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FADE PATTERN
Ferguson seeks breakout season
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 1, 2006
Green Bay - This truly is put-up-or-shut-up time for Robert Ferguson.
Robert Ferguson admits he hasn't played up to his capabilities in years past.
I think the thing was, I was trying too hard last year. I was worrying about what Brett thinks and was worrying about what Coach (Mike) Sherman thinks.
The Green Bay Packers know it. Ferguson readily acknowledges it. The way business is conducted in the National Football League almost demands it.
"I agree with that," Ferguson said Tuesday. "It's my sixth year. I think it's just time for me to go out and show what I'm capable of."
The Packers drafted Ferguson in the second round in 2001 as an early-out junior from Texas A&M. Four training camps, in 2002, '03, '04 and '06, opened with him looking like the No. 2 wide receiver on the roster. In the other two summers, 2001 and 2005, he went in no worse than No. 3.
Four times in six years the pecking order had Ferguson No. 2 at the start of a new season and for all of those high hopes, he has given the Packers just 111 receptions, 1,546 yards and 11 touchdowns. And a solitary 100-yard game.
A year ago, Javon Walker blew out his knee in Week 1. In turn, the coaching staff quickly extolled the abilities of Ferguson. Then he proceeded to have the worst year of his career, left knee injuries or not.
Now Walker is in Denver and the general manager, Ted Thompson, didn't do much of anything at the position other than draft Greg Jennings in the second round. So Ferguson is the starting split end opposite flanker Donald Driver, the same arrangement that didn't work in '05.
The new position coach, Jimmy Robinson, played wide receiver in the NFL for six seasons and coached wide receivers for 17 seasons. Robinson says the group of wide receivers has been no better than average early in camp, but after the irrepressible Driver he says Ferguson is the one wide receiver who has made a move.
"I think 'Ferg's' had a good start," Robinson said. "We've got a long way to go yet but he's off to a good start."
Physically, Ferguson has never looked better. On his 6 feet 1½ inches is packed 215 pounds, 5 more than a year ago.
"But I'm faster now than I've ever been," said Ferguson, who won't be 27 until December. "I was timed consistently in the 4.3s this off-season. It's showing out there so far."
Coach Mike McCarthy's passing game is mired in installation and mediocrity so far. But Robinson, with a keen eye, watches every move and can see Ferguson's rippling muscles, his overall great strength and tremendous hand-eye coordination as he works through drills.
"Just explosion, man," Ferguson said. "It's something I haven't done in the past. I'm quick in and out of my cuts. It's different because I studied the playbook so much in the off-season. I know every position, so it's just going out there and reacting."
When Ferguson first showed up in Green Bay, he had no idea what it would take to become a professional. Married now and the father of three children, he's wise in the ways of the world.
"I mean, to me, none of it matters out there," Ferguson said, referring to summer practices. "What matters is on Sundays when the lights come on. I've been around long enough to know that."
Ferguson failed in '05, simple as that. His average of 1.89 yards after the catch was the poorest of his career. He dropped a few too many balls (three). And his chemistry with Brett Favre seemed fractured on several occasions.
Of Favre's 29 interceptions, 11 were intended for Driver among his 149 targeted passes (7.38%). Another seven went to Ferguson among his 58 passes, meaning 12.1% of the passes thrown to him were intercepted.
Without naming names, coach Mike McCarthy and his coaches are demanding that wide receivers prevent errant passes from being intercepted. It's an area of the game that cost Ferguson in the court of public opinion, but he denies there ever was a time that he didn't sell out going for a pass.
"I think the thing was, I was trying too hard last year," he said. "I was worrying about what Brett thinks and was worrying about what Coach (Mike) Sherman thinks.
"That was not me. I could really care less what anybody thinks of me. What I'm doing now is just going out and playing. If I make a mistake, it happens. Everybody will make a mistake, from 4 (Favre) on down."
Ferguson finished 2002 as the No. 3 receiver ahead of Walker and 2003 as a much-improved starter opposite Driver. In December 2004, he was producing as the No. 3 behind the Driver-Walker duo when Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius ended his season with a vicious, illegal forearm.
Did the blow, which gave Ferguson constant headaches and sleeplessness for months, affect his performance in 2005, as some football people have surmised?
"That's a copout," Ferguson replied. "It'd be an excuse for me to say, 'Yeah, that's why I had a bad year. I got clothes-lined the year before.' But it didn't. To be honest, I didn't even remember the (expletive) after it happened. It didn't even cross my mind."
It's instructive to remember that Ferguson first made a name for himself as a fearless tackler on special teams. His toughness was lauded by teammates and coaches alike for being off the charts.
The five-year, $10.9 million contract that Ferguson signed in June 2004 contains modest base salaries of $1.8 million in '07 and $2.2 million in '08. Still, there have been too many unfulfilled chances for the Packers to bring him back next year if he doesn't come to the forefront in '06.
"After my rookie year I had (two) good seasons and two years following I've just been injured," he said. "I feel like this regime hasn't really seen me and what I did in '03 and the playoffs, and what I did in '02. They really don't know the real me.
"I think all that just got swept under the rug and people just got caught up with the injuries. I feel like it's my year to show him (McCarthy) what I can do."
