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Dropping the ball
Rookie Rodgers hasn't caught on
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 22, 2006
Green Bay - Time grows short for Cory Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers wide receiver who is on the verge of a distinction that no rookie would ever want.
A fourth-round draft choice from Texas Christian, Rodgers has done next to nothing as a receiver or returner. Despite a signing bonus of $465,120, it's possible that Rodgers could be the odd man out at the position when general manager Ted Thompson picks his 53-man roster on Sept. 2.
"No, I'm not worried about that at all," Rodgers said Tuesday night. "If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I come to practice every day just thinking that I'm here."
It isn't often that players drafted as high as the fourth round don't hang around with their original team for at least one season.
The last Packers draftee in the first four rounds who was released during his first training camp and never spent any time with the club in any category was nose tackle Rollin Putzier. That was 18 years ago. Vice president Tom Braatz and coach Lindy Infante drafted him in the fourth round out of Oregon and then let him go on Aug. 29, 1988.
Last season, only four rookies in the National Football League who were drafted within the first four rounds were waived in camp. The list included two third-round choices, Carolina defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison and Denver running back Maurice Clarett, and two fourth-round wide receivers, Craphonso Thorpe of Kansas City and Fred Gibson of Pittsburgh.
In 2004, the only selection in the first four rounds who was out of football by the start of the regular season was defensive tackle Anthony Maddox of Jacksonville.
Certainly, the economics of the sport impact job security for premium draft picks. When teams pay that kind of money, they generally will give a prospect every benefit of the doubt to prove they were wrong in the draft evaluation process.
By most accounts, Rodgers rates right up there with offensive lineman Daryn Colledge as the most disappointing among Thompson's 12 draft choices this year.
"But I wouldn't say that," Thompson said. "He's working hard at it and we'll see. That's why you go through this whole process. You try not to jump to any conclusions and see how it pans out."
The release of veteran Marc Boerigter left the Packers with 10 wide receivers. Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson and rookie Greg Jennings are locks. Veteran Rod Gardner appears to have the inside track on the No. 4 job.
At this point, Rodgers would seem to be battling free agent Ruvell Martin of Saginaw Valley State for what is expected to be the fifth and final spot.
Moments after making Rodgers the 11th wide receiver taken in the draft, special teams coach Mike Stock pronounced Rodgers as his first choice to bail out the team's sickly punt and kickoff return games.
But it wasn't long into the off-season that Rodgers started his bad-hands routine fielding punts. The words of an NFC special teams coach before the draft came to mind: "He's erratic catching the ball. He's not disciplined how he does it. He carries the ball loosely."
Rodgers' fumbling ways continued day after day in camp. Then he muffed one Saturday night against Atlanta on a play that was brought back by penalty.
At this point, the Packers seem ready to go with Charles Woodson and Jennings on punts.
All Stock would say Monday when asked if there still were hope for Rodgers as a punt returner was, "We'll see. We'll see. We'll see."
When Thompson said, "He's got to catch the punts better," it was about the harshest criticism the reticent GM would ever offer.
The problem for Rodgers is he seems to be even further away from being able to contribute on offense.
Coach Mike McCarthy doesn't give playing time to people who don't know what they're doing. That's essentially why Rodgers didn't play a single snap against Atlanta after receiving eight or nine in San Diego. He has been taught to play only split end, another factor limiting his role in the offense.
"It's the depth of the route or when to come out of it and how to pivot, that kind of thing," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said. "I think he knows what to do. It's a matter of getting the right technique. In this offense, the passing game is all timing. If you're too late or too soon or you come out of it the wrong way, you're not going to be there for the quarterback."
Rodgers, who scored 14 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test, gave up his junior year to enter the draft. Jimmy Robinson, the veteran wide receivers coach, said the underclassman factor shouldn't be underestimated.
"That's a tough climb for a guy," Robinson said. "He's trying hard to take the coaching. It's a gradual thing. It doesn't come easy sometimes to some guys."
Moreover, Rodgers lacks great size (6 feet, 192 pounds) and speed (a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at the combine). Described by Thompson in April as "a very, very competitive guy," Rodgers has dropped too many passes and flashed only a couple of times on long sideline routes.
"I have no regrets," Rodgers said. "This is my first training camp and I wasn't expecting to come out here and be the most dazzling. People don't get to come in as rookies and get to have quick impact like Greg Jennings. I'm just here waiting for an opportunity."
Rodgers' career in Green Bay was only a month old when he was involved in an incident in Fort Worth in which he ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. He was placed on 15 months' probation, fined $500 and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service with at-risk youth after the season.
Did the misdemeanor offense distract Rodgers? Is it one reason why he appears to have underachieved in the first month?
"No, not at all," Rodgers replied. "It's something that happens in life. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That can happen to anybody. That was just a learning experience."
Now Rodgers has 10 days to convince the Packers that he wasn't a wasted draft pick.
