Thread: Free Agent WR's Not a Sure Thing Either..................Free agent wide re

Free agent wide receivers no sure things

History shows there are plenty of easy mistakes that can be made when signing veteran wideouts





Dan Pompei On the NFL 2:19 p.m. CST, February 25, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS — In the next couple of weeks, Bears general manager Phil Emery will make a decision that could have wide-ranging ramifications for his team.

Will he pursue a veteran free agent wide receiver such as Vincent Jackson of the Chargers? Or will he use an early-round draft pick on a wide receiver such as Notre Dame's Michael Floyd?

At the scouting combine, the Bears are in the process of interviewing many of the top receiver prospects, including Floyd, Kendall Wright of Baylor, Alshon Jeffery of South Carolina, Rueben Randle of LSU and Chris Givens of Wake Forest. Those receivers are scheduled to work out for NFL teams Sunday.

It's also probable that the Bears are sniffing around the free agent crop of wide receivers, which is very enticing at a glance. Among the players who may be available March 13 are Jackson, Dwayne Bowe of the Chiefs, Marques Colston of the Saints, Steve Johnson of the Bills, Eddie Royal of the Broncos, DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Mario Manningham of the Giants, Josh Morgan of the 49ers, Laurent Robinson of the Cowboys, Brandon Lloyd of the Rams, Plaxico Burress of the Jets, Wes Welker of the Patriots and Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon of the Colts.

As interesting as the list is, the history of wide receivers in free agency may give Emery pause.

You would think it would be easy to sign a veteran with a proven track record, plug him in and get instant production. There certainly is more known about a player who has been in the NFL for at least four years than there is about a player who still is living in a dorm room.

But if you acquire a veteran receiver, you need to follow some rules, according to five front office men who have done it.

Rule No. 1: Don't assume any wide receiver can blend in with your team.

Signing a receiver is about more than acquiring his talent. It's also about acquiring his character, his work habits, his expectations and his attitude.

"A lot of receivers have that diva mentality and are selfish," an NFC personnel director said. "It's all about them. They are used to doing things their own way. When you bring a guy like that into a locker room, it can lead to problems."

An established group of veterans often does not take kindly to a loudmouthed, highly paid interloper who believes he is better than the rest. "Chemistry in the room often is a problem, and chemistry with the quarterback too," said an NFC general manager. "That position can mess with a team more than any other. They are the biggest chicks on the team. They often have a very high opinion of themselves. As a rule, they don't approach their jobs with the same degree of professionalism players at other positions do."

It often works better when a receiver is drafted —even if he is a diva. This way, he starts out on the bottom rung of the totem pole, carrying pads for veterans and fetching donuts. He earns his respect and his catches.

When an established receiver comes in expecting to be treated like royalty, he needs to produce instantly or risk falling out of favor in the locker room, with the coaching staff and with the media and fan base. This applies to veterans who are acquired in trades too (see Braylon Edwards, Roy Williams and Ashley Lelie).

After the Seahawks signed T.J. Houshmandzadeh to a five-year, $40 million contract in 2009, both he and his employers expected him to be the big cheese in the Seattle offense. But Houshmandzadeh and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck never clicked, and Houshmandzadeh wore out his coaches and teammates with his complaining. Even though he led the team in receiving, he was released before the next season began.

Rule No. 2: Remember that every receiver who is a free agent is on the market for a reason. As a rule, the best ones never are allowed to leave their teams.

The Raiders gave Javon Walker a six-year, $55 million contract in 2008.

Walker was available because he wore out his welcome in Green Bay and Denver as a result of contract squabbles, injuries and some off-field incidents.

He caught 15 passes for the Raiders before he wore out his welcome in Oakland as well.

Rule No. 3: Understand that receivers are not interchangeable parts.

Wide receivers, save for a select few, usually have one position at which they are best, whether it's flanker, split end or slot. They also tend to fit certain systems better than others.

Just because Welker leads the league in catches for the Patriots, playing mostly from the slot, it doesn't mean he could come close to that playing outside for the Bears.

Deion Branch averaged 62 yards per game for the Patriots in 2005. After he was traded to the Seahawks, he averaged 46 yards per game over the next five years. Upon returning to New England in 2010, he averaged 64 yards per game.

The Patriots used him mostly as a slot receiver. The Seahawks didn't use him inside much.

Rule No. 4: Be cautious with receivers who are older than 26 or who have a history of injury.

Seven years ago, the Bears signed 32-year-old Muhsin Muhammad to a six-year, $30 million deal. He was productive for two years.

Last year, the premier receiver on the market was Sidney Rice. He was on the market in part because he had missed 25 percent of his games in his first four years. After signing with the Seahawks last summer for $43 million over five years, Rice played in only nine games because of shoulder and head injuries.

Rule No. 5: Do not expect a complementary receiver to become a primary receiver.

Alvin Harper made many big plays as a No. 2 receiver to Michael Irvin on two Super Bowl teams in Dallas. After he signed with the Buccaneers to be their lead dog, his average per catch went from 24.9 yards to 13.8. He lasted two years in Tampa.

