Here is a new report from a fairly credible source, SI reporter Bucky Brooks. If this is the case, I will be upset. Brooks is reporting Crumpler's deal with Tennessee is for 2 yrs 5.25 mil, with a 1 mil signing bonus.
Sounds like the perfect deal for the Seahawks. If this is true, they just made a huge error. Having a pro bowl tight end for the last 2 good years of production at less than 3/per would have been ideal. This hurts.
END OF POST
First thought is that his physical did not go well. I've heard Ruskell say they love the TE prospects in the draft, but no way were they passing on Crumpler if he was seeking that type of deal.
ReplyDeleteWow, gotta agree with you Mike. How could they not sign this guy at that price? I would have even done it for 3 mil a year over two years. Ruskell blew this one big time. This is very disappointing. For one, this makes drafting a tight end a top of the draft priority, and highly lessens the chances of whatever tight end we draft of contributing soon. With that being said, what's Crumpler's thinking on this? Vince Young is a terrible passer, Tennessee already has two tight ends who have contributed on the roster, and while Crumpler's wife apparently likes the Memphis area, he only signed a two year contract. Any way you slice it though, this is disapointing.
ReplyDelete-Derek
Well, from the details on SI, NFL, and ESPN, I would say they are all using the same "source", or just plagiarizing each other.
ReplyDeleteMost likely scenario is that Crumpler likes the deal, but the Agent hasn't allowed him to agree to terms until he checks one last time with Seattle to see if they will sweeten the offer a bit!
I would have been thrilled with a 2 year contract at $6 million and a $2million signing bonus.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it.
I'm pissed too!
If Ruskell was given a chance to match or beat this offer and didnt....You thought the Hutch debacle was bad?..I just dont get it....If that turns out to be true Alge to the Titans....Im startin the fire ruskell bandwagon..Alge signed freakin cheap....I dont understand this
ReplyDeleteEric Johnson is the best available free agent TE....get him in here....screw Alge
ReplyDeleteEric Johnson is damaged goods, if they wanted him they could have had him last year on the same deal they gave Pollard. What does it say that the Saints gave him a one year deal and then didn't resign him
ReplyDeleteThis sucks.
ReplyDeleteOur team isn't gonna win a superbowl standing pat on our personnel with a couple draft picks sprinkled in.
Now, hide and watch Rusky kneejerk and overpay for some other scrub.
maybe he just doent want to be here
ReplyDeleteWhoever said trade Trufant for Shockey and a pick should be our GM. If the Giants are down, we should do it right away.
ReplyDeleteWe have a serious hole at RB, TE, RG, and DT... this pisses me off...
ReplyDeleteEric Johnson is a flat out joke get real. This is like a bad dream I go out to dinner then I come home and see this..... Anyone who expects a rook to come in and contribute right away in one of the most complex O's in the league needs a reality check. The length and price is more than affordable for us If his knee is ok and he has a productive season then this is a huge mark on Ruskells stay here.
ReplyDeletewe only have serious holes at te and running back. dt and rg are not serious.
ReplyDeleteWrong. DT and RG are very serious.
ReplyDeleteI have not been happy with Ruskell at all. It seems he let's our proven, productive players who took us to the super bowl, walk away. And, he likes to sign up the players who he has been associated with, mostly old, over the hill players.
ReplyDeleteBut, hey, I am not going to complain because every time I do, everybody jumps on me and call me names. Not on this blog, but on all the other blogs.
You got a better answer then Eric Johnson?...I mean we are going to have to Draft a Te but is he really goin to produce this season...what is P{ollard better?...Who out there is better?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_NFL_career.aspx?sport=NFL&id=471
ReplyDeleteHeller is better than Johnson at this point in Johnson's career. That's sad.
ReplyDeleteSo, you have your answer; Heller. And he's already a Seahawk. But he's not that good.
Eric Johnson caught 48 passes last year
ReplyDeleteI'm not worried. Utecht is a RFA, but was not drafted, so no picks for compensation if we do sign him. Yes, Indy has the right to match, but we can sweeten the pot enough that I think we could sign him without breaking the bank, yet Indy would hesitate to match.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we don't have serious issues at DT and RG. Sims will move to RG, and compete with Willis there, while at DT we have a decent rotation that did well last year. Yes, we could use another run stuffer on the d-line, but we were something like the 5th to 7th best team at stopping the run last year, so we aren't hurting there badly, would just be nice to add some size or depth.
