Which Free Agents fit in with the Hawks?

two dog

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Stay away from the old dudes. Don't remember them as they were but as they are.

From the moment he got here Pete's mantra has been: Bigger, Faster, stronger and tougher.
Unspoken but implicit in his actions is also: Younger.

I notice Gus is preaching the same sermon in Jacksonville. And why not, it sure
worked here.

Betcha Jon will let others make the headlines then go bargain shopping. Miller and
Rice are proof that he's not afraid to pull the trigger if the right guy is there though.
 

The Twelvethman

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NYCoug":rv8utt9m said:
So it wouldn't surprise me to see the team go after some guys like Delanie Walker. There's precedent for that kind of move, Michael Robinson anyone?

After watching the 9'ers play us this year & in the Super Bowl, Walker (the swiss army knife as they called him) is a reasonably reliable guy & versatile so the name suggests. My question is, why don't they use Robinson in a similar role? Could he be a similar TE, do there skills match up the same cause they are both the same physically from the info I can find (height weight speed), good run blockers and can catch the ball, although Walker maybe better catching in traffic and running routes as I have little to compare Robinson with?
 

McGruff

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Who fits?

Henry Melton and Desmond Bryant as pass rushing DT's.

Michael Bennett as a versatile end who can rotate with Red, backup at Leo, and play inside on passing downs.

Jared Cook and Dustin Keller as field stretching TE's to compliment Miller. I like Walker as well, but he is a little older.

All are youngish and fit the needs. I don't see much at WR that would significantly upgrade what we have at a reasonable price, but I could see is spinning the wheels on guys like Ramses Barden or Danario Alexander.
 

McGruff

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EmbattleTheeHawks":2qzsre34 said:
NYCoug":2qzsre34 said:
So it wouldn't surprise me to see the team go after some guys like Delanie Walker. There's precedent for that kind of move, Michael Robinson anyone?

After watching the 9'ers play us this year & in the Super Bowl, Walker (the swiss army knife as they called him) is a reasonably reliable guy & versatile so the name suggests. My question is, why don't they use Robinson in a similar role? Could he be a similar TE, do there skills match up the same cause they are both the same physically from the info I can find (height weight speed), good run blockers and can catch the ball, although Walker maybe better catching in traffic and running routes as I have little to compare Robinson with?

Walker is so much faster its silly. Walker has historically been a Seahawk killer, so stealing him would have a double benefit.
 
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NYCoug

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Great stuff McGruff and everybody. Thanks for the responses.

I'd love to get Michael Bennett back. He never should've been let go in the first place. Kyle Williams... seriously? I sometimes think back to moves like that and then I can TRULY appreciate John Schneider and Pete Carroll. I'd take him back in a heartbeat. Here's my list of guys that I'd like to see us spin the wheels on...

Desmond Bryant
Randy Starks
Michael Bennett
Delanie Walker
William Hayes
Ramses Barden

Osi's the only older vet that I might spin the wheels on, if the price/terms are right. I'm afraid teams will break the bank on Cook and Keller, we're not the only ones trying to find our athletic TE in the mold of Gronk/Hernadez. I'm sure JS will do his thing and play the market like a fiddle, and still walk away with excellent talent at great value.
 

firebee

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Well... These are they guys I'm looking at right now. I think most of these guys could be brought in without blowing out our cap space and/or wasting money on an overpriced big-name free agent like Mike Wallace, Michael Johnson, Henry Melton, Brian Hartline, Dwayne Bowe, Glenn Dorsey, Osi Omenyiora (Think I spelled his name right) and the likes.

Ramses Barden - Obviously, this is a popular choice. Still pretty young, he's 6'6" and he's had some big games for the Giants when he's had to step in. Unfortunately... A lot of football analysts are talking about a number of teams going after Barden, which means we'll have to win him over and that could mean spending more than we want for him. He's from Cali and went to Cal-Poly, so signing for a team on the West Coast might be a little more appealing to him, which might land us some kind of hometown discount. Still... He could cost more than we want to spend on him.

Austin Collie - If this guy could stay healthy, he'd be an amazing addition to our receiving corp. I'd love to bring him in, work on strengthening his neck to prevent concussions and see if he can stay healthy. When healthy... He's got some of the best hands in the league and he's exhibited excellent big play ability downfield. He's also from California and went to BYU, so he might sign a more cap-friendly contract to play out West. This is a guy I think we could get on the cheap, and the risk vs. reward is almost too good to pass up on. If he stays healthy, he's one of the best receivers in the NFL.

John Phillips - Who's this guy??? You wouldn't know because he's been stuck behind Jason Witten on the depth chart in Dallas for the first three years of his career. Much like Witten, he doesn't have amazing physical skills that jump out at you, but he's a really good football player that blocks well and he has amazing hands. Phillips' hauled in over 80% of his targets over the course of the first three years he's played in the NFL, even though he only received a limited number of targets. To put that in perspective, Golden Tate hauled in 67% of his targets this year and Miller hauled in a touch over 70% of his targets this year. A receiver or TE hauling in over 80% of their targets is, pretty much, unheard of... especially over the course of three years.

