Giles stands out at Pro Day

Jackson State running back Lavarius Giles garnered the most attention, going through individual drills with the Patriots, Giants and Packers while a larger group of scouts watched. He impressed with a 4.41 40-yard dash and 19 reps in the 225 bench press. But Giles struggled with some of the change-of-direction drills, and was admittedly winded after the consecutive workouts.

“It went pretty good,” Giles said. “I didn’t get the time I wanted in the 40. But they say everybody that says they run 4.3 really runs a 4.4. Usually they take a tenth of a second off.

“This last month is school, work, train.”

Full Story: Giles stands out at Pro Day

Jackson Has Huge Game for Soul

It’s not as if the Avengers didn’t know what Chris Jackson could do to an opponent. Jackson played for the Avengers for five seasons and caught 157 touchdown passes.

What really killed the Avengers on Thursday was their own mistakes, and maybe the fatigue of playing three games in 11 days.

Jackson caught six touchdown passes for Philadelphia on Thursday, the Avengers’ offense gave up 16 second-half points, and the Soul scored a 71-34 Arena Football League victory.

Jackson left in 2005 via free agency, but he played Thursday as if he never left the Staples Center carpet.

Jackson caught 10passes for 167 yards, including touchdowns of 23, 22, 28, five, 15 and 30 yards, as the Soul (4-0) remained the league’s highest-scoring team.

Related: Avengers Can’t stop former teammate - [LA Daily News]

Philly’s Jackson Goes for 900

Philadelphia Soul WR CHRIS JACKSON can become the fifth player in AFL history to record 900 career receptions when the Soul (3-0) face the Los Angeles Avengers (2-1) on Thursday, March 20, at 10:30 p.m. ET (CSN Philadelphia - Live, FSN Prime Ticket, Delay at 10 p.m. PT).

Jackson stands six receptions shy of reaching the milestone and can do so against his former team. Jackson spent the first five seasons (2000-04) of his AFL career in Los Angeles where he recorded 480 of his 894 receptions. Jackson also became the first and only player in Avengers history to be named both Rookie of the Year (2000) and Offensive Player of the Year (2003).

Jackson will be the third active player to achieve the 900-reception milestone this season. In Week 1, Tampa Bay Storm WR/LB LAWRENCE SAMUELS reached 900 while Chicago WR DAMIAN HARRELL recorded reception 900 in Week 2.

Vikes Sign Wyms

The Vikings’ mini-flurry of backup free-agent signings continued by agreeing to terms with veteran defensive lineman Ellis Wyms and outside linebacker Dallas Sartz.

Wyms played the first six seasons of his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who play a similar defense to Minnesota’s signature scheme (although how much the Vikings actually employ the Tampa-2 defense is up for debate). While with the Bucs, Wyms registered 14½ sacks, including a career-high five in his final season in Tampa Bay.

But agent Brian Levy said the familiarity of the scheme wasn’t the biggest factor in Wyms signing with the Vikings. He said Wyms enjoyed his visit with the Vikings’ coaches on March 8, and opportunity also played a role. Wyms figures to be a part of the Vikings’ regular rotation at defensive tackle behind Pro Bowl players Kevin Williams and Pat Williams. Currently, the Vikings have only Fred Evans and Wyms behind them. Spencer Johnson, a backup for the last four seasons with the Vikings, signed a five-year, $17.5 million contract with the Buffalo Bills that included $6 million in guarantees.

Last year, Wyms played for the Seattle Seahawks, where he had two sacks and was credited with 11 tackles. For his career, he has 145 tackles and 16½ sacks, along with three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Wyms was originally drafted in the sixth round (183rd overall) of the 2001 NFL Draft out of Mississippi State and has played in 79 games with nine starts during his career. He started a career-high eight games at defensive tackle for Tampa Bay in 2006 but has experience at both tackle and end during his career. Wyms was a part of the Buccaneers squad that won Super Bowl XXXVII against Oakland, a game in which he notched a sack of Raiders QB Rich Gannon.

Wyms agreed to a one-year contract that could pay him about $1 million.

Source: Scout.com

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Lions Land Darby

Lions Come To Terms with Free Agent DT Chuck Darby

The Lions certainly lost size with the loss of DT Shaun Rogers. They have addressed it. The Lions came to terms with the 5’11” 313 pound Darby to at the very least add depth to the position.