My thoughts on Ruskell are this, you can call this or that a black mark, or this and that an A+, what really matters is the record. The new reality of sports is that players come and go. Nothing can be done about that. The key is to the keep the franchise successful. Since Ruskell has been here, the team has had and won a home playoff game every year. Do I want more? Hell Yes, I want a title or two! The reality is this is one of the top 5 franchises in the NFL and it is not being mismanaged. Mismanaged would be going to this year with Steve Mcnair as your QB. Our continually having rumors that you might fire the coach...In March! Ruskell makes the best decisions with the info available to him. We don't always agree, and he probably doesn't care. In the end it is semantics because both groups have the same goal, a Superbowl victory. We will all forgive this miss as long as the team wins.
ReplyDeleteHeres a link on eric johnsons stats last year
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_NFL_career.aspx?sport=NFL&id=471
Have we seen what Sims can do at RG? How can anyone feel confident about that? Mebane, Rocky, and Terril are the only DT's we have that we can count on. Do you want to go into the season with just them? Our TE situation is a joke and so is our RB position.
ReplyDeleteGranted, this is early in FA but to not get Alge at this asking price has got to make you think. Someone said it earlier, we don't have anybody on offense that scares anyone. Heck, we might even have to start two near rookie WR's along with Bobby.
We needed a signing like this one to add some kind of excitement to our offense.
Some commenters are amazing. They absolutely know that Crumpler not signing is Ruskell's fault. They know that Crumpler wasn't using the Hawks for leverage. They know the results of the physical was perfect health. They know Crumplers attitude was just right. They know Ruskell could have upped the ante if he wanted to. They know signing Alge wouldn't have disrupted other signings that might be planned. They know so much that other NFL teams are just dying to make them their GM.
ReplyDeleteBottom line, be a fan, be disappointed, but stop assuming facts not in evidence.
Well stated Dr. Steffes! I couldn't agree more.
ReplyDeleteYup,
ReplyDeleteHere come the fire Ruskell idiots out of the woodwork. So let's recap. Since Ruskell has been here the team has won the division 4 years in a row, made the play-offs five years in a row and gone to the superbowl.
Now go back to the 27 years pre Ruskell and what do you see? A whole lot of sub .500 seasons and one glorious year of 2-14.
But yes, by all means, fire the guy that has built this team into the third most winning franchise in the last 5 years.
Good thing you are all fans and aren't in a position to actually do anything. The team would be a joke like Washington is.
No sense moaning about what could have been. We do not know what happened. Could Tenn. got him so cheap because they were not as worried about his health as we were?
ReplyDeleteCome on boys. . . There are still some big (well, at least familiar) name Tight Ends available in free agency. We could retain Marcus Pollard or invite Jerramy Stevens back. They both know the system, and Jerramy knows his way around. Then again, there is always Christian Fauria. Who says that the TE position is bleak?
ReplyDeleteseatowntp
I second that and add this:
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is qualified to put a value on Alge Crumpler it is Ruskel and Mora.
This week of free agency is when fools rush in. It's the Danny Snyder Bowl.
Hey! I have an idea! Just sign Moss! (And resign Hack!) Employ Heller exclusively as a blocking TE and then utilize 4 and 5 wide sets. Tight Ends? We don't need no stickin' Tight Ends!
ReplyDeleteseatowntp
We're beginning to see the emergence of what Dave Boling of TNT refers to as "the more chronically irritated inhabitants of Weblog World" on this blog.
ReplyDeleteThe question that we don't have the answer to is how is his health. Don't get disappointed until we know that...
ReplyDeleteThe agent for Alge Crumpler says his client has not agreed to or signed a contract with the Titans.
ReplyDeleteTitansRadio reports the deal was to be for two years and $5.25 million, with a $1 million signing bonus. It's being reported by ESPN and the NFL Network. "Where did you see that report?" the agent said. "We talked on Sunday, lets put it that way. He has not signed a contract nor agreed to anything."
If the Titan Radio report is correct, this could simply be Crumpler and agent trying to drive up his price.
