from Giants.com


Giants trade for Linebacker Keith Rivers

Posted 16 minutes ago

By Michael Eisen


The Giants added more competition to their Linebacker group when they traded for Bengals' LB Keith Rivers

The Giants’ crowded and competitive linebacker corps has a new member.

Keith Rivers, a former first-round draft choice who spent four seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, today was acquired in a trade for an undisclosed choice in the 2012 NFL Draft, which begins in 15 days. Rivers, 6-2 and 235 pounds, is a weakside linebacker, where Michael Boley has been the starter for three seasons. The team also has second-year pros Jacquian Williams and Spencer Paysinger.

“We’re excited to have another talented player in the mix for our defensive staff to work with,” general manager Jerry Reese said. “We try to create competition at every position, and Keith will definitely bring some competition to our linebacker group.”

This is the Giants’ first trade since Sept. 3, 2010, when they acquired quarterback Sage Rosenfels and return specialist Darius Reynaud for a fifth-round draft choice.

“I’m excited to get a fresh start and brand new beginning,” Rivers said. “You can’t ask for more than to be playing for the defending world champions and be in New York.”

“This is an excellent opportunity for him to have a fresh start,” Coach Tom Coughlin said. “Keith is versatile enough to play the outside on first and second down and he can play on third down because he runs well. And he’s fast enough to rush the passer.”

Rivers is excited to play behind a defensive line that includes Jason Pierre-Paul, Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Chris Canty.

“You definitely look forward to playing with guys like that,” Rivers said. “When you’re in coverage you know you don’t have to cover that long and when you’re in the run game you know if you’re not making the play it’s getting stopped in the backfield by one of those D-linemen.”

Rivers spent the entire 2011 season on the Reserve/Non-Football Injury list. He had wrist surgery in July and spent the season in rehabilitation. Rivers was eligible for practice and possible roster activation from Nov. 8 until Nov. 29, but did not practice and remained on Reserve/NFI.

“Last year was very frustrating,” Rivers said. “The more and more you sit and watch, going through the games and getting that feeling you get before a game and not being able to go out there and play football really hurts. But it’s all behind me and I’m excited about this new opportunity.”

In his first three years with the Bengals, Rivers played in 35 games with 33 starts. He was credited with 246 tackles (135 solo), two sacks, two interceptions, seven passes defensed and a forced fumble.

Rivers played through a painful foot condition (plantar fasciitis) in 2010, when he participated in a career-high 15 games with 13 starts and finished second on the team with 95 tackles (46 solo). He also had four passes defensed and a sack. He had a career-high 14 tackles, including a five-yard sack of Seneca Wallace, at Cleveland on Oct. 3, a team-best 13 tackles at the Jets on Nov. 25 and 10 tackles vs. San Diego on Dec. 26.

Rivers joined the Bengals as the ninth overall selection of the 2008 NFL Draft from USC. He started the first seven games of his rookie season before suffering a fractured jaw when he was hit by Pittsburgh receiver Hines Ward on Oct. 19. Rivers was placed on injured reserve two days later. He began his pro career with a pair of 11-tackle games, on Sept. 7 at Baltimore and Sept. 14 vs. Tennessee. Rivers recorded his first career interception on Oct. 5 at Dallas, where he returned a Tony Romo pass 39 yards.

In 2009, Rivers started all 13 games in which he played. He missed three games due to a calf injury, but finished second on the team in tackles with a career-high 101 (58 solo). He twice tied the team’s season high in tackles for a single game with 14 – Oct. 4 at Cleveland and Jan. 3 at the Jets. He also had 12 tackles vs. the Steelers on Sept. 27. Rivers picked up his second interception on Dec. 20 at San Diego.

Rivers is confident he will stay healthy and demonstrate the skill that made him the ninth pick in the draft.

“I’ve been working really hard this offseason and it’s not about my past,” he said. “It’s about what I’ve been doing to prepare myself for this year and I’m really excited about it.

“I just haven’t been able to stay on the field as much as I would like. Hopefully, like I said, it’s a new beginning and everything is behind me and I'm ready to do it on the big stage here in New York.”

Rivers starred from 2004-07 at USC, where he was named first-team All-America by Sports Illustrated and Pro Football Weekly as a senior. He played 49 games with 36 starts and finished with 240 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 18.5 tackles for loss, six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles and two interceptions while helping USC to a 47-5 record over his four seasons. As a senior, Rivers finished second in tackles (78) on a defense that ranked second in nation in fewest points allowed (16.0 a game) and fewest yards allowed (273.2 per game). As a freshman in 2004, he played in all 13 games for a Trojans team that won the national championship with a 55-19 rout of Oklahoma in the FedEx Orange Bowl.

Rivers earned several All-America honors at Lake Mary High School in Florida. He was named Gatorade Florida Football Player of the Year as a senior. Rivers was born on May 5, 1986 in Riverside, Calif., and lived in nearby San Bernardino for eight years before his family moved to Florida. He majored in public policy, management and planning at Southern California.

I think this a good move.

He should be healthy, his wrist should be better

The foot issues are now well in the past.

No issues with hi knees or ankles which is the big concern.

Big_Pete wrote:I think this a good move.

He should be healthy, his wrist should be better

The foot issues are now well in the past.

