JSO: Green begins testing market

[falco]

Packers still figure to be in bidding
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 3, 2007

Green Bay Packers running back Ahman Green wasted no time in testing the free-agent waters Friday, visiting with the Denver Broncos and drawing interest from the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders.
81683Packers/NFL

But calling him as good as gone would be a stretch.

The Packers remain a firm bidder for Green's services despite the fact they were unable to get him signed before the start of free agency. The two sides negotiated through the night before the start of free agency Friday, but Green was eager to find out what the market might bear.

"I'm approaching this with an open mind," Green told the Rocky Mountain News upon arriving at the Denver airport. "I think back, (I) go back about 12 years when I was making my college visits. You've got to go and hear what coaches have got to say and some of the players hopefully I get to meet and see what they've got to say."

Green, 30, arrived in Denver in the late afternoon and was expected to meet with Broncos coach Mike Shanahan and other team officials at night. The Broncos moved quickly to get Green in for a visit and have been known to keep players in their grasp until they get a deal done.

The Broncos are in need of a running back after trading leading rusher Tatum Bell to the Detroit Lions as part of the deal that brought them cornerback Dre' Bly. Shanahan is famous for going after aging veterans who he thinks can give him a productive year or two, and Green has experience running in his zone-blocking system.

However, it's questionable whether Shanahan will come close to meeting Green's desire for more than $5 million a year, in part because the Broncos are less than $2 million beneath the salary cap.

Thus, the Broncos probably aren't as big of a threat to the Packers as the Texans or Raiders.

Green didn't say where his next visit would be but the Texans are very much in the picture, in part because former Packers coach Mike Sherman is there. The Texans also run the zone-blocking system and are in need of help at running back because starter Domanick Williams is coming off a season-ending knee injury.

Green was one of Sherman's favorite players and probably would have received a huge deal before the 2005 season had Sherman not lost his general manager's position. Green's big shot at free agency burst when he suffered a season-ending thigh injury during the '05 season, and he was forced to settle for an incentive-laden one-year deal last season.

He came back to rush for a team-high 1,059 yards and five touchdowns last season, moving into second place on the Packers' all-time rushing list behind Jim Taylor. He has topped the 1,000-yard mark six times as a Packer and has become a fixture in the Packers' backfield.

Oakland is another spot where Green could have an impact but, like the others, the Raiders will have to bowl him over with a big offer because even he has a hard time picturing himself playing somewhere other than Green Bay.

"Honestly, I don't know," Green said. "For the fans out there it would be kind of tough, the possibility of me playing in another uniform. As a fan it would be tough. But myself, right now I just have an open mind to everything."

As long as Green remains unsigned, the Packers are going to push to get a deal done. Vice president of finance Andrew Brandt remains in constant contact with Green's agent, Joby Branion, keeping the Packers in the picture.

As for their other priority free agent, tight end David Martin, the Packers have made little progress in negotiations and are monitoring his discussions with other teams. He and his agent are being coy about who might be involved, but there is thought to be interest.

The Packers appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude as far as acquiring other teams' free agents. They put in a call to the agent for recently released New Orleans wide receiver Joe Horn, but their interest is mild and they will wait to see if he's still around when the first wave of free agency expires.

One free agent who has drawn interest from the Packers and probably will visit in the near future is New York Giants cornerback Frank Walker.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Walker started five of 42 games for the Giants after being their sixth-round draft choice in 2003 from Tuskegee. Last season, he played merely 8% of the defensive snaps after falling out of favor with coach Tom Coughlin.

In four seasons, Walker intercepted five passes. He is an aggressive player with average speed.

[falco]

The Packers appear to be taking a wait-and-see attitude as far as acquiring other teams' free agents. They put in a call to the agent for recently released New Orleans wide receiver Joe Horn, but their interest is mild and they will wait to see if he's still around when the first wave of free agency expires.

One free agent who has drawn interest from the Packers and probably will visit in the near future is New York Giants cornerback Frank Walker.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Walker started five of 42 games for the Giants after being their sixth-round draft choice in 2003 from Tuskegee. Last season, he played merely 8% of the defensive snaps after falling out of favor with coach Tom Coughlin.

In four seasons, Walker intercepted five passes. He is an aggressive player with average speed.

There is some evidence that TT is at least starting to get his feet wet.

[the_idle_threat]

Oakland? That's a surprise. Don't they already have big money tied up in Lamont Jordan? (Hint: the answer is "yes." :mrgreen: )

[Bretsky]

One free agent who has drawn interest from the Packers and probably will visit in the near future is New York Giants cornerback Frank Walker.

The 5-foot-10, 197-pound Walker started five of 42 games for the Giants after being their sixth-round draft choice in 2003 from Tuskegee. Last season, he played merely 8% of the defensive snaps after falling out of favor with coach Tom Coughlin.

In four seasons, Walker intercepted five passes. He is an aggressive player with average speed.


Now I'm excited

[Fritz]

Nothing wrong with bringing in some competition for Dendry and Blackmon, Bretsky.

[ND72]

Lets be serious too...Walker will be better than Dendy. And I believe Walker is pretty young. He could be a nickle back for us for a couple years, then when Woodson and Harris are done, he can step in and be our starter. Best teams have good depth.

[Schuhc14]

Here's some scouting info on Walker:

"Walker has good athletic ability, size and very good speed. He has good overall fundamentals and techniques. He is smooth and low in his back pedal, he has great foot speed and fluid hips. He is smooth in transition and he has the ability to turn and run with most receivers. He has very good closing speed and he does an excellent job of planting and driving to the ball out of his back pedal. He has good jumping ability and he will fight you for the ball. He is a tough competitor for his size. He has good upper body strength, he uses his hands well and he did a nice job on jamming receivers at the line of scrimmage. He will fill on run support and he is a good open field tackler. He is not afraid to mix it up and he will explode on you at contact. The problem with Walker is he is not consistent. He is a better man to man player than he is a zone player. He does not do a good job of recognizing and diagnosing plays. He is slow reacting on zone coverage's and he needs to read quicker. He will guest too much and get himself out of position and give up the big play. Overall, Walker is still young defensive back who has a lot of upside to him. He is a good back up at this time and he should only improve with more playing time."

"Walker is a four-year veteran that was drafted in the fourth round by the Giants in 2003. He has been pretty much a career backup to this point and is still learning how to play at this level. He is a good athlete with speed, agility and quickness going for him. He is fluid in the hips and can flip them to turn and run with receivers deep. The only issue is that he is lacking that great top-end burst to catch up if he takes a false step or misreads a route. He is better in trail and bump coverage than when in man off or in zone. He still needs a lot of work on route recognition as well as reading the quarterback to get a jump on the ball. He appears to guess at times and is not quite fast or explosive enough to make up for his mistakes. He is lacking the size to compete with some of the bigger receivers we are seeing in the league these days and may be best suited as the nickel back type of corner at this point. He is willing on run support and will try to drag ball carriers down but is not big or powerful enough to be a force against the run. At this stage he needs to prove that he belongs in the NFL and quit relying on being a project."


Sounds like a guy that will fit our system of bump and run. He is young and should come fairly cheap. I'd like to sign him and get some needed depth at corner back and spice up the competition.

[pittstang5]

Sounds like a good corner that would be ok in the Pack's system.