ReplyDeleteThe Titanradio report was up before John Clayton, SI, and the Tennessan all rolled the report it was a done deal for two years. I am 99% sure he is a Titan....(so your saying theres a chance huh)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=NFL&id=2139 link at rotoworld
ReplyDeletepeople need to chill out. we wont even know if crumpler is worth signing until the 2008 season rolls around. to blame ruskell for making a huge mistake is a little premature.
ReplyDeleteTechnically Crumpler isn't signed. He will sign tomorrow, so I bet if the Hawks think he is worth 2yrs/6mil then they will call him tonight and fly Allen's private jet to go get him.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't think he's worth it then he's not. I would Crumpler because he would give a little more freedom to the draft, but we're not dead without him.
I could see drafting a TE #1 and then signing Warrick Dunn when he gets released by Atlanta and not even drafting a RB.
ReplyDeleteTo the immediately preceding "anonymous":
ReplyDeleteWhat TE is worth drafting Number One?
Does Warrick Dunn become our go-to back?
Pulllleeeeezzzzzeeeee, gimme a break.
I guess I am the only one in the blogging universe that thinks Bubba Franks ends up a Seahawk if Crumpler is not signed.
If Ruskell and Mora decided they didn't want Alge, it was undoubtely for health reasons to which we are not privy ... it certainly was not the money.
And it could be that Mr. Hold em Up, Crumps agent, is still hoping for raises while holding a pair of deuces.
This is such crap. Clearly Mike Wahle and a rookie tight end and a rookie kicker are going to put us over the top in the NFC. I mean, obviously we almost beat the Packers in the playoffs...oh wait. I'm sure we could take on Dallas or New York...oh wait.
ReplyDeleteThis offseason is a joke. I'm really thrilled to start next season with old ass bobby engram and nate burelson as our top 2 wideouts. To compliment them we can have a rookie tight end with no grasp of the WCO. Yea we got one better player on the O line but it looks like it will still be Shauna falling down behind him. And if we ever get into field goal range we can rely on some no name from the draft.
Things sure are looking up in seahawk land. I mean, its nice that we still will be a good, competitive team, but with all our subtractions there is no way we compete to go to the super bowl.
Oh, and it will be really great to watch Jonathan Stewart run against us twice in a Cardinals jersey. I bet he will blow out one of Tubbs' knees the first time he tries to tackle him. I'm glad we don't have the option of trading up to get an elite back since we have to draft some 6'2" tight end from Perdue with our first pick...yay.
I cannot express how thrilling it is to be a Hawks fan right now.
Why would we even consider Warrick Dunn when we've already got him on the roster in Shaun Alexander? That makes no sense.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't something Ruskell blew. As I've stated before, Crumpler and Pollard are miles apart, but since we got burned last year, they might be a little overly skeptical - and I for one am glad for that.
Bottom line, the guy has built one hell of a team. Not every move is gonna be gold, but more times than not, it has been.
FancyPants
Wes, You watch your mouth when you talk about bobby engram he is the man. He always steps up, he's our go to guy and extremely under rated. one of the best slot guys out there.
ReplyDeleteIf we did in fact lose Crumpler, which is appears that we have, thats too bad. But lets not forget -- as of last Wednesday (or so), Alge wasn't even on our radar and none of us had thought he'd be a Seahawk. If we lost him, we'll simply go forward with the original game plan. I trust Ruskell and the FO to find a decent tight end, especially after the Pollard mistake.
ReplyDeleteWe haven't "lost" Crumpler, we just didn't get him. He might have been very willing to give a southern discount to Tennessee; maybe his wife had a big role in it (if Holmgren's tells him when to retire, we can assume others might hold sway).
Signing Dunn makes no sense to me -- he had a lower YPC then Shaun last year (3.1 yds), and as far as I know he didn't have a broken wrist. He's also older than Shaun (33). The only strength he might have is if we cut Shaun, sign him and have him mentor Stewart/Mendenhall/Rice.
It'll be sad to not get Crumpler, especially after the optimism we've had for this deal getting done, but remember that we didn't even have him on our radar a week ago.
you're right hawks nest, i'm sure that Engram can step up enough and make us tops in the NFC this season
ReplyDeletei'm happy about this. please get ben utecht.
ReplyDeleteHow far would we have gone last year without bobby engram....not very
ReplyDeleteRelax the Hawks have a plan and Crumpler wasnt apart of it.