Doug Legursky - Can play Center or either guard position and I've even seen him play OT in a pinch. Knocked for being small, but he's proven he can hold his own against NFL competition and he's deceptively strong. You don't expect to see a guy his size anchor and move big guys around, but he does. He plays with a chip on his shoulder and I think he'd fit in extremely well with the Seahawks O-Line. Why sign Legursky??? So we can release our waste of a first round pick, James Carpenter, and improve the play of our interior line. Legursky would push all of our interior lineman, Unger included, to get better or lose their job to him. Unfortunately... Prying him away from the East Coast might be more costly than some would like, but he's not a big name free agent either, so he might come at a bargain if he has a legitimate shot at starting, which I think he would.

Lawrence Sidbury - This guy was one of the most physically gifted defensive ends taken in the 2009 draft. I'd rather bring in a young guy like this or draft a guy to compete with Irvin for playing time while Clemons recovers
from his injury, than blow money on Osi and hinder Irvin's development because he's stuck behind Osi and Clemons on the depth chart when Clemons starts playing again. To me... Signing Osi would just be stupid. It would stunt the development of Irvin and any other young DEs we try to bring in and it would wrap up a ridiculous amount of money at the DE position with Clemons still under contract.

Dwan Edwards - A little up in the years, but he's under-the-radar and he'd probably give Seattle a discount because he's from the Northwest. Yes.. He's entering his 9th season, but he only seems to get better with age and he seems to be most comfortable playing in a 4-3, as his production really improved when he moved to the 4-3 defense. He recorded Over 50 tackles and 6 sacks last year with the Panthers, the best year of his career thus far. This guy could be a free agency steal for us if we get the kind of production and play out of him over the next couple of years I think we'd get.

Martin Parker - I remember watching this kid play in the National Championship with Richmond and I remember him absolutely tearing it up at the Shrine Bowl his Senior year, Defensive Player of the Game I do believe. Martin had bad luck with his back after signing with the Giants, but if Martin can get healthy and his back checks out, I'd absolutely love to see us bring him in. He'd be an awesome cost-effective addition at DT if he can stay healthy and he's still really young. This upcoming season will be his 3rd season in the NFL. Again... A high risk vs. high reward under-the-radar player with a ton of potential that can be signed for next to nothing.

Desmond Bryant - I'd love to see him brought into Seattle, but like Barden... He seems to be receiving a lot of attention from around the league, which could make him cost more than we want to spend if we have to outbid another team for him. At the right price, he'd be a welcomed addition to our interior defensive line though, and I don't think anybody can deny that.

Danell Ellerbe!!!!! - It's pretty much figured that Leroy Hill is gone. If we're going to sign a high dollar free agent; this is the high dollar free agent I want us to sign. The guy was, literally, everywhere last year for the Ravens. Quick, powerful, explosive, hits hard, covers well, gets in the backfield a lot and showed the ability to play inside or outside. This guy is going to be a pro bowler for years to come, regardless if he's playing inside or outside in a 4-3 or 3-4 defense. He's just an amazing linebacker. This is one guy I'd be willing to spend relatively big money on. I WANT HIM IN SEATTLE!!!
 

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Lagursky is garbage. Steelers fans have been complaining about him for years. You want to sign him so we can release one of our more promising offensive linemen?
 

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firebee":l3k7ie40 said:
Ramses Barden - Obviously, this is a popular choice. Still pretty young, he's 6'6" and he's had some big games for the Giants when he's had to step in.

If by "some" you mean "one". He had almost 2/3rds of his catches last year in one game (9 of this 14 came against Carolina). He's had plenty of opportunities, especially with all of Hakeem Nicks' nagging injuries, but has continued to be unproductive. I wouldn't get in a bidding war for him.
 

firebee

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Rat":210yy990 said:
Lagursky is garbage. Steelers fans have been complaining about him for years. You want to sign him so we can release one of our more promising offensive linemen?

Carpenter is one of our more promising linemen??? Carpenter couldn't beat out a journeyman OT, Breno Giocamini, for the start at RT. Granted, Breno is proving to be a stud when he doesn't make stupid mistakes. Then he couldn't beat out McQuistan, a journeyman OT/OG, or Moffitt, a 3rd round pick, for the start at OG. Then he got passed up on the depth chart by a rookie converted from DT to OG, JR Sweezy. If by promising, you mean disappointing... Then yes... Carpenter is one of our more promising offensive linemen.

As for Legursky... The only reason Steeler "FANS" complain about Legursky is because of his size. I've already seen the complaints. It's always... "He's too small. We need a bigger guy to step in for Foster, Pouncey, Starks or whoever else Legursky has to step in for because Pittsburgh's offensive line is plagued with injuries. It's never... He missed this assignment or he got owned by this player. He might get physically beat on occasion, but he doesn't get owned by a player and he doesn't miss assignments, allowing blitzes to come through unchecked on a regular basis like some of our interior linemen do.