No issues with hi knees or ankles which is the big concern.

Its low risk high reward, so I love it. If it fails, we burned a 4th. Not that big a deal. But we know he can play when healthy, so I like it.

Terrific... News so good we needed two threads for it. Ha.

I'll keep it in play though. I think it may surprise people when we draft Hightower in the first or start Herz in the middle and start Boley and Rivers on the outside. Our defense is a little different than most convential 4-3's. We play our OLBs off of where the 1 tech DT is lined up. They are practically interchangeable on a good day. We just had limited time seeing it last season because Kiwi was a liability in space and we ran A LOT of nickle packages. I tell you what you though Boley, Hightower, Rivers as the starters, Herz and J. Williams as the first backers off the bench... That makes my panties wet.

Pizan wrote:Terrific... News so good we needed two threads for it. Ha.

I'll keep it in play though. I think it may surprise people when we draft Hightower in the first or start Herz in the middle and start Boley and Rivers on the outside. Our defense is a little different than most convential 4-3's. We play our OLBs off of where the 1 tech DT is lined up. They are practically interchangeable on a good day. We just had limited time seeing it last season because Kiwi was a liability in space and we ran A LOT of nickle packages. I tell you what you though Boley, Hightower, Rivers as the starters, Herz and J. Williams as the first backers off the bench... That makes my panties wet.

I wouldn't be surprised if we move Kiwi back to DE.

I'm not sure about Hightower in the first, but thats ok. If we do go with a LB in the first round, I suspect it will be Zack Brown.

I do like the idea of Boley and Rivers at OLB.I agree with you about Herz as a possiblity at MLB.

I would equally be ok with Williams and Sintim at SLB with Boley, Herzlich and Jones inside plus Rivers and Paysinger at WLB. I suspect this is what we are thnking at the moment. Boley would play a simlar role at MLB for us that Poslunzy did in Fewell's system for the Bills. With guys like Williams, Rivers etc on the outside, we have a ton of speed and athleticism behind our Dline.

We will likely add a LB in the draft at some point, it all depends on how it shakes out.

Boley can make the transition to the middle but I think everyone here realizes where he will be at his best and the importance on stopping the run. We need a thumper in there. Who wants to see another season with that defense we saw last year? Not me. If we fix the D, I'm not talking patch work here, I'm talking fixing the defense and Eli puts in another year like last.. We are talking a 12-4 or 13-3 type team.

Pizan wrote:Boley can make the transition to the middle but I think everyone here realizes where he will be at his best and the importance on stopping the run. We need a thumper in there. Who wants to see another season with that defense we saw last year? Not me. If we fix the D, I'm not talking patch work here, I'm talking fixing the defense and Eli puts in another year like last.. We are talking a 12-4 or 13-3 type team.

If we wanta thumper, then I would like Ronnell Lewis. I think he would be a good fit at MLB

part of an article fom Tom Carter ESPN about Goff

In related news, the Daily News' Ralph Vacchiano thinks that another free agent from the Giants' linebacker corps, Jonathan Goff, might have a bigger problem with his surgically repaired knee than most had thought, because Goff has visited with the Washington Redskins, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins but remains unsigned. Goff tore his ACL in September and missed all of last season. It's not clear whether the addition of Rivers and re-signing of Blackburn mean the Giants will not bring Goff back. If they do re-sign him, it likely would be to an incentive-laden contract.

Big_Pete wrote:

Pizan wrote:Boley can make the transition to the middle but I think everyone here realizes where he will be at his best and the importance on stopping the run. We need a thumper in there. Who wants to see another season with that defense we saw last year? Not me. If we fix the D, I'm not talking patch work here, I'm talking fixing the defense and Eli puts in another year like last.. We are talking a 12-4 or 13-3 type team.

If we wanta thumper, then I would like Ronnell Lewis. I think he would be a good fit at MLB

Now Ronnell Lewis is my favorite prospect in this entire draft class but he's not a MLB.

Rivers has restructured his deal

From kffl.com

Giants | Keith Rivers contract update
Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:20:46 -0700

Updating a previous item, New York Giants LB Keith Rivers' deal with the team is for one season and $1.25 million, according to sources. The team effectively dropped the 2013 season from his deal, which was voidable anyway, which means about $1 million less for Rivers; however, he can recoup it by starting his next deal a year sooner than he would have.

Big_Pete wrote:Rivers has restructured his deal

From kffl.com

Giants | Keith Rivers contract update
Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:20:46 -0700

Updating a previous item, New York Giants LB Keith Rivers' deal with the team is for one season and $1.25 million, according to sources. The team effectively dropped the 2013 season from his deal, which was voidable anyway, which means about $1 million less for Rivers; however, he can recoup it by starting his next deal a year sooner than he would have.

This is a good deal fro everyone. Rivers wants to prove he can be an impact every down player and the Giants are one of the few places desperate for LB that will give him a long leash to do that. I doubt he was going to get a starting chance as strong as his chance with the Giants, elsewhere. The Giants get a cost savings and he gets to be a FA next year. So if he plays well, he walks into a contract. Sounds familiar to me. Kawika Mitchell anyone. Hope it works out for the Giants as well as that oen did. But I hope Rivers stays healthy for a long time.