Last Updated: May 15, 2008
2008 FREE AGENT LOSSES
DT WILLIAM JOSEPH (to the Oakland Raiders): The Giants voided the final two years of Joseph’s contract in late April 2008, thus making him an unrestricted free agent. Joseph was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Giants but he never panned out. Joseph missed the 2007 NFL season with a back injury. While he started 10 games in 2005, missing the other six regular season games due to injury, he lost his starting job in training camp in 2006. Joseph only started four games in each of the 2003 and 2004 seasons. Joseph certainly looks the part. He’s big, strong, and athletic. And he flashes every now and then as both a run defender and pass rusher. But those moments are too few in number. Joseph just does not seem to be that instinctive. It appears that he is guessing at times in an effort to make the big play instead of simply maintaining his gap responsibility. And he will get mauled at times by double-team blocks. Joseph reportedly signed a 1-year, $645,000 deal with the Raiders.
S GIBRIL WILSON (to the Oakland Raiders): Wilson was moved to free safety in 2007. Wilson missed three games in December with a knee injury but started 13 regular season games and finished the regular season with 92 tackles, 7 pass defenses, and 4 interceptions. While Wilson lacks ideal size, he has good speed and agility for a safety. He is aggressive in run defense and makes a lot of tackles, although he will occasionally miss a tackle. Wilson is a good pass defender - but it would be nice to see him make more plays on the football. That said, he did have a career-high four interceptions in 2007. Wilson flashes as a blitzer. Wilson reportedly signed a 6-year, $39 million contract that included $16 million in bonus money.
LB KAWIKA MITCHELL (to the Buffalo Bills): Mitchell finished 2007 with 76 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 4 pass defenses, 1 interception for a touchdown, and 1 fumble recovery for a touchdown. Mitchell was signed by the Giants as an unrestricted free agent from the Kansas City Chiefs in March 2007. He was originally drafted in the 2nd round of the 2003 NFL Draft by the Chiefs. In four years with Kansas City, Mitchell started 50 games, including every single regular season game in 2005 and 2006 at middle linebacker. The Giants moved him to weakside linebacker. Mitchell is a versatile player who can play all three linebacker spots. He has good size and is a decent athlete. While he lacks ideal speed and quickness, he has decent range. Mitchell is a good tackler. He is decent in coverage and flashes on the blitz. He is a smart, tough, and hardworking player. Mitchell reportedly signed a 5-year, $17.5 million contract that included a $3.5 million signing bonus.
LB REGGIE TORBOR (to the Miami Dolphins): Torbor took over the strongside linebacker spot in November 2007 when Kiwanuka was lost and the Giants’ defense did not miss a beat. Torbor finished the season with 39 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 pass defense. In 2007, he started five regular season games and all four playoff games. Torbor was drafted by the Giants in the 4th round of the 2004 NFL Draft. Torbor was an undersized defensive end in college and the Giants used him as a situational pass rusher from the right defensive end spot during his rookie season. Torbor improved his linebacking play in 2005 and started nine games that season. However, despite all of the injuries and generally ineffective play at linebacker in 2006, Torbor did not see all that much playing time, starting only three games. Torbor has a decent combination of size, strength, and athleticism. He has improved his ability to stack and shed at the point-of-attack. However, Torbor is not all that fast or quick, and does not stand out in pass coverage. He is a good special teams player.
2007 FREE AGENT LOSSES
CB FRANK WALKER (to the Green Bay Packers): As a rookie in 2003, Frank Walker made a splash in six starts by intercepting two passes and returning one for a touchdown. In very limited playing time in 2004 and 2005, Walker also picked off three more passes. However, he spent most of the 2005 on the inactive list and did not see much playing time in 2006 despite playing fairly well in training camp and the preseason. Walker has a nose for the football. But Walker is usually too physical for his own good, committing illegal contact or pass interference penalties. Also, one speculates that the reason he has not seen more playing time since his rookie year is that he might make too many mental mistakes in coverage. Physically, Walker is a fine athlete with good speed and quickness. He is rough around the edges in terms of his technique and this is what leads to problems with respect to the penalties. While physical in pass defense, Walker is not an aggressive player as a hitter or tackler. It was not a good sign that both Kevin Dockery and R.J. Cobbs - two rookies - quickly moved ahead of him on the depth chart last season. Walker’s deal reportedly included $750,000 in base salary, a $150,000 signing bonus, a $100,000 workout bonus, and $240,000 in potential roster bonuses ($15,000 for each game he is active).
PK JAY FEELY (to the Miami Dolphins): Feely was signed by the Giants from the Atlanta Falcons during the 2005 free agent period. In 2005, Feely was 35-of-42 on field goal attempts (83.3 percent success rate), including three field goals over 50 yards. In 2006, Feely finished the year 23-of-27 on field goal attempts (85.2 percent success rate). Twelve of Feely’s 98 kickoffs in 2005 and 12 of his 78 kickoffs in 2006 went for touchbacks. While a generally accurate kicker, Feely has come up with some untimely misses during his two-year stint with the Giants. He is only OK on kickoffs with many of his efforts lacking hangtime or distance. Feely did gut out the 2006 season with a broken bone in his kicking foot. Feely reportedly signed a 3-year, $6 million contract with the Dolphins that included $2.5 million in guaranteed money.
