Bodiford Claimed (he's a WR)

[Tony Oday]

Packers: Bodiford claimed
10/24/06 11:36 AM
THE NEWS
The Packers claimed wide receiver Shaun Bodiford off waivers from the Lions on Monday. He will play a reserve role behind starters Donald Driver and Greg Jennings.
Our View
The Lions had high hopes for Bodiford. Both head coach Rod Marinelli and offensive coordinator Mike Martz sang his praises at various times this season.

[hurleyfan]

Time will tell!

always afraid of those quotes "sang his praises" at times..

With the problems the Lions have at WR (Rogers) hard to believe they let a decent player go..

Course Mike Martz was probably involved, and that guy is a whack

[Rastak]

Time will tell!

always afraid of those quotes "sang his praises" at times..

With the problems the Lions have at WR (Rogers) hard to believe they let a decent player go..

Course Mike Martz was probably involved, and that guy is a whack

All coaches seem to say great things about every guy on the roster.....but TT did say he'd been tracking the guy the since before the draft so he clearly sees some ability.

[MJZiggy]

I'm not sure if he'll tear up the field or not, but just saw an interview with him and by looking at his face I'd say he might be ready for the HS varsity team. How old is he anyway? Looks about 17.

[SD GB fan]

our school sure cud use him we are 0-6 or something and getting blownout nearly every game

[justanotherpackfan]

our school sure cud use him we are 0-6 or something and getting blownout nearly every game

Are you in high school or college?

[ND72]

do you think TT is kicking himself for releasing Rod Gardner? I would be.

[Bretsky]

do you think TT is kicking himself for releasing Rod Gardner? I would be.

FINALLY somebody said it; I agree ND. Gardner might have been a screw off in camp; but the cut still really surprised me. I'd feel a heck of a lot better if Gardner was lining up as our #2 or #3 now.

[Patler]

do you think TT is kicking himself for releasing Rod Gardner? I would be.

FINALLY somebody said it; I agree ND. Gardner might have been a screw off in camp; but the cut still really surprised me. I'd feel a heck of a lot better if Gardner was lining up as our #2 or #3 now.

Why???

"Green Bay gave Gardner a $100,000 signing bonus to re-sign in March, but in the end the club thought so little of him that they didn't even want him as the No. 5 wide receiver." (JSO 9/3/2006)

"It's a crapshoot after that. Rod Gardner doesn't run real well anymore and hasn't produced. " (JSO 9/2/2006)

""He's showing up, isn't he?" Packer offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said when asked about Martin. "You keep looking up and No. 18 keeps making plays. That's a good thing when you know the guy's number. So he's doing really well. He just needs to show up now when we play in the games, and I think he will."

"I've been impressed with Ruvell since the very start when I first met him and he put together a very dedicated and committed off-season program," wide receivers coach Jimmy Robinson said. "He's been at everything. He's come to stuff he didn't need to come to just because he wants to be here. He's committed to making this team and I think he's had a very, very productive camp."

"Boerigter and Gardner haven't been consistent enough to make their experience a deciding factor. Russell is among the fastest players on the roster and would be a strong practice squad candidate

"With fourth-round pick Cory Rodgers having struggled in training camp and veteran Rod Gardner playing inconsistently, there is definitely an opportunity for Martin to make the Packers' final roster." (JSO 8/24/2006)

[Patler]

Here is the best explaination of why Gardner is gone:

Posted: Aug. 17, 2006

Green Bay - Rod Gardner knows this might be it.

This might be his final chance to prove he's a starting wide receiver in the NFL. It might be his last opportunity to prove the organizations that discarded him were mistaken.

Most important, it might be his last chance to resurrect his fading career.

That's why the play of Gardner has been so maddening through the first few weeks of training camp for the Green Bay Packers.

Gardner has had his moments, such as a leaping, acrobatic catch over Jerron Wishom during a 7-on-7 drill last week. In that same drill, though, Gardner dropped an easy pass on a crossing route.

It seems that each time Gardner makes a play, he blows another. And his performance has left the coaching staff at wits end.

