Anyone else surprised that WR Gardner made it through the changes in the off-season

[DPHoo]

I am surprised. I guess Gibbs see something that I have not in the last couple of years. Perhaps he sees a Monk type WR but Art caught every pass thrown his way - Gardner drops too many. Perhaps he was kept to throw passes at the WR spot - to which he excels.

[BandWagon]

Quasi not surprised. I think with a lot of these guys there was too much upside potential to ditch the guy and not enough personal experience to show him the door. I suspect we may see, and Gibbs may be hoping, that Gardner thrives in this offensive system.

[akhhorus]

the question should be: Will Gardner make it as a starter after training camp & pre-season.

[leave_scars]

I agree will he still be a Redskin when the season start's ?

[dj_stouty]

Since the '04 NFL draft was so heavy in WRs, Gardner woudn't have been worth much to many teams, so I exepct the Redskins to hang on to him and trade him next year, when his salary increases 40%, and he will be in a contract year.

Lets just hope he gets all the "drops" out of him during the mini-camps.

[JoeDaSchmoe]

I'm surprised he's still here. I honestly expected him to be dealt to San Francisco, Baltimore, or San Diego before the draft.

[padraic]

I'm surprised he's still here. I honestly expected him to be dealt to San Francisco, Baltimore, or San Diego before the draft.


Thats what i thought , his value was decressed bye a lot of good wr in the draft class but i thought they might move him. I can only think that :Padawan: the offers for him were not that good so they kept him instead.

[Axegrinder]

He was just a rumor of a predraft trade.The same thing happened to Smoot last year.Maybe it will light a fire under him and this will be his breakout year.
Then again,the roster isn't set.http://www.redskins.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=1600

[IowaSkinsFan]

I am surprised. I guess Gibbs see something that I have not in the last couple of years. Perhaps he sees a Monk type WR but Art caught every pass thrown his way - Gardner drops too many. Perhaps he was kept to throw passes at the WR spot - to which he excels.

I am. I was 99% sure he was going to be moved.

[lsuredskin]

I've been more surprised that so many people are down on him. He is a good wr. Maybe not a star but very good. There have been scores of receivers who don't break out until their 3rd or 4th year in the league. Take into account that most of the time the qb throwing him the ball was doing it from his back, I think we have gotten good production from him. I think Gardner will be a valuable part of our offense this year.

[SkinsKY]

I think it was highly likely he would be moved, but only if the offer was right. As others have said, with the market so deflated, Gardner had virtually no trade value. I think he'll end up hitting the UFA market after this season unless he can prove his worth. He'll probably also want to try and find a team where he can be a #1 again.

[frenchskinsfan]

I'm a bit surprised too. I hope this situation won't affect his will to play for the redskins.

[PennSkinsFan]

I am, and will be even more so, if he is still a Redskins come Week 1. If Jacobs and McCants continue to be as impressive to Gibbs as reported, I just dont see Gardner staying.

[flave1969]

I am not surprised he is here still. Whether he makes it too Week One, I don't know. It is however a fresh start for Rod. Gibbs has shown faith in him so far, and Rod has the tools too be a good possession receiver for us. It has been discussed many times on here already but he does have good No:2 receiver numbers and he has proven more than McCants, Jacobs and Thrash so far, and I stress so far. Also once again he remained a team player this off season, the speculation about his future would have led many an NFL player to whine and moan about how badly treated he has been. Rod did not do that and I think wants to prove those doubters wrong. If he cannot do it in Joe Gibbs system then we can all say he is no good. I beg you not to judge him on the Steve Spurrier era, because it is a wonder how we put up any credible numbers under him.

[REDMAN]

Rod is a solid wr who imo, is better than jacobs or dmc.........but the gap is closing and the wild card in all of this is thrash.

[josh90286]

I am. I was 99% sure he was going to be moved.

Same here...I woulda bet a good amount on it. I didnt think he was goin in the draft like others seem to have thought though. The WR class was too deep. i expected him to be dealt somewhere for some dline help and maybe a pick next year. Shows how much i know hah

[GoDannyBoy]

Why so many WRs? Rod is a big guy that could do very well in Gibbs run based attack. Blocking and catching pass over the middle will be key to Portis getting 1500.

