For all the Rod Gardner HATERS!

ANT7088 · Post by **ANT7088** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 3:58 pm

We do not need to draft another WR, I'm SO SICK of hearing that Gardner has bad hands, because he doesn't! He has been in an unfair situation since being drafted, let me explain...

He was drafted in 2001, in that year he had Jeff George , Tony Banks & Kent Graham threw to him! Now, George appeared in 2 games, Banks in 15 & Graham in 2 games, if you do the math, you can figure out that there was some QB flipping back & forth that year! Gardner had 46 catches for 741 yards & 4 TDs, not bad for a rookie!

In 2002 Shane Matthews was the starter going into the season, then we had Danny Weurfful & Patrick Ramsey! Matthews appeared in 8 games, Wuerfful in 7 & Ramsey in 10 games! So if you do the math, there was somes QB flip-flopping this year too! Gardner, despite the situation, had GREAT #s, 71 catches for 1,006 yards & 8 TDs. He also stepped up to be our #1 WR because Westbrook left!

In 2003 we started with the "inexperienced" Patrick Ramsey then we went to a guy who I don't think every started a gaqme before, Tim Hasselbeck. Ramsey appeared in 11, Hasselbeck was in 7, we even had a flip-flop here. Gardner had 59 catches for 600 yards & 5 TDs!

In 2004 we started with Mark Brunell & finally switched to Ramsey. Brunell appeared in 9 games, Ramsey in 6. Gardner has so far 50 catches for 641 yards & 5 TDs with 1 game to go!

Now if you add that up, that's 8 different QBs (and that doesn't include all the flip-flopping, because then it's like 20 different QBs)! Everytime he got adjusted to a QB, they wound up getting switched, switched again & again & again (get my point????) How can anyone put up good #s being in that situation?????? He DID! How can he not have dropped balls when all this is going on????? EVERY QB throws the ball at a different speed, velocity, angle & sometimes all that with the other hand.

If someone can show me another WR in NFL history that has been in a situation like Gardner has & still put up decent #s plaese tell me, he'll be my new hero!

If we trade Gardner it will be a huge mistake, he needs chemistry with a QB like Manning & Harrison have!

patjam77 · Post by **patjam77** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:16 pm

i find it admirable you trying to defend mr. butterfingers but the guy just will never cut it. he is not reliable. he is mr. inconsistant. he has been given a fair shake. he needs to go.

BringThePain! · Post by **BringThePain!** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:21 pm

Gardner who? The only WR I know of are Coles, 50/50, Thrash, McCants, & Jacobs.... you've baffled me with the Gardner character...

air_hog · Post by **air_hog** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:31 pm

thank you, ive been saying that forever

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:37 pm

gardner couldn't catch a cold. i don't give a damn if he had a new starting qb every single game, as a WR if the damn ball hits you in the fargin hands, you are supposed to catch it.

i thought you were supposed to "look' the ball into your hands.... well what the hell is rod looking at here, maybe the fans in section 400?

what a waste of a #1 pick. we probably couldn't even trade that bum for a 7th rounder right now.

jdmills23 · Post by **jdmills23** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 4:55 pm

I think that under gibbs he will learn to concentrate better. He hasn't been consistent, but he has shown a little more this season.

redskincity · Post by **redskincity** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:05 pm

Gardner is as good as it gets for him.

patjam77 · Post by **patjam77** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:06 pm

BringThePain! wrote:Gardner who? The only WR I know of are Coles, 50/50, Thrash, McCants, & Jacobs.... you've baffled me with the Gardner character...

50/50?? holy crap that's such a perfect name for him.

SkinzCanes · Post by **