Like a lot of free agent wide receiver acquisitions, he did not earn his money.

dpompei@tribune.com

Twitter@danpompei

Good year for Bears to be eyeing receivers in draft

A number of them distinguish themselves at combine, most notable Notre Dame's Floyd




Dan Pompei On the NFL 8:22 p.m. CST, February 26, 2012

INDIANAPOLIS — If the Bears are intending on drafting a receiver, they had to walk away from the combine workouts Sunday whistling and winking.

A number of receivers, most notably Notre Dame's Michael Floyd, distinguished themselves at Lucas Oil Field.

"It's a deep group of receivers and there will be a lot of skilled guys at the position throughout the draft," an NFC general manager said afterward.

Others who worked out well included Georgia Tech's Stephen Hill (4.36-second 40-yard dash), Stanford's Chris Owusu (4.36), Wake Forest's Chris Givens (4.41), Illinois' A.J. Jenkins (4.39), California's Marvin Jones (4.46), Fresno State's Devon Wylie (4.39) and Wisconsin's Nick Toon (4.54).

But no one created a bigger buzz than Floyd, who may have emerged as the favorite to be the second receiver taken after Oklahoma State's Justin Blackmon, who elected not to run.

The biggest question about the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Floyd had been speed, and he ran a 4.47 40.

"He's the second-best receiver in the draft," one AFC front office man said.

The NFC general manager indicated he still would rank Baylor's Kendall Wright ahead of Floyd, even though Wright ran a disappointing 4.61. Wright is known as a speed receiver based on his game tape, and some believe his slow times were attributable to poor track form.

Floyd will force scouts to go back to Notre Dame game tape to see if they believe he can play anywhere near as fast as he ran. They were skeptical Sunday.

"He's a 4.5 guy on the field is what he is," the AFC front office man said.

A second NFC general manager said he could see Floyd's vertical speed when he gets upfield, but it doesn't show up until he gets moving. He has what scouts call "gradual speed," and isn't the most explosive player.

"He surprised me with how fast he ran," said a third NFC general manager, Jerry Reese of the Giants. "He does not play that fast. In my notes, I said even when he ran his routes (Sunday) after he ran the 40, he didn't run with that same kind of speed.

"Guys can manufacture 40s. You have to be careful about 40 times. But he's one of those guys who is so big he can still take balls off guys when he's covered. That's a unique quality he has. He's an interesting guy."

Still, Floyd undoubtedly helped himself.

Floyd's workout might have assured he is picked somewhere between the 10th and 20th selections of the first round. Among the teams picking ahead of the Bears who could use Floyd are the Bills (10th pick) and Chargers (18th), assuming San Diego loses free agent Vincent Jackson.

Some teams will be more wary of Floyd because he has had three brushes with the law over alcohol.

"We met with him," the AFC front office man said. "He has a history of year after year of mistakes. How many is he going to make? I don't know if he gets it yet."

The first general manager said, "I think most teams are OK with his character."

Besides Floyd and Wright, other receivers who could go in the second half of the first round include Hill, Givens, Louisiana State's Rueben Randle, Rutgers' Mohamed Sanu and South Carolina's Alshon Jeffery.

Of that group, only Randle distinguished himself Sunday. Sanu ran a 4.67 40 and Jeffery did not run.

Jeffery weighed in at 215, down more than 15 pounds from his playing weight during the season, but it wasn't enough to impress scouts. They said he did poorly in interviews and appeared as if he had not been lifting weights.

Hill could be a late riser. He caught only 28 passes but averaged 29.3 yards per catch. He is considered a bit raw, but his speed, combined with a 6-4 frame, is intriguing to NFL teams.

dpompei@tribune.com

Twitter@danpompei


Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

I paired these two articles because without a doubt we need to upgrade at WR and in all likelihood we'll be using both the free agency and the draft to do that and hopefully in that order too.

I thought the 5 rules that GM's use in the process of evaluating vet free agents was spot on. Personally I think rule #1 and rule #5 are the most important because they're both about tempering expectations.

Very often we post about a guy that we'd like to have but do we always look at the fit of his style or personality with Cutler and the rest of the team? I think we can all agree that "divas" won't fit well into the Bears way of doing things so when we talk about a guy like Moss the first question to ask is will he be leaving that attitude of his parked in his garage or will he be driving it to practice and games on Sunday.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is not to overestimate the ability of the prospect. If he's not a #1 caliber WR with his former team it's very likely he won't be with the Bears either. A player like Mario Mannigham would be a really good example of this. Would he be an upgrade at a receiver position, probably. Would he become the Bears #1 WR, not very likely. There's a difference between a very good role player and a dominant #1 WR. There may be younger guys who due to exceptional size or speed may have a shot at it as they develop but ordinarily what you see is all you get. If Johnny Knox isn't a true #1 WR then why would want to sign somebody else' version of Johnny Knox?