[Keino]

Well count me in the group that is not only not surprised that Gardner is still here, but also of the opinion that he will be a starter on opening day. The guy is talented. I wonder if anyone remembers the amount of Balls the revered Mr. Monk dropped in his first few seasons. Gary Clark used to have his share of drops as well.

The bottomline is that Gibbs is going to put all of our WR's in positions to be successful and it will be on them to make the play. Don't get caught up in thinking that all we will do is pound Portis. Do I need to remind you guys that we had 3 WR's in 91 who eclipsed 75 Catches and 1000 yards and we had an 1100 yard back. Yall need to stop hatin on Rod. We won't part with him until his value is higher anyways.......

[RedskinRyan]

the question should be: Will Gardner make it as a starter after training camp & pre-season.

thats what the real question should be. mccants and jacobs will really push him for the 2nd reciever spot. i would be shocked if they had cut him, im a bit disappointed he wasnt traded. not that i dont like gardner, just that i think mccants is a much stronger reciever with more reliable hands.

[BandWagon]

The bottomline is that Gibbs is going to put all of our WR's in positions to be successful and it will be on them to make the play. Don't get caught up in thinking that all we will do is pound Portis. Do I need to remind you guys that we had 3 WR's in 91 who eclipsed 75 Catches and 1000 yards and we had an 1100 yard back. Yall need to stop hatin on Rod. We won't part with him until his value is higher anyways.......

You hit it right on the head and I would only add that while it may have been a receiver friendly system, the Spurrier system was flawed and I don't think it's entirely fair to judge Rod over the past two years. I wholeheartedly agree with the quote above...let's see what happens in a Gibbs system!

[IowaSkinsFan]

Well count me in the group that is not only not surprised that Gardner is still here, but also of the opinion that he will be a starter on opening day. The guy is talented. I wonder if anyone remembers the amount of Balls the revered Mr. Monk dropped in his first few seasons. Gary Clark used to have his share of drops as well.

The bottomline is that Gibbs is going to put all of our WR's in positions to be successful and it will be on them to make the play. Don't get caught up in thinking that all we will do is pound Portis. Do I need to remind you guys that we had 3 WR's in 91 who eclipsed 75 Catches and 1000 yards and we had an 1100 yard back. Yall need to stop hatin on Rod. We won't part with him until his value is higher anyways.......

That was '89, wasn't it?

[LATrueRedskin]

I'm not surprised at all. Gardner is a fairly young reciever who played for some crappy Redskin teams. He, like many players last year, just gave up hope and stopped giving 100% on the field. He's a very good player with tons of potential. Gibbs probably sees that. Theres nothing wrong with Rod Gardner. We already have one Pro Bowl reciever, and Gardner and DMC are a good pack.

[smoak]

no, i am not surprised. i expect an open competition in camp, and i am looking forward to seeing who come out on top.

[smoak]

You hit it right on the head and I would only add that while it may have been a receiver friendly system, the Spurrier system was flawed and I don't think it's entirely fair to judge Rod over the past two years. I wholeheartedly agree with the quote above...let's see what happens in a Gibbs system!

AMEN!

in rod we trust! (at least until he is beat out for a starting spot by D'Mac.)

[Keino]

That was '89, wasn't it?


Im pretty sure that was the Superbowl year.....Rypien was out of this world and the O-Line was going to set the record for least amount of Sacks given up in a season, but Gibbs benched our players in the last game against Philly...

[Shirts'n'Skins]

I've been more surprised that so many people are down on him. He is a good wr. Maybe not a star but very good. There have been scores of receivers who don't break out until their 3rd or 4th year in the league. Take into account that most of the time the qb throwing him the ball was doing it from his back, I think we have gotten good production from him. I think Gardner will be a valuable part of our offense this year.

