Anyone else miss David Givens?

[Brady_to_Moss]

Man i really liked the guy when he was here...not a star..but i just loved his style

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I really liked Robin in the show 'Head Of The Class',I never really understood of what she saw in Tyson though

JK.....I really think that besides Brady,David is far and away the best low draft pick in the Belichick era.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Man i really liked the guy when he was here...not a star..but i just loved his style

He came from humble beginnings (last round?), worked hard, became a very solid contributor to the Patriots success, bought into the Patriot way. There's a lot to admire there.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

He came from humble beginnings (last round?), worked hard, became a very solid contributor to the Patriots success, bought into the Patriot way. There's a lot to admire there.

him and deion...loved it

 

[supafly]

I remember hitting the refresh button during that yr of FA, b/c I was so concerned about losing Givens. There was that weird initial report that CLE had gotten him, then it was removed later the next day which gave hope that we'd have a chance to keep him.

Who knows what would've happened had he stayed here? He may never have been injured and ended up being a great possession receiver still. Life is weird like that.

On an even stranger note, my mom was the chief head nurse in the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital where he was born in Youngstown, Ohio, at a time where she worked 65 hrs a week; so there's a chance that she may actually of brought him into the world. That's pretty odd if you ask me...

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

him and deion...loved it

I agree (though Deion was a top round pick). These were two guys who didn't have the big name of Owens or the like -- but they played the way the Patriots needed them to play -- and success was in part due to that.

I see Supafly mentioned losing Givens. The same thing also applied to Branch. Off all the players who decided to walk for a better paycheck, Deion might have been the loss with the most impact. I'd be curious (once Deion is out of the game) to hear him speak on the subject of leaving the Patriots. If memory serves me, the difference in the $$$ increase wasn't huge. And he did not appear to enjoy his time in Seattle like he did here. Just curious if he looks back and believes he should have stayed......

 

[supafly]

I agree (though Deion was a top round pick). These were two guys who didn't have the big name of Owens or the like -- but they played the way the Patriots needed them to play -- and success was in part due to that.

I see Supafly mentioned losing Givens. The same thing also applied to Branch. Off all the players who decided to walk for a better paycheck, Deion might have been the loss with the most impact. I'd be curious (once Deion is out of the game) to hear him speak on the subject of leaving the Patriots. If memory serves me, the difference in the $$$ increase wasn't huge. And he did not appear to enjoy his time in Seattle like he did here. Just curious if he looks back and believes he should have stayed......

I could be wrong, but IIRC someone asked him that in the past couple of seasons. His reply was that he did indeed regret it.

The grass is not always greener, is it?

 

[Patriot Missile]

I agree (though Deion was a top round pick). These were two guys who didn't have the big name of Owens or the like -- but they played the way the Patriots needed them to play -- and success was in part due to that.

I see Supafly mentioned losing Givens. The same thing also applied to Branch. Off all the players who decided to walk for a better paycheck, Deion might have been the loss with the most impact. I'd be curious (once Deion is out of the game) to hear him speak on the subject of leaving the Patriots. If memory serves me, the difference in the $$$ increase wasn't huge. And he did not appear to enjoy his time in Seattle like he did here. Just curious if he looks back and believes he should have stayed......

My only regret of branch leaving was the his skills would of been greatly appreciated in the 06 championship game. That would of been 4 in 6.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Man i really liked the guy when he was here...not a star..but i just loved his style

Go back and watch some tapes. Givens was an awesome clutch third down WR. One of the most under appreciated WRs in Patriots history.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Go back and watch some tapes. Givens was an awesome clutch third down WR. One of the most under appreciated WRs in Patriots history.

He'd (1) get open and (2) power his way thru the defender (his trademark) for Another...Patriots...First...Down! Loved the guy, bit in a very manly man sorta way.

 

[Nikolai]

Funny you started this thread today. I was thinking of Givens last Sunday. Yeah, I realize that I do miss him a bit.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

imho, one of the worst free agent losses of the Belichick era. He had great skills for the Pats system.

 

[FCB02062]

I miss Donald Hayes and Doug Gabriel....