ReplyDeleteMatt Hasselbeck makes stars of decent players. Look at D-Jack. Look at Burleson last year... look at Jerramy Stevens! Engram is a stud and the chemistry he has with Matt is second to none.
ReplyDeleteBe as pessimistic as you'd like, Wes, but Engram and Burleson were essentially our starting WRs last year too, remember? We did pretty well with them, and ended up losing in GB because, mostly, of our defense being unable to adjust in the snow. Obamanu proved he can do a lot when given the chance, and I think with a new WR coach we should have more durable WRs this year.
Also, we haven't lost Hackett yet, so I think its a mistake to count him as gone.
ok i'm sorry for calling Engram old, obviously this is not his fault and he is still a great player. However, I think every other point I made is quite valid. This offseason has been bad and we are not likely to take the next step and get back to the superbowl.
ReplyDeleteI liked this blog before all of the annoyingly pessimistic commenter's found out about it. Got back to TNT and complain there! Someone above said it best, we don't have enough information to decide if the FO made a mistake here. I'm glad the Hawks aren't throwing money around like the Niners who will still have a losing season this year.
ReplyDeleteAmen SurfHawk! Just wait till the Hawks drop a game. The sky is falling, the world is ending, Tim Ruskell has destroyed a perennial contender! (sarcasm off)
ReplyDeletePeople already claiming the off-season as terrible?? WTF??
ReplyDeleteremember Ruskell's 1st off-season?? Juravicious and Andre Dyson were the only FA's that made an impact, not exactly a big spending spree and that was after a very disappointing loss to the Rams in the playoffs. But guess what!?!?!? RUSKELL AND CO. GOT US TO THE SUPER BOWL!! A solid draft that saw us take Spencer, Hill and Lofa was the difference.
The Seahawks have drafted as well as anyone for the past 3 seasons and I expect more of the same this year.
P.S. I just discovered this blog a couple weeks ago and I now read it religiously Keep up the great work Michael!
Seriously, it really sucks when someone has an opinion which is different from yours. Just bear with me guys, sometimes I forget that when you are a huge fan of a sports team is in unacceptable to say negative things about that team. my bad
ReplyDeleteWes its fine you have a different opinion but dont act like chicken little, the sky isnt falling.
ReplyDelete"sometimes I forget that when you are a huge fan of a sports team is in unacceptable to say negative things about that team"
ReplyDeleteWes, no one is saying that. I am a die hard Mariners fan. I will watch all 162 games and root my ass off for them, but I think their front office is run by circus monkeys.
If I was TR I would have Detroit on the phone trying to talk them into trading for Trufant. I believe they only have one CB on the roster and M. Millen is just dumb enough to go for it.
ReplyDeletewes, jeez get a grip. if crump has a bad knee we dont want him, if he is old and broken down we dont want him. rarely if ever have i heard you say one thing possitive. bet money that if crump gets hurt next season you'll be one of the first to say what a good thing we didnt get him.
ReplyDeleteJoey C -- great point on the stellar drafts of the Ruskell era.
ReplyDeleteAnd for anonymous, two posts up, who would we get in the trade to Detroit?
I am thinking Wes is Nighthawk2 from TNT...
ReplyDeleteGo Back!!
Crumpler would have been a win now guy. Keep building and stocking up in the draft. You really cannot point to a team that has won it all buy getting into Dan Snyder fits.
We have been good for a while and may have to transition but we still have a great core and a solid philosophy that is way better than the past!
Go Ruskell! Get a stud TE in the draft, a big OT, a big DT, a RB and a late round kicker. If you get half of those we are looking good!
Remember the difference between one year and another usually comes down to players stepping up. Who heard of Corey Williams last free agency? Who heard of Gibril Wilson or Tommy Kelly(I still have no idea why a guy out of injury and relatively useless got signed to ridiculous contract, please explain if humanly possible).
ReplyDeleteKelly Jennings improved immensely and Brandon Mebane was getting better everygame. Imagine Brandon Mebane becoming a dominant DT with Marcus Tubbs, who has had plenty of time to recover, hopefully, please tell me it is possible, and Rocky Bernard as the DT. Craig Terrill improved over the years but i do not see him becoming spectacular.