I agree totally. I think Gardner's a solid receiver and I hope he gets signed to an extension if he has a decent year. i think he's been made somewhat of a scapegoat for our poor offense the last few years. I know McCants is the fan favorite but I'd much rather have Gardner in the lineup. he's still young and hopefully he'll have a breakout year.

[MDSkins]

the key here is that Gibbs want's tough competition in training camp and rod will certainly compete. Whether he makes it through the entire camp without being traded is a different story because we are really deep at WR.

[garedskin]

Not really,He has produced in the past so it would have been more of a shock if Gibbs had not given him a chance to earn a spot on his team. :Peace:

[badpigs442]

Rod is a solid wr who imo, is better than jacobs or dmc.........but the gap is closing and the wild card in all of this is thrash.

Unfortunately Rod hasn't had to much opportunity to improve. With the young guys making their move it's time for him to fish or cut bait. Thrash is about on par with the young guys, but if they improve then he will be left behind because of their talent.

[HanburgerBum]

Gardner is a decent No. 2 receiver. While it would have been nice to get something (e.g. 2nd or 3rd rounder) for him, it just wasn't in the cards when even Marty in SD did not make a push to acquire him. There is no point in giving him away. He won't slack off this year, since he will be a FA (can't visualize the Redskins using a franchise tag on him) in 2005 and he will be playing to get a fat contract. Also, I wonder if Coach Joe is talking about Gardner when he says that the Redskins are looking at the waiver wire and there is still flexibility to sign new players and to let some players go. In all probability, 2004 will be Rod's last season with us. Let's hope he has a productive year and helps us make the playoffs.

[hockeygoalie29]

I will come out and make the following statement that will probably bring me crap from a lot of people on this board, but:

ROD GARDNER IS A MUCH BETTER RECIEVER THAN MCCANTS!

There, it has been said, Gardner will start the year and the only real competition for the #2 spot will be from Jacobs if he steps up this year, but probably not until next year. McCants is a good reciever, but will shine in the 3rd or 4th posistion, against less talented defenders. Very similar to Thrash who was a good 3rd or 4th guy, but didn't scare anyone as a #1 or #2 reciever. That puts us in a very good position though, with 5 guys who can each come onto the field and make plays, plus Portis and our H-Back (Cooley?). Expect 28+ pts. a game!

[josh90286]

I will come out and make the following statement that will probably bring me crap from a lot of people on this board, but:

ROD GARDNER IS A MUCH BETTER RECIEVER THAN MCCANTS!

There, it has been said, Gardner will start the year and the only real competition for the #2 spot will be from Jacobs if he steps up this year, but probably not until next year. McCants is a good reciever, but will shine in the 3rd or 4th posistion, against less talented defenders. Very similar to Thrash who was a good 3rd or 4th guy, but didn't scare anyone as a #1 or #2 reciever. That puts us in a very good position though, with 5 guys who can each come onto the field and make plays, plus Portis and our H-Back (Cooley?). Expect 28+ pts. a game!

Duh hes better than McCants :D haha Anyone who thinks he isn't is kidding themselves. McCants is an outstanding 3rd receiver, but put him out there against starting corners and his production would drop off. We will keep Gardner for this year and groom Jacobs to move up the ladder and take over as number 2 receiver next season. Hopefully this season with Gardner at the 2 spot will give him the chance to raise his stock enough for us to get a 2nd round pick for him next offseason. We will take that offer in the drop of a hat (it will be nice to go in to a draft wiht extra picks for once) and Jacobs will step in as the 2nd receiver with McCants staying as the 3rd. Thrash will simply be a situational receiver his entire stint here in Washington. His main duties will be on special teams.

[redwolf1218]

injuries are always an intangible element in this game. some team might lose a starter to a catastrophic knee injury in camp, and they might be willing to give up a lot to plug in gardner. he is at least pretty durable. short of a great offer from some team under these circumstances, i hope we just hold onto him and he has a great year.