Rookie Rodgers hasn't caught on
By BOB McGINN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 22, 2006
Green Bay - Time grows short for Cory Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers wide receiver who is on the verge of a distinction that no rookie would ever want.
A fourth-round draft choice from Texas Christian, Rodgers has done next to nothing as a receiver or returner. Despite a signing bonus of $465,120, it's possible that Rodgers could be the odd man out at the position when general manager Ted Thompson picks his 53-man roster on Sept. 2.
"No, I'm not worried about that at all," Rodgers said Tuesday night. "If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't. I come to practice every day just thinking that I'm here."
It isn't often that players drafted as high as the fourth round don't hang around with their original team for at least one season.
The last Packers draftee in the first four rounds who was released during his first training camp and never spent any time with the club in any category was nose tackle Rollin Putzier. That was 18 years ago. Vice president Tom Braatz and coach Lindy Infante drafted him in the fourth round out of Oregon and then let him go on Aug. 29, 1988.
Last season, only four rookies in the National Football League who were drafted within the first four rounds were waived in camp. The list included two third-round choices, Carolina defensive tackle Atiyyah Ellison and Denver running back Maurice Clarett, and two fourth-round wide receivers, Craphonso Thorpe of Kansas City and Fred Gibson of Pittsburgh.
In 2004, the only selection in the first four rounds who was out of football by the start of the regular season was defensive tackle Anthony Maddox of Jacksonville.
Certainly, the economics of the sport impact job security for premium draft picks. When teams pay that kind of money, they generally will give a prospect every benefit of the doubt to prove they were wrong in the draft evaluation process.
By most accounts, Rodgers rates right up there with offensive lineman Daryn Colledge as the most disappointing among Thompson's 12 draft choices this year.
"But I wouldn't say that," Thompson said. "He's working hard at it and we'll see. That's why you go through this whole process. You try not to jump to any conclusions and see how it pans out."
The release of veteran Marc Boerigter left the Packers with 10 wide receivers. Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson and rookie Greg Jennings are locks. Veteran Rod Gardner appears to have the inside track on the No. 4 job.
At this point, Rodgers would seem to be battling free agent Ruvell Martin of Saginaw Valley State for what is expected to be the fifth and final spot.
Moments after making Rodgers the 11th wide receiver taken in the draft, special teams coach Mike Stock pronounced Rodgers as his first choice to bail out the team's sickly punt and kickoff return games.
But it wasn't long into the off-season that Rodgers started his bad-hands routine fielding punts. The words of an NFC special teams coach before the draft came to mind: "He's erratic catching the ball. He's not disciplined how he does it. He carries the ball loosely."
Rodgers' fumbling ways continued day after day in camp. Then he muffed one Saturday night against Atlanta on a play that was brought back by penalty.
At this point, the Packers seem ready to go with Charles Woodson and Jennings on punts.
All Stock would say Monday when asked if there still were hope for Rodgers as a punt returner was, "We'll see. We'll see. We'll see."
When Thompson said, "He's got to catch the punts better," it was about the harshest criticism the reticent GM would ever offer.
The problem for Rodgers is he seems to be even further away from being able to contribute on offense.
Coach Mike McCarthy doesn't give playing time to people who don't know what they're doing. That's essentially why Rodgers didn't play a single snap against Atlanta after receiving eight or nine in San Diego. He has been taught to play only split end, another factor limiting his role in the offense.
"It's the depth of the route or when to come out of it and how to pivot, that kind of thing," offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said. "I think he knows what to do. It's a matter of getting the right technique. In this offense, the passing game is all timing. If you're too late or too soon or you come out of it the wrong way, you're not going to be there for the quarterback."
Rodgers, who scored 14 on the 50-question Wonderlic intelligence test, gave up his junior year to enter the draft. Jimmy Robinson, the veteran wide receivers coach, said the underclassman factor shouldn't be underestimated.
"That's a tough climb for a guy," Robinson said. "He's trying hard to take the coaching. It's a gradual thing. It doesn't come easy sometimes to some guys."
Moreover, Rodgers lacks great size (6 feet, 192 pounds) and speed (a 4.59-second 40-yard dash at the combine). Described by Thompson in April as "a very, very competitive guy," Rodgers has dropped too many passes and flashed only a couple of times on long sideline routes.
"I have no regrets," Rodgers said. "This is my first training camp and I wasn't expecting to come out here and be the most dazzling. People don't get to come in as rookies and get to have quick impact like Greg Jennings. I'm just here waiting for an opportunity."
Rodgers' career in Green Bay was only a month old when he was involved in an incident in Fort Worth in which he ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge. He was placed on 15 months' probation, fined $500 and ordered to perform 80 hours of community service with at-risk youth after the season.
Did the misdemeanor offense distract Rodgers? Is it one reason why he appears to have underachieved in the first month?
"No, not at all," Rodgers replied. "It's something that happens in life. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. That can happen to anybody. That was just a learning experience."
Now Rodgers has 10 days to convince the Packers that he wasn't a wasted draft pick.
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