"Inconsistency. He needs to be consistent," Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski said when summing up Gardner's start. "He'll go and make a great play, but he's got to do that every damn time. Understand.

"Consistency. Go play. Go play like a pro. That's what's expected of him. There ain't nothing else to say about it. Play like a pro. Come out here and go to work. Bring your lunch bucket and go."

Much to the Packers' chagrin, that hasn't happened.

Gardner, who caught two passes for 31 yards in Saturday's exhibition opener, missed the start of camp with a hamstring injury. And since returning, he has failed to distinguish himself from many of the other camp bodies.

The competition opposite Donald Driver remains wide open. And Gardner, himself, admits he might be letting a golden opportunity slip away.

"This is it. I got to make it happen right now," he said. "I need to make a move ASAP. And don't worry about it. You will see it. Starting now. I guarantee it. Guarantee it."

Considering Gardner's track record, such guarantees seem somewhat hollow.

He was the 15th overall pick by Washington in 2001 and started 61 of 64 games during his four years there.

Gardner had 1,006 receiving yards in his second season, but his numbers steadily declined from there. Finally last summer, the Redskins had seen enough and sent Gardner to Carolina for a sixth-round draft pick.

Gardner was supposed to give the Panthers a reliable option opposite Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith. But he managed just nine catches in 10 games and was released Dec. 16.

Green Bay signed Gardner three days later and he impressed down the stretch enough for the Packers to sign him to a one-year deal this off-season. Right now, though, Gardner's chances of making the final roster appear no better than 50-50.

"The guy you've seen up until now, that's not me," Gardner said. "It's out of my character. I understand what (Jagodzinski) is saying and I told him, 'Don't worry about it. I'll pick it up.' "

Gardner didn't win himself any points with the coaching staff when he missed several of the Packers' 14 voluntary practices in June. Gardner said he was training at home in Atlanta and dealing with personal issues.

"It would have helped him a lot more if he was here," Jagodzinski said. "I'll tell you that right now. All the guys that were here, it helped."

The Packers are still holding out faint hope that Gardner can help them this fall.

An extremely well-defined 6-foot-2, 215 pounder, Gardner certainly looks the part. While his speed isn't great, he's the big, tall receiver the Packers look for.

"He's still good," Driver said of Gardner. "I mean, Rod's one of these guys that's going to surprise a lot of people."

For that to happen, though, Gardner has to eliminate the lows and give Green Bay far more highs.

Jagodzinski was asked if that's a realistic expectation considering Gardner's first five seasons have been plagued by inconsistency.

"I don't know about six years or whatever," Jagodzinski said. "But I'm expecting it now. Now. I'm not worried about what happened in the past, I ain't got nothing to do with that. What I'm worried about is right now, what he can do for us now, our football team now."

Theoretically, Gardner won't be presented another opportunity quite as sweet as this one.

Rookie Greg Jennings has been one of the stars of camp, but he is still a rookie. Fellow sixth-year man Robert Ferguson has been even more inconsistent than Gardner throughout his career. And the rest of the wide receivers in camp have failed to impress.

Gardner knows a job opposite of Driver is there for the taking. And in his case, it's now or never.

"This is a great opportunity and I know I need to play better," Gardner said. "And I'm going to. You watch. I know I can't let this one slip away."

Not if he wants to save his career.
From the Aug. 17, 2006 editions of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

[mmmdk]

Some stuff on Bodiford (I like what I read; he's no Taco Wallace).

From rotoworld
The Detroit coaching staff reportedly told Bodiford he could be a "superstar" in the league before cutting him in mid-October. Bodiford, who teamed with Aaron Rodgers at Butte Junior College in 2002, will battle fellow undrafted rookie Chris Francies for playing time.

The undrafted rookie made the team over Charles Rogers despite a knee injury going into week 1.

From JS Online
The Lions kept former first-round pick Mike Williams over Bodiford, even though Williams was inactive for the game against Buffalo.

"Mike Martz called me on my cell phone. He's, like, 'This was the last thing we wanted to do. It's a numbers game. We can't release Mike Williams,' " Bodiford said.

Lions would take a HUGE cap hit if they had released Mike Williams.

WELCOME BODIFORD