As for Barden... I wouldn't get into a bidding war for Barden either and I was kind of trying to get at that point. Same can be said for Desmond Bryant. We might not land Barden because he's receiving a lot of attention from around the league. He's had big games for NY, maybe not on a consistent basis, but he's had a few big games and flashed the ability to be a big-time receiver in the NFL. His size and potential has a lot of appeal to a lot of teams. Bryant is being mentioned a lot for teams looking at DT prospects, so same boat. We might not land him because other teams are willing to spend more on him than he's worth, even though that's kind of hard to imagine with our DT situation being what it is with Jones and Branch hitting free agency.
 

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You keep talking about how Barden has had these big games. It has been one. Statistically, the second best game of his career was his 3 catch 38 yard effort against the Saints in 2011. He has two career games with more than two catches, to go along with his zero career touchdowns. He has had plenty of opportunities with the frequent injuries to Nicks and Hixon, but has done almost nothing with those opportunities.
 

Hawk4lyfe

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Kruger, Ellerbe, and/or Bryant would be good for me, if they sign at a good price. But im not scout, so i havent watched these guys a ton. on paper they look good tho. Starks sounds good to me too.

for offense, ive liked jared cook for a while at TE and think he could be a huge factor here. id like to see miller get more looks as well. hes proven he can be a factor catching passes, and i think he is underutilized in the passing game. i really like how he seems to have a knack for finding the open spots in zones. pair Cook with him and that could be deadly, especially in the RZ.

ive heard talks about Bowe signing here, or wallace, or welker but none of them wow me. Bowe has great skills, but he drops a lot of passes for a WR too. I'm not that familiar with wallace, ill admit, but i think we need a burner, a guy that can fly by and get behind the coverage. if wallace is that guy, i say sign him. welker is just another baldwin/tate type player, only older. nothing we need.

stay away from guys like Osi, Jason Jones, and possible Vanden Bosch are not worth it. They are old/older and id rather get a young up and comer.
 

firebee

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Rat":1g9h4ut5 said:
You keep talking about how Barden has had these big games. It has been one. Statistically, the second best game of his career was his 3 catch 38 yard effort against the Saints in 2011. He has two career games with more than two catches, to go along with his zero career touchdowns. He has had plenty of opportunities with the frequent injuries to Nicks and Hixon, but has done almost nothing with those opportunities.

I guess that run he had early in the season kind of melds together into two games. He only had one big game and some action in the game leading up to that big game along with some action the game after. I just remember thinking about picking him up in my fantasy league early on in the season. So... I stand corrected. I guess he doesn't have that much big play ability. We'll just forget about the 15 yard avg. and the 11 conversion of downs he had on the 14 catches he did make.
He might've caught more if he was targeted more than 21 times, but that didn't happen because Manning targeted Cruz, Nicks, Bennett, Bradshaw and Randle.
 

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I pray that the Niners find a way to resign Walker. I feel like he wants to stay with the team, so hopefully they can work it out. He's a monster blocker, killer on special teams, and he can do just about everything relatively well. Considering the Niners have now decided that they want to pass the ball more often, I'd hate to lose a guy like him!
 

loafoftatupu

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60niners":3s2q3s98 said:
I pray that the Niners find a way to resign Walker. I feel like he wants to stay with the team, so hopefully they can work it out. He's a monster blocker, killer on special teams, and he can do just about everything relatively well. Considering the Niners have now decided that they want to pass the ball more often, I'd hate to lose a guy like him!

If Walker were on the Hawks roster, I would not want him leaving. I read many posts from other Niner fans bitching about him, but the guy is a versatile player and makes a play here and there that saves a drive. All over the place.
 

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aint larry fitzgerald a free agent this year...

seemed awfully happy with russell in the pro bowl.

and superbowl...
 

Decimation

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Seeker":3l3or24c said:
aint larry fitzgerald a free agent this year...

seemed awfully happy with russell in the pro bowl.

and superbowl...
I wish.

Fitz signed a mega deal last year. Won't be a free agent anytime soon.
 

Rat

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firebee":1sy9prth said:
He might've caught more if he was targeted more than 21 times, but that didn't happen because Manning targeted Cruz, Nicks, Bennett, Bradshaw and Randle.
Manning targets the guys who get open. For all of Barden's ability, he doesn't do anything with it. Guys like Reuben Randle, on the other hand, did take advantage of their opportunities.
 
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NYCoug

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Rat":2htil4ac said:
firebee":2htil4ac said:
He might've caught more if he was targeted more than 21 times, but that didn't happen because Manning targeted Cruz, Nicks, Bennett, Bradshaw and Randle.
Manning targets the guys who get open. For all of Barden's ability, he doesn't do anything with it. Guys like Reuben Randle, on the other hand, did take advantage of their opportunities.

As much as I'd love giving Barden a shot, I think Rat's right here.

My buddy is a HUGE Giants fan and he's been hyping up Barden for years, literally. Before this season started, he officially gave up on him and said that Barden is outstanding in practice and in the preseason, and he's got the size and speed combo you look for, but he just never puts it together in actual games that count. Who knows, maybe he could change that in Seattle. It's obvious with the additions of Edwards and Owens last season that the team wants a big receiver to fill that "Mike Williams" role. On the plus side, he'd probably come cheap so even if he didn't pan out you wouldn't be hamstrung with an awful contract.
 
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