Rules #2 and #4 are all about doing your due diligence on a guys attitude and injury status but Rule #3 fits with Nos. #1 and #5. You wouldn't sign a Flanker to play TE so why sign a Slot Receiver to play Split End. We already have one guy playing Flanker who should be a Slot Receiver and a Slot Receiver who should be playing Flanker so let's hope we get that straightened out this year and sign the right guy (s) for the correct positions.

We do need to draft a WR fairly early in this draft and while it's unlikely that Michael Floyd will be a total bust I still believe he will struggle to ever be a #1 WR. To me he simply doesn't have the tools to do it at the NFL level. I highlighted a number of comments about him some good and some not so good but to me the main reason I think we should pass on him is the comment I highlighted in the first paragraph. There are enough big WR's with enough talent in this draft to wait for better value with less risk than taking one with our first pick. If the crop was thin I might feel differently but it's not thin it's just the opposite and I feel there will be guys in rounds two and three who will be just as good or better in the pros than Michael Floyd.

Originally Posted by soulman

Josh Morgan of the 49ers

I've seen Morgan's name mentioned a couple times in articles but not much talk about him on here. I don't know anything about him. Is he a legitimate prospect or not worth looking at?

Rule No. 1: Don't assume any wide receiver can blend in with your team.

This is what makes me nervous about someone like VJax or Stevie Johnson. And makes me want to have absolutely nothing to do with DeSean Jackson.

Rule No. 2:Remember that every receiver who is a free agent is on the market for a reason. As a rule, the best ones never are allowed to leave their teams.

This rule is kind of a moot point for the Bears since about 99% of the FA receivers are better than anything the Bears have. lol (I laugh to keep from crying.)

Rule No. 3: Understand that receivers are not interchangeable parts.

The Bears don't seem to understand this with their own guys (*cough* Hester *cough*) so I don't have confidence that they understand this about FA's.

Rule No. 4: Be cautious with receivers who are older than 26 or who have a history of injury.
I understand being cautious of older receivers, but older than 26? Seems like a low bar to me.

Rule No. 5: Do not expect a complementary receiver to become a primary receiver.

This is something to keep in mind for a guy like Meachem. No guarantee he would turn into a #1. But, I do think he'd still be a fantastic #2 and better than anything we have currently.

From these two articles it seems to me that Pompei really wants the Bears to draft a WR high in the draft, likely with the 1st rounder. I think I'd still prefer to pick up a couple solid FA's and draft one in the second or third. Although, the more I read about him, the more I like Stephen Hill. Bah! Who knows?

Woops. I just commented in the double-posted thread. Admins, can we merge the two?

Yeah, for some unknown reason sometimes when I post a thread it posts it twice so I'll delete one of them if I can.

I paired these two articles because without a doubt we need to upgrade at WR and in all likelihood we'll be using both the free agency and the draft to do that and hopefully in that order too.

I thought the 5 rules that GM's use in the process of evaluating vet free agents was spot on. Personally I think rule #1 and rule #5 are the most important because they're both about tempering expectations.

Very often we post about a guy that we'd like to have but do we always look at the fit of his style or personality with Cutler and the rest of the team? I think we can all agree that "divas" won't fit well into the Bears way of doing things so when we talk about a guy like Moss the first question to ask is will he be leaving that attitude of his parked in his garage or will he be driving it to practice and games on Sunday.

Another thing that needs to be addressed is not to overestimate the ability of the prospect. If he's not a #1 caliber WR with his former team it's very likely he won't be with the Bears either. A player like Mario Mannigham would be a really good example of this. Would he be an upgrade at a receiver position, probably. Would he become the Bears #1 WR, not very likely. There's a difference between a very good role player and a dominant #1 WR. There may be younger guys who due to exceptional size or speed may have a shot at it as they develop but ordinarily what you see is all you get. If Johnny Knox isn't a true #1 WR then why would want to sign somebody else' version of Johnny Knox?

Rules #2 and #4 are all about doing your due diligence on a guys attitude and injury status but Rule #3 fits with Nos. #1 and #5. You wouldn't sign a Flanker to play TE so why sign a Slot Receiver to play Split End. We already have one guy playing Flanker who should be a Slot Receiver and a Slot Receiver who should be playing Flanker so let's hope we get that straightened out this year and sign the right guy (s) for the correct positions.

We do need to draft a WR fairly early in this draft and while it's unlikely that Michael Floyd will be a total bust I still believe he will struggle to ever be a #1 WR. To me he simply doesn't have the tools to do it at the NFL level. I highlighted a number of comments about him some good and some not so good but to me the main reason I think we should pass on him is the comment I highlighted in the first paragraph. There are enough big WR's with enough talent in this draft to wait for better value with less risk than taking one with our first pick. If the crop was thin I might feel differently but it's not thin it's just the opposite and I feel there will be guys in rounds two and three who will be just as good or better in the pros than Michael Floyd.

Damn it Soulman, quit messing shit up. Thread merged. Now I don't have to do anything for the rest of the year!