Darby when healthy can be a force and is by all accounts a good locker room guy and a nice add. He played in six games in 2007 for the Seahawks before he suffered a popped patella tendon, which required surgery and subsequently missed the remainder of the season.

Welcome to the Lions Chuck! He was an undrafted free agent out of South Carolina State in 2001. He is entering his eighth NFL season. Terms are not available at this time.

Jackson, Soul take aim at title

Chris Jackson has traveled many miles and he’s accomplished a lot of things since leaving his childhood home in Morrisville, Pa., in Bucks County.

But the Soul’s newly-acquired receiver said his heart was always somewhere in the vicinity of home.

“I’ve always been a true Philly fan as sports goes,” said Jackson, who spent the bulk of his life on the West Coast and still lives in Surprise, Ariz.

“I remember Randall Cunningham and Dr. J. (Julius Erving) and those are people I looked up to,” Jackson said. “Now it’s good to be back home. It’s always nice to have family support or a home-cooked meal or whatever.”

Jackson will begin his tenure with the Soul when the team opens its fifth Arena Football League season at 7 p.m. Saturday against Orlando in the Wachovia Center.

He returns to his home turf mostly because the Soul made it a top priority to upgrade its receiving corps over the offseason. They signed Jackson as a free agent away from the Georgia Force.

In doing so, Soul management believes it has transformed the team into an instant Arena Bowl contender.

“He’s one of the best, if not the best, receiver in the Arena Football League,” said team president Ron Jaworski. “He knows how to get open, he catches the ball and he’s tough. He’s got great work ethic and he’s been an incredible addition for this team.”

Jackson, who turned 33 on Tuesday, also believes he’s playing for a championship contender, even though he’s reluctant to take too much credit.

“They brought me here for a reason,” he said. “And that’s to be the best wide receiver I can be. I just want to have fun and do what I do.”

Jackson will be playing in his eighth AFL season this year after playing his collegiate career at Washington State University.

A highly regarded basketball player at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., he turned to football relatively late in life, when he was convinced by friends to try making the switch.

Still, Jackson comes to the Soul carrying many accolades.

He is the only AFL Player to be named both Rookie of the Year (2000) and Offensive Player of the Year (2003). Playing with current Soul quarterback Tony Graziani while with the Los Angeles Avengers in that season, he had 117 receptions for 1,737 yards and 46 receiving touchdowns.

He has played in 90 AFL games and he’s caught touchdown passes in 88 of them. He also has caught at least one pass in every game he’s played.

He was named first team All-Arena last season, catching 51 touchdown passes with career highs in receiving yards (1,915) and receptions (145). He was twice named Offensive Player of the Game and was twice named Ironman of the Game.

“He’s a dynamic receiver,” Graziani said. “He seems to always be open and he’s that go-to guy we’ve been looking for all these years.”

Coach Bret Munsey thinks he now has the mix of players that will put up lots of points.

He believes the chemistry between Graziani and Jackson, who were teammates in Los Angeles for three seasons, will be the key to the season.

“They have a good feel for each other,” Munsey said. “Now Tony has a guy he feels like when his number is called, he’s going to be open. That’s important on third-and-10 and fourth-and-5. He’s got that now with Chris.”

The father of three, Jackson once harbored hopes of playing in the NFL. He visited several camps during the summers, even while he was playing in the AFL.

“I didn’t want to make a career out of playing arena football,” he said. “I wanted to use it as a stepping stone to get into the NFL. At the same time, though, it was good to have arena football to fall back on.”

Jackson said he maintained a similar mentality until his fifth season in the AFL.

Then he began to realize he would not earn his way in the NFL and he accepted his role as an full-time indoor player.

“Now I look at playing in the AFL as a great way to make a living,” he said. “It’s a very enjoyable sport. I just want to go out and have fun and do what I do. I wouldn’t think of anything else. This is my livelihood, arena football.”

Source: CourierPostOnline

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Poteat a Possibility

The Patriots have had dialogue with free-agent cornerback Hank Poteat about the possibility of him signing with the club.

At this point, nothing is imminent and no official visit has been scheduled.

Poteat spent parts of 2004, 2005 and 2006 with the Patriots. He was with the Jets for most of 2006 and all of last season.

The Patriots currently have Ellis Hobbs, Tim Mixon, Mike Richardson, Antwain Spann and Jason Webster under contract at cornerback. Also, 2007 first-round pick Brandon Meriweather is an option at corner, while Chad Scott, who is an unrestricted free agent, is a candidate to return.

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