Free Agent Flops
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This article will not be anything fancy, just something that I decided to write after watching my Madden franchise Titans team lose to the Jets because the morons at EA would rather be biased, support the large market teams and buy into all the “paper team” hype every offseason rather then actually do their homework. Anywho, after watching this, it got me thinking about all the free agent flops we have had in the past decade and I figured I would list those busts along with what they didn’t accomplish. If memory serves me correct the only real production we have gotten out of the free agent market has been Kevin Mawae, Kyle Vandenbosch and Chris Hope.
Kevin Carter- Acquired to be the other bookend to Jevon Kearse but only had 1 double digit sack season in 4 years.
Carl Pickens- Got his daily massages as he got paid sitting on the sidelines injured, 10 receptions in 1 year.
David Givens- Aside from a recent lawsuit in which he claimed the Titans covered up an ankle injury and told him he was fine so he would conitnue to play. He, just like Pickens became familiar with the bench with a meager 8 receptions in 1 year.
Nick Harper- Ended his first season with 3 of his total 6 interceptions with the team and spent last season being burnt by every receiver put in front of him, but also spent it injured after breaking his arm early in the season. I for one was booing his lack luster performance all season and only got louder after the week 8 performance by Rod Hood.
Jevon Kearse- One of my all time favorite Titans that should have never left for Philadelphia. Acquiring a rotten 4.5 sacks in the past 2 seasons with us, Kearse eventually became a frequent name found on the healthy scratch list in the 2009 season. I was one of the many happy fans that were glad to see him return and hoped he would revive a part of his career, but must now settle for the fact that he will retire a Titan.
Alge Crumpler- Well all I have to say about Alge is that if you need a fumble in a playoff game, he’s your man. Granted several other players made mistakes that game *cough cough Lendale White, Kerry Collins* but in only 2 seasons with the Titans, Crumpler had a dreadful 2 touchdowns in 51 receptions with 2 fumbles. Recently acquired by New England, Crumpler will be competing against 4 other Tight Ends on the roster, can anyone say camp body.
Eric Moulds- This pickup always confused me considering Moulds was going into his 12th season and had little to no production the previous 2 seasons. During his 1 year tenure with the Titans, Moulds acquired 32 receptions with no Touchdowns in only 8 game starts.
I am pretty sure the list can go on and on. Hopefully the list of players that contribute to a winning season will grow with recently acquired players such as Will Witherspoon, Tye Hill, Jason Babin and last seasons free agent pick ups Rod Hood and Nate Washington. When you go into free agency looking to pick up tier 2 and tier 3 players then that is exactly the type of production you are going to get, as we used to say in the Navy, “Navy tools…Navy results”. When the tools you have on your team scream mediocrity then that is exactly the kind of season you should expect. I am not saying go out and spend a vault full of money on an entire new team, but when you see a player such as Julius Peppers out on the market and your team was one of the worst in sacks in the previous season, you might wanna throw some money his way. Oh, and when one of your two offensive stars wants a better contract, you freakin pay the man and be happy that he is still willing to talk to you.
photo courtesy of Titansonline.com