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Rodgers father was quoted in a McGinn article with the following, referring to his son... "He just has to find his happy medium in terms of his weight. He played this year between 270 and 275. Probably 260, 265 would be a good weight for him."  I know at Cal he played wide out some & weighed 245 in his last year there. Weighed 257 at the combine. Is it my imagination, or does he look much better at 245, (realizing that they want him heavier to block,)http://www.patriots.com/video/...ard-rodgers-te-calif 

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The packers need speed in the middle of the field. Finley could block for sh*t either, but he was a weapon. When Perillo outshines you as a receiver, maybe you need to get trimmed up and be a weapon. Screw the coaches if they're the ones telling you to get that heavy- trim up and get your speed and burst back. 

I hope players being overweight this past year wasn't a common thread through the team.
Seriously, do the position coaches, respective coordinators, MM, training staff, and how many others not see (what should be) obvious weight issues? 
Or is it players being undisciplined, possibly ignoring what coaches or trainers may be telling them, or just going rogue with a f-it attitude?

It just baffles me how they could let Lacy get to the point he did. They knew he had a propensity to put on weight. You would have thought this would have been a huge concern when drafting him & they would have put a plan in place to keep his weight in check. Of course perhaps they did, but do not have the ability to punish him for not making weight. Very tough call. Some video from practice was posted during the season of the RBs running the ropes. Even at 30 pounds over weight Lacy had better feet than Starks. Perhaps with collective bargaining now they can not put incentives into rookie contracts? 

FLPACKER posted:

It just baffles me how they could let Lacy get to the point he did. They knew he had a propensity to put on weight. You would have thought this would have been a huge concern when drafting him & they would have put a plan in place to keep his weight in check. Of course perhaps they did, but do not have the ability to punish him for not making weight. Very tough call. Some video from practice was posted during the season of the RBs running the ropes. Even at 30 pounds over weight Lacy had better feet than Starks. Perhaps with collective bargaining now they can not put incentives into rookie contracts? 

Yeah, they had to know when he was at Alabama that they had him on a diet/weight control plan.

 

2014 draftees with 2015 stats (catches - yards - average per catch - touchdowns)

1-10 Eric Ebron - 14 games, 47 - 537 - 11.4 - 5

2-38 Austin Seferian-Jenkins - 7 games, 21 - 338 - 16.1 - 4

2-49 Jace Amaro - DNP, injured

2-52 Troy Niklas - 16 games, 4 - 33 - 8.3 - 2

3-65 C.J. Fiedorowicz - 16 games, 17 - 167 - 9.8 - 1

3-98 Richard Rodgers - 16 games, 58 - 510 - 8.8 - 8

3-99 Crockett Gillmore - 10 games, 33 - 412 - 12.5 - 4

5-155 Arthur Lynch - DNP, on Broncos practice squad for most of the year

7-217 Ted Bolser - DNP, retired, injury

7-230 Rob Blanchflower - DNP, waived then put on injured reserve

From a very simple productivity in the passing game view, Rodgers has held up his end of the bargain considering he was a late third round pick.

This guy was a hybrid wide receiver/tight end coming out of college that figured to be a solid pass-catcher.  But nobody ever expected him to be either a Vernon Davis type difference maker or a top blocking tight end.  It's like the coaching staff got him, discovered he wasn't very fast and decided to try to make him into a combo blocking/short passing game type of tight end.  Getting him back down into the 255 range isn't going to make him a top pass-catching threat, but it probably does make him more effective in the passing offense.  Packing more weight on this guy in an attempt to make him a better blocker is a complete waste.  

Draft consensus coming out was he was limited due to his athleticism and the projection was round 5-6. Packer organization had a different view and they were wrong. Need to do better than that in the third.

What he said.  Rodgers isn't the burner but scouting talked how sure handed he was in the passing game.  Considering the past season he was one of the few that could actually hang onto the ball.  

Does he need to get leaner? Sure, because being beefed up didn't seem to improve his blocking and we all saw the Bubba impersonation.  He's meant to be a Steady Eddie.

Another classic blunder by ROTTT.   Clearly, the guy they should have taken was Devonta Freeman.  The Atlanta Falcons grabbed him just 5 picks later.  I'm so angry!!!  Come see me in 2018 and I'll let you know who they should have picked in this year's 3rd round.

Last edited by Vincent Vega

Great way to frame it, PackerJoe. Among all TE, he was #12 in Catches, #5 in TD.

Production not as concerning as the eye test, but the problem at TE is being a bit overblown. Still fair to think a TE with a tick more speed or ability to break a tackle probably doubles the Yardage total.

michiganjoe posted:

He is what he is and upgrading the TE position has to be a high priority.

Agreed. Have him lose about 10 pounds and play him as a possession receiver at TE and he could be really good.

He's a good 2nd TE. Slow with good hands and assignment sure.

Designing plays where they expected him to catch short passes and break tackles and outrun safeties to gain significant YAC for first downs was the mistake. 

To me, the biggest problem Rodgers had was in breaking tackles. He should have been able to brush off many of his defenders for extra yardage, but he seldom did. As for his ability to catch the ball, I think he was one of Aaron's better targets. As for speed, on the Hail Mary, he was the last guy to get into the end zone. That was either the way the play was drawn up or it was simply Rodgers being Rodgers. 

Interesting tidbit from SI's offseason preview that I never considered:

"Richard Rodgers caught 58 passes and scored eight times this past season. He also averaged an underwhelming 8.8 yards per catch—67th among all TEs with a reception. Take out his Hail Mary catch and that clip drops a full yard."

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/02/...ft-free-agency-needs

I defended Rogers awhile back in a Finley thread...but I agree he is not the running threat you would like with the ball. He would be a great number 2 tight end--not unlike Ed West. Steady and a decent blocker. I think  a more athletic tight end is in our near future.

DH13 posted:

Those are revealing stats, PJ.  I was hoping for sefarian-Jenkins and many were dreaming of Ebron.  They're clearly better athletes but they're not blowing anybody away so far.

Sefarian-Jenkins was looking good with a rookie QB, but was hurt early and played fewer snaps upon his return as they eased him back in. 

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