[Avg Joe]

I'm not surprised at all. I don't know what other folks saw, but Rod does just fine to me. I don't know if folks realize it or not, but he didn't have Montana or Marino throwing it to him. He had a QB who was practically a rookie and who was always on the run. He played in an offense that had no thought of running the ball as a diversion. I'd say under the circumstances, he did just fine. Now I like McCants and all, but it's one thing to catch passes as the 3rd or 4th receiver, but that doesn't mean he's a great receiver or better than Gardner. And Taylor.....come on people, the guy hardly played. We don't know what he's about.

[Keino]

Duh hes better than McCants :D haha Anyone who thinks he isn't is kidding themselves. McCants is an outstanding 3rd receiver, but put him out there against starting corners and his production would drop off. We will keep Gardner for this year and groom Jacobs to move up the ladder and take over as number 2 receiver next season. Hopefully this season with Gardner at the 2 spot will give him the chance to raise his stock enough for us to get a 2nd round pick for him next offseason. We will take that offer in the drop of a hat (it will be nice to go in to a draft wiht extra picks for once) and Jacobs will step in as the 2nd receiver with McCants staying as the 3rd. Thrash will simply be a situational receiver his entire stint here in Washington. His main duties will be on special teams.

Josh:

You, me and a couple of others think that saying Gardner is Better than McCants is a no-brainer, but I noticed you only have 22 posts, so you may not have been around all off-season while many people here (Including some ill-informed admins and Mods) have been saying that Rod is the 3rd 4th and some have even said 5th best WR we have on this team. Plus it seems that DMC has a kinda Cult following around here.....Probably because he did an interview for us last month.

Anyway...welcome to HR, keep posting those correct opinions. :beer:

[RedskinsVision]

who was our QB in his 3 years?

Jeff George for a couple games in 2001, Kent Graham for a game, Tony Banks the rest of the season, Shane Matthews, Danny Wuerfull, Tim Hasselbeck and Patrick who was just getting his feet wet and his arse in mud from the pounding his first 2 years. there's been plenty of threads about Rod so let's just wait and see how he does this year under a real system with a stable QB then talk.

[josh90286]

Josh:

You, me and a couple of others think that saying Gardner is Better than McCants is a no-brainer, but I noticed you only have 22 posts, so you may not have been around all off-season while many people here (Including some ill-informed admins and Mods) have been saying that Rod is the 3rd 4th and some have even said 5th best WR we have on this team. Plus it seems that DMC has a kinda Cult following around here.....Probably because he did an interview for us last month.

Anyway...welcome to HR, keep posting those correct opinions.

Point well taken..I am relatively new, i started coming here about a month or 2 ago. I just signed up long long ago though. I like McCants a whole lot (mainly because i met him last year before the week 3 Giants game and hes really down to earth) but i guess im just more realistic. I have seen there are a lot of followers oh him around most redskins message boards, and hes not the only one. Ohalete has his own kind of cult as well. As does Smoot (im a member j/k :D )....anyway, lets go skins

[colkurtz]

the question should be: Will Gardner make it as a starter after training camp & pre-season.

Exactly, a full competition and evaluation through the minicamps; main camp and pre-season. Then we will see who starts at the Tampa game. This is a very strong WR group - the competition will be very intense. I see Gardner's level of play increasing, as with all the offense.


This will be his make-or-break season for Gardner, IMHO. Personally, I do not think he will be a Redskin in 2005.

Hail!

[redwolf1218]

i think the reason i like mccants better than gardner is because i have seen "flashes" of greatness. i have not really seen that from gardner. i like gardner and i think he is good, i just think darnerian, being from a small school, only 36 catches in college year as a senior, of which a remarkable 18 were TD's, and being taller and faster, has more "upside". i'm anxious to see his continued improvement. gardner started off solid, stayed solid, and is durable, but (and i hope i'm wrong here) he seems to be maxed out on his potential from the get-go.

[PyroGenic]

Danny Wuerfull

i think you mispelled his name there... it's Danny Woeful... i can't believe he has my first name, im ashamed
:doh:

i wouldn't mind trading gardner for burress

[bosshog001]

Rod is a very solid number 2 reciever. It's nice to finally keep someone that is rumored to be cut without getting a chance to prove himself in camp.