 

[old 55]

On the flip side, I saw him during the Redskins game we lost at the SKins before we went on the historic unbeaten run and he caused 2 or 3 Brady picks on the day by running the wrong routes.
I did like the fact that he made himself into a WR with hard work after having one of the worst combine performances ever.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

BB was so concerned with overpaying one and losing the other that he ended up losing both. Deion got a lot more in Seattle than they ever offered here. I'm sure he regrets leaving from a playing standpoint. He wasn't the fit Holmgren envisioned for a WC offense. His value was always hightened by his cerebral rather than purely athletic skills.

They were offering him something in the 5/$30M range (and had tried to bring in Mason at 4/$20M as an alternative and leverage but he chose Baltimore instead) but the kicker was he'd have to roll his remaining rookie year into the deal so really more like 6/$31M. And less than $10M in signing bonus was another sticking point. Seattle I believe gave him $13.5 on a 6/$39M deal.

They dragged their feet on offering Givens anything as a result and in the end offered to match the offer he was mulling over from Texas (5/$18M+) only to have Tennessee up the ante a day later to 5/$24M. And we ended up with Reche. Losing just one let alone both probably cost them another ring.

 

[Rob0729]

BB was so concerned with overpaying one and losing the other that he ended up losing both. Deion got a lot more in Seattle than they ever offered here. I'm sure he regrets leaving from a playing standpoint. He wasn't the fit Holmgren envisioned for a WC offense. His value was always hightened by his cerebral rather than purely athletic skills.

They were offering him something in the 5/$30M range (and had tried to bring in Mason at 4/$20M as an alternative and leverage but he chose Baltimore instead) but the kicker was he'd have to roll his remaining rookie year into the deal so really more like 6/$31M. And less than $10M in signing bonus was another sticking point. Seattle I believe gave him $13.5 on a 6/$39M deal.

They dragged their feet on offering Givens anything as a result and in the end offered to match the offer he was mulling over from Texas (5/$18M+) only to have Tennessee up the ante a day later to 5/$24M. And we ended up with Reche. Losing just one let alone both probably cost them another ring.

I know you have gone negative on the team, but you are revising history a bit:

• Branch was under contract in 2006. No one in the world believed Branch would follow through with his threat of holding out. The Pats blew it by letting him shop himself, but to think Branch would have held out and shot his way out of town was not what anyone believed. Everyone believed at worst, Branch would stay for 2006 and move on in 2007. An bizarre, unique, freak situation. The Pats made a stupid mistake by letting him shop himself, but no way could anyone see that the league would force them to trade him to avoid setting a precedence.
• The Pats made a competitive offer to Mason who probably would have replaced Givens very well. Mason's wife wanted to live in Baltimore over New England.
• The Titans offered stupid money for Givens. Even if he didn't have an injury that destroyed his career a month into his career in Tennessee, he probably would have gone down as a huge bust acquistion.
• If the Pats kept both Branch and Givens, there is a good chance the Pats would never gotten Welker and/or Moss.
• Unless Branch or Givens could cover Dallas Clark, I don't know if the Pats win another ring. Maybe they do, but the Pats' inability to cover Clark or stop Addai was far more of a bigger reason why the Pats lost the AFC Championship Game than the WRs.

All these arguments are arguments YOU argued in the past. I loved Givens while he was here, but let's not go overboard. The Titans paid the guy a ridiculous amount of money at the time and there was no way the Pats were going to or should have matched that money.

 

[captain stone]

I miss the days when the Pats would actually win close games, instead of finding ways
(and in the case v the new jersey jints, repeating ways) to lose them.

 

[JJDChE]

Givens was back in the days before we realized that the plan of the front office was to let the majority of our free agents walk after their rookie contract. That made it hurt a little more. The insane contract that Tennessee gave him did dull it a little though. That was a whacked out contract.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Givens was back in the days before we realized that the plan of the front office was to let the majority of our free agents walk after their rookie contract. That made it hurt a little more. The insane contract that Tennessee gave him did dull it a little though. That was a whacked out contract.

then hurt for rest of career..sad