Players improve, some put in that extra effort in the offseason to improve, a reason wgy it is important to find a good character and work ethic player.
Guard-wise I think Rob Sims will improve and will do quite well on the right side. Chris Spencer is clearly going to improve and with the year under his belt he will be better at reading defenses and adjust the line like Tobeck used to do.
actually my name is Wes09 on TNT and the main things i do there are wax poetic about my man crush rashard mendenhall and defend Frank from all the jerks that rail on him.
ReplyDeleteanyways, i love the hawks and thus far free agency has been hard on me. Losing Josh Brown and hackett too (most likely) sucks. My one big hope was that we could get Crumpler so maybe we could swing something to get Mendenhall or Stewart, rather than being pigeonholed into likely taking the first TE who might not even be worth the 25th pick. Sooo yea I'm F'ing grumpy about my Hawks right now and I think any true fan is entitled to go off on their team every once in a while.
Joey said:
ReplyDelete> ...I am a die hard Mariners fan. I will watch all 162 games and root my ass off for them, but I think their front office is run by circus monkeys
I think I saw them drinking in Jimmy's on 1st when I was holiday in Seattle last October. They even brought me a beer!
I think a lot of people's frustrations are born out because a.) the draft is a good couple of months away yet b.) it looks like instead of signing 'old and injured' Alge Crumpler we'll end up signing 'even more old and even more injured' Bubba Franks.
ReplyDeleteAs the Giants proved last season, you dont need big signings in free agency to do well. They drafted smart and found a way to win.
I'm more concerned about whether or not we'll be able to find that same way to win. We play in a terrible division that gives us a perfect chance to go for the first round bye, but we have struggled the last two years to get the wins needed.
This story is just so bizarre. Rotoworld is saying that Crumpler's agent is still saying it's not been signed. What is going on? This kind of looks like a circus...maybe that's what's hindering the Hawk's ability to get a deal done..a crazy, crazy agent. But it makes me wonder about Alge if he hires such a circus clown to represent him?
ReplyDeleteTezzer21
Creumpler's knee is obviously in worse shape than people thought. The fact that Crumpler signed such a small contract, with only a 1 million signing bonus, suggests that his knee really is in bad shape.
ReplyDeleteSeveral teams needing a TE have looked at him and if any were interested were interested, this would have been a very easy contract for them to beat.
Crumpler's agent has now confirmed it:
ReplyDeletehttp://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/7865204/Agent:-Titans-agree-to-deal-with-TE-Crumpler
Seems Alge's wife liked Nashville...what can you do?
I'm not sure I'm too upset with Alge not signing with us. Was kinda hoping that we'd land someone younger. Have been out of touch for the last while, is Utecht still available?
ReplyDeleteUtecht is still available, yes. I back us picking him up, too, and he's largely unproven so I imagine we can get healthy him for less than we would've gotten Ol' Alge.
ReplyDeleteA nice video of what Utecht can do can be viewed on his stats page at NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/players/benutecht/profile?id=UTE118654
ReplyDeletescrew alfalfa crumper, go get utech and quit your whining ya little bitches. he's just as good and alot younger. I know your gonna say did utech go to the pro bowl and catch however many balls etc. etc., bet let me remind you he was stuck behind dallas clark who is one of the best in the league. way more upside, come on TIMMAY you F this one up and youre as big a dick wad as josh brown.
ReplyDeletejustin
spokane
Sign Utecht! Dude can catch, and he can actually block! not too many TE these days can do that. So what if he isnt that fast, he will hold onto the ball if you hit him with it--what more do we need in a thin FA class?
ReplyDeleteIts not looking too good, but at least we have Wahle and Tru. And Hackett just might end up back home where he belongs...we do have Ashworthless' 2 million to spend...
Ruskell is worrying me again, but bear with him, he is nobody's fool and he will figure it out.
The Duckett thing is pretty wierd though...
-joshbrownsucks
I agree that Utecht has some potential. He's unproven, and signing him along with a draft pick gives us some degree of uncertainty at the TE position, but a lot of potential, too.
ReplyDeleteMy only other thought is that he played a lot of H-back along with TE in a very different offensive system. Does anyone think Utecht could be successful in the WCO?
We should sign Utecht with a poison pill.
ReplyDelete