Might Richard Rodgers be a better prospect than we think?

[Bossman641]

He's never going to be flashy but hopefully he can bring some consistency to the position. RRod still needs work on his blocking but seems to have the size and desire to get better. He looks like TE's used to look in the 90's, before they became overgrown WR's. As long as he can make 10-15 yard receptions and move the chains I'll be happy.

[mraynrand]

Actually, it has only been the last one and a half years, not two and a half years that Finley hasn't played, isn't it?

I think it was sort of a wash on who would have been better to keep, Wells vs. Finley. Finley only gave them 22 games over the span that Wells gave St Louis 35 games. On a different field, maybe Wells wouldn't have broken his ankle, but even if he had, at least they wouldn't have signed Saturday, so EDS would have replaced Wells, which would have been a plus that year vs Saturday. Finley did have a good season that same year (when he wasn't dropping the ball. )

Now, how about dropping some of those dead horse beatings on the complaints about Bubba Franks, who hasn't been in GB since before Finley was drafted?

I wrote one and a half. Don't know how two and half got in there. Finley was a greater impact player than Wells, especially his game-changing drops. I don't recall Wells being targeted 11 times and being maligned for four (see below). Plus, before his neck injury, Finley was almost the entire offense of a depleted Packer team against Cleveland in 2013 (ONE and a half years ago!). He looked like a Gronk out there! Funny how when a talented guy is the ONLY major talent, who isn't shut down by aggressive corner play, he gets a lot of touches. Poor Scotty Wells was just a depleted afterthought in St. Louis who would never achieve the honor of posing with the Muskie Queen.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...passes-problem

Now, let me tell you about Ed West...there's a guy who could catch a ball!

[wist43]

I agree with Harvey's take... he has good hands, and can be a reliable short target. The threat of other receivers will give Rodgers opportunities - but Rodgers isn't capable of returning the favor.

Should never have been a 3rd round draft pick IMO, but will probably stick with the team for quite a while as he probably won't generate much interest once his rookie contract is up. As such, all you homers will slap Ted on the back for making such a great pick

[wist43]

I wrote one and a half. Don't know how two and half got in there. Finley was a greater impact player than Wells, especially his game-changing drops. I don't recall Wells being targeted 11 times and being maligned for four (see below). Plus, before his neck injury, Finley was almost the entire offense of a depleted Packer team against Cleveland in 2013 (ONE and a half years ago!). He looked like a Gronk out there! Funny how when a talented guy is the ONLY major talent, who isn't shut down by aggressive corner play, he gets a lot of touches. Poor Scotty Wells was just a depleted afterthought in St. Louis who would never achieve the honor of posing with the Muskie Queen.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...passes-problem

Now, let me tell you about Ed West...there's a guy who could catch a ball!

My favorite Ed West play was when he would play possum, do a flop-a-block, wait for the student body to clear the other way, then get up, stand in the end zone, and wait for the ball to get to him, lol...

[mraynrand]

I agree with Harvey's take... he has good hands, and can be a reliable short target. The threat of other receivers will give Rodgers opportunities - but Rodgers isn't capable of returning the favor.

I agree. I'm still Homerhopeful that RR can approach Chmura level competency, but it's not likely.

[Pugger]

What does Scott Wells have to do with it?

Point was, and article mentioned (if you even bothered to read it) that R. Rodgers has exceptional hands. A. Rodgers said he might have the best hands on the team. The TE often sees the ball on third down in mid-range yards-to-go situations, and a drop often means a punt. We saw that time and again with Finley. Hopefully we won't with R. Rodgers.

I think that was an attempt at a joke?

[mraynrand]

I think that was an attempt at a joke?

Yes, 'attempt' being the key word. Still, we enjoy beating dead horses here at PR.

[Carolina_Packer]

I'll be curious to see how he makes the first to second year jump. It's tougher for Richard Rodgers from an expectations standpoint because the team is hoping for more production out of the TE spot, as compared with expectations on someone like Devante Adams who is the 3rd WR. I am most interested to see how his blocking is improved. There were times last year when it looked like he had never thrown a block in his life. Now that the game is slowing down for him, hopefully he can take over the job and keep Q as the backup.

He's never going to have the explosiveness that Finley had, but perhaps he'll be more steady. Finley teased. That shootout playoff game against AZ...wow. He had his moments, but he also never found consistency. I would take a good hands guy who can run a route and get enough separation to make ARod feel comfortable throwing his way.

[MadScientist]

For his size I expected RR to be a better blocker that he was. If he learns that part of the game, he could be a pretty good old-school TE, lining up next to the tackle and blocking or running routes. Chewy would be his ceiling, which is pretty good. With Lacy, having a TE that can block or catch well is good for making the offense less predictable.

[Joemailman]

For his size I expected RR to be a better blocker that he was. If he learns that part of the game, he could be a pretty good old-school TE, lining up next to the tackle and blocking or running routes. Chewy would be his ceiling, which is pretty good. With Lacy, having a TE that can block or catch well is good for making the offense less predictable.

Blocking techniques can be learned. Chewy wasn't a good blocker coming out of Boston College, but he became one of the best.

[Bretsky]

I agree with Harvey's take... he has good hands, and can be a reliable short target. The threat of other receivers will give Rodgers opportunities - but Rodgers isn't capable of returning the favor.

Should never have been a 3rd round draft pick IMO, but will probably stick with the team for quite a while as he probably won't generate much interest once his rookie contract is up. As such, all you homers will slap Ted on the back for making such a great pick

This

[HarveyWallbangers]

I think he can be solid, and even a decent starter down the line--which isn't all that bad for a third round pick. I think his blocking will improve. He certainly has the size and seems willing. However, he may have great hands, but he'll likely never be dynamic. I hear the reports of his great hands, but then I read this:

S Chris Banjo might have been the most effective defender Monday when the safeties and inside linebackers were matched against the tight ends and running backs in one-on-one coverage. Banjo went 3-1, doing a great job twice against TE Richard Rodgers.

It might not really matter with how dynamic our receiving corps could be. If the receiving corps wasn't so good, I'd be a lot more worried about the TE position.

[Patler]

But there was also this:

Tight end Richard Rodgers made one of the highlight catches of training camp Tuesday with a diving one-handed snag of a Tolzien pass on an out pattern that converted a third down. “I had a feeling he was going to throw it to me, and the ball was going to come out quick,” Rodgers said. “I just came out of (the break), and I knew I could make a play on it once I saw it in the air.”

[smuggler]

Should have saved it for the regular season!

[Tony Oday]

With our WR corp do we need anything but a 4 WR set and Lacy crushing an MLB?