[DH]

Eagles | Rumor alert: team could sign Givens
Sat, 11 Mar 2006 05:41:46 -0800

Mark Eckel, of the Trenton Times, reports there is some talk that the Philadelphia Eagles could sign free agent WR David Givens (Patriots).

[PhillyPhanInDC]

I think Givens and his agent are thowing up a smokescreen to cover up the mess from the Browns' website:

PFT:

CLEVELAND STEPS IN SOMETHING BROWN?

We've been pounding away of late on the fact that teams rampantly have been tampering with free agents who weren't yet free -- and who thus were still the property of another team.

We've seen agents concede that tampering occurs, we've read reports of deals already done, and we spit our Kool-Aid against the computer screen on Friday night when we read comments from Drew Brees acknowledging that he's "already got things lined up" with other teams.

The Cleveland Browns might have taken the thing to a new level on Friday night, posting on their official web site a story announcing the signing of Patriots receiver David Givens before the official launch of free agency.

The article later was taken down.  But not before one of our readers could capture an image of the screen:


Here's the full text of the article, courtesy of another reader:
--------------------------------------

The Browns made an immediate splash in the free agent market Saturday by signing wide receiver David Givens.

Givens, who played his first four NFL seasons with the Patriots and won two Super Bowl championships, seems to be a perfect fit for a Browns team that made adding an experienced, reliable receiver a top offseason goal.

Givens bolsters a Browns' receiving corps that awaits the return of last year's top draft pick, Braylon Edwards, from a December ACL injury, and also features veteran Dennis Northcutt.

Last year's leading receiver, Antonio Bryant, is a free agent.

Givens, 25, caught a career-high 59 passes for 738 yards in 13 games last season. He caught 5 passes for 54 yards and a touchdown in the Patriots' playoff loss in Denver in January.

He posted a career-high 6 touchdowns in 2003, and had a career-high 874 receiving yards in 2004. His career totals include 158 receptions, 2,214 yards and 12 touchdowns; he's also the Patriots all-time leader in postseason touchdown receptions with 6.

Givens was a seventh round draft choice out of Notre Dame in 2002. He signed a one-year max tender with the Patriots last season as a restricted free agent.

In Cleveland, Givens is reunited with Romeo Crennel and assistant head coach Jeff Davidson. Crennel was previously the defensive coordinator in New England and Davidson coached the offensive line and tight ends. Browns Special Teams Coach Jerry Rosburg held the same position at Notre Dame for two of Givens' four seasons there. Givens blocked three punts while playing under Rosburg in 2000.

Givens played a limited offensive role and contributed on special teams as a Patriots rookie in 2002, when he caught 9 passes for 92 yards and a touchdown in 12 games. He caught 34 passes for 510 yards and 6 touchdowns in 2003 in 13 games (5 starts) in 2003, including a career-long 57-yarder.

His breakout season came in 2004, when he led the Patriots with 56 catches for 874 yards. He had four games with 100-plus receiving yards, a touchdown catch in each of the Patriots' three postseason games, and converted first downs on 47 of his 56 regular-season receptions.
--------------------------------------

Wow. 

Yet another reader explains to us that there were three separate press releases posted on the web site Friday night regarding the Browns' signing of Givens, of Ravens punter Dave Zastudil (another example of potential tampering), and the re-signing of left tackle L.J. Shelton.  The links to all three are now dead, leaving a gap of three consecutive numbers in the system used on the Browns' official site.

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/5199.0.html
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/5200.0.html
http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/news_room/news/arts/5201.0.html

But numbers before and after 5199 through 5201 contain active stories.

We're also told that John Clayton's blog on ESPN.com initially made reference to the Givens and Zastudil signings, containing a quote from Givens' agent, Brad Blank, suggesting that the release on the Browns' web site was a hack job.  But Clayton's blog later was revised to omit the entry.

As to the hacker defense, note in the screen capture that the date on the story is March 30, 2006 and that the title is "GIvens."  Would hackers have made such errors, when their sole objective is to create the appearance that their phony work isn't?  At a minimum, wouldn't they have inserted a title like "Browns sign David Givens"? 

Even if it this was the product of teenagers with nothing better to do on a Friday night (and who also happen to have the writing skills of an experienced sports journalist), there's enough smoke here to merit a look-see from the league office.

[mussa]

farg i like Givens, theres one less WR available.