TE VISANTHE SHIANCOE (to the Minnesota Vikings): Shiancoe was the blocking tight end on the Giants. While more of a position blocker and not a mauler, he plays bigger than his listed size and usually does a good job of blocking at the point-of-attack, including against defensive ends. Shiancoe only caught 12 passes for 81 yards in 2006. According to press reports, the Giants were not interested in re-signing him. Shiancoe reportedly signed a 5-year, $18 million contract that included $7 million in guaranteed money.
2006 FREE AGENT LOSSES
LB JAY FOREMAN (to the New Orleans Saints): Foreman was signed by the Giants in late December 2005 when injuries hit the linebacking position hard. He was originally drafted in the 5th round of the 1999 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Foreman was traded to the Houston Texans in 2002. The Texans released him in March 2005. He was signed by the Raiders in May, but then waived before the season started. Foreman is a decent player both against the run and in pass coverage. However, he is not terribly athletic and does not make many big plays.
LB NICK GREISEN (to the Jacksonville Jaguars): Greisen was supposed to provide valuable depth as a backup in 2005, but injuries to Barrett Green, Emmons, Pierce, and Torbor forced him to see extensive playing time. In fact, he ended up starting 12 games and finished the season with 79 tackles, 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries, and 4 pass defenses. Throughout his brief Giant career, Nick has been bothered by nagging injuries that have prevented him from seeing more playing time. But in 2005, he toughed it out, playing with repeated stinger injuries to his neck area. Greisen is a heady, physical, and versatile player who can play all three linebacking positions. He has inconsistent instincts. At times, he reads plays well and makes sure tackles against the run. At other times, he does not and is not in position to make a play. Greisen lacks ideal athleticism and is not terribly agile in space. He also finished the season with nine special teams tackles.
DT KENDERICK ALLEN (to the Green Bay Packers): The Giants claimed Allen off of waivers in 2004 from the Saints, who originally signed him as a rookie free agent after the 2003 NFL Draft. As an oft-employed backup defensive tackle in 2005, Allen was credited with 20 tackles, 2 sacks, and 2 fumble recoveries. Allen has excellent size, is naturally strong, and appears to be somewhat athletic. He is an inconsistent run defender who at times holds his ground very well and will gum things up inside, but other times he will be effectively blocked at the point-of-attack. Allen needs to pursue better down the line. Allen is not much of a pass rusher.
CB WILL ALLEN (to the Miami Dolphins): Allen did not start off the 2005 season particularly well but played much better from the mid-point, except for the last game against Washington where he gave up three touchdown passes to Santana Moss. Allen finished the year with 70 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, and 11 pass defenses. He had no interceptions and has only had four interceptions in the last four seasons (he had four his rookie year in 2001). That is an indication of Allen’s biggest problem – while he usually supplies decent and sometimes even very good coverage, he does not make plays on the football. Too often he will be in position to intercept or knock a pass away, yet the pass is still completed. On the other hand, there are still games where he does a real nice job of shutting down his receiver. It’s the lack of game-changing plays and lack of consistency that bother people. Allen is also inconsistent as a run defender. There are times when he flashes with aggressiveness and sure-tackling skills and other times when he is too easily blocked. Physically, Allen is not a tall corner, but he is well built with good speed. He can run with defenders deep. He also is quick and savvy enough to play receivers in the slot, which the Giants have him do quite a bit. Allen reportedly signed a 4-year, $12 million contract that included $5 million in guaranteed money.
SS SHAUN WILLIAMS (to the Carolina Panthers): Williams has spent the bulk of the last three seasons on Injured Reserve (2003 and 2004 with knee injuries and 2005 with a hamstring injury). In 2005, he only played in eight games (with no starts) and accumulated only 16 tackles and 2 pass defenses. When healthy, Williams is a good hitter and tackler. In coverage, he does not make many plays on the football and can be prone to making mental mistakes. Williams reportedly signed a 1-year deal with the Panthers.
DT KENDRICK CLANCY (to the Arizona Cardinals): The Giants signed Clancy from the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 2005 offseason. He surprisingly won the starting left defensive tackle position in training camp. Clancy started 15 games for New York in 2005 and accumulated 39 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Clancy lacks ideal size (6-1, 305 pounds), but he is a hard-working player with decent quickness and athleticism. He is agile for a defensive tackle and he pursues well. Clancy is not a real strong player at the point-of-attack against the double-team, but is able to penetrate into the backfield occasionally to disrupt running plays. He is not much of a pass rusher, but will from time-to-time put some heat on the quarterback. Clancy reportedly signed a 4-year, $8.1 million contract with the Cardinals.
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