Ferguson seeks breakout season
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 1, 2006
Green Bay - This truly is put-up-or-shut-up time for Robert Ferguson.
Robert Ferguson admits he hasn't played up to his capabilities in years past.
I think the thing was, I was trying too hard last year. I was worrying about what Brett thinks and was worrying about what Coach (Mike) Sherman thinks.
The Green Bay Packers know it. Ferguson readily acknowledges it. The way business is conducted in the National Football League almost demands it.
"I agree with that," Ferguson said Tuesday. "It's my sixth year. I think it's just time for me to go out and show what I'm capable of."
The Packers drafted Ferguson in the second round in 2001 as an early-out junior from Texas A&M. Four training camps, in 2002, '03, '04 and '06, opened with him looking like the No. 2 wide receiver on the roster. In the other two summers, 2001 and 2005, he went in no worse than No. 3.
Four times in six years the pecking order had Ferguson No. 2 at the start of a new season and for all of those high hopes, he has given the Packers just 111 receptions, 1,546 yards and 11 touchdowns. And a solitary 100-yard game.
A year ago, Javon Walker blew out his knee in Week 1. In turn, the coaching staff quickly extolled the abilities of Ferguson. Then he proceeded to have the worst year of his career, left knee injuries or not.
Now Walker is in Denver and the general manager, Ted Thompson, didn't do much of anything at the position other than draft Greg Jennings in the second round. So Ferguson is the starting split end opposite flanker Donald Driver, the same arrangement that didn't work in '05.
The new position coach, Jimmy Robinson, played wide receiver in the NFL for six seasons and coached wide receivers for 17 seasons. Robinson says the group of wide receivers has been no better than average early in camp, but after the irrepressible Driver he says Ferguson is the one wide receiver who has made a move.
"I think 'Ferg's' had a good start," Robinson said. "We've got a long way to go yet but he's off to a good start."
Physically, Ferguson has never looked better. On his 6 feet 1½ inches is packed 215 pounds, 5 more than a year ago.
"But I'm faster now than I've ever been," said Ferguson, who won't be 27 until December. "I was timed consistently in the 4.3s this off-season. It's showing out there so far."
Coach Mike McCarthy's passing game is mired in installation and mediocrity so far. But Robinson, with a keen eye, watches every move and can see Ferguson's rippling muscles, his overall great strength and tremendous hand-eye coordination as he works through drills.
"Just explosion, man," Ferguson said. "It's something I haven't done in the past. I'm quick in and out of my cuts. It's different because I studied the playbook so much in the off-season. I know every position, so it's just going out there and reacting."
When Ferguson first showed up in Green Bay, he had no idea what it would take to become a professional. Married now and the father of three children, he's wise in the ways of the world.
"I mean, to me, none of it matters out there," Ferguson said, referring to summer practices. "What matters is on Sundays when the lights come on. I've been around long enough to know that."
Ferguson failed in '05, simple as that. His average of 1.89 yards after the catch was the poorest of his career. He dropped a few too many balls (three). And his chemistry with Brett Favre seemed fractured on several occasions.
Of Favre's 29 interceptions, 11 were intended for Driver among his 149 targeted passes (7.38%). Another seven went to Ferguson among his 58 passes, meaning 12.1% of the passes thrown to him were intercepted.
Without naming names, coach Mike McCarthy and his coaches are demanding that wide receivers prevent errant passes from being intercepted. It's an area of the game that cost Ferguson in the court of public opinion, but he denies there ever was a time that he didn't sell out going for a pass.
"I think the thing was, I was trying too hard last year," he said. "I was worrying about what Brett thinks and was worrying about what Coach (Mike) Sherman thinks.
"That was not me. I could really care less what anybody thinks of me. What I'm doing now is just going out and playing. If I make a mistake, it happens. Everybody will make a mistake, from 4 (Favre) on down."
Ferguson finished 2002 as the No. 3 receiver ahead of Walker and 2003 as a much-improved starter opposite Driver. In December 2004, he was producing as the No. 3 behind the Driver-Walker duo when Jacksonville safety Donovin Darius ended his season with a vicious, illegal forearm.
Did the blow, which gave Ferguson constant headaches and sleeplessness for months, affect his performance in 2005, as some football people have surmised?
"That's a copout," Ferguson replied. "It'd be an excuse for me to say, 'Yeah, that's why I had a bad year. I got clothes-lined the year before.' But it didn't. To be honest, I didn't even remember the (expletive) after it happened. It didn't even cross my mind."
It's instructive to remember that Ferguson first made a name for himself as a fearless tackler on special teams. His toughness was lauded by teammates and coaches alike for being off the charts.
The five-year, $10.9 million contract that Ferguson signed in June 2004 contains modest base salaries of $1.8 million in '07 and $2.2 million in '08. Still, there have been too many unfulfilled chances for the Packers to bring him back next year if he doesn't come to the forefront in '06.
"After my rookie year I had (two) good seasons and two years following I've just been injured," he said. "I feel like this regime hasn't really seen me and what I did in '03 and the playoffs, and what I did in '02. They really don't know the real me.
"I think all that just got swept under the rug and people just got caught up with the injuries. I feel like it's my year to show him (McCarthy) what I can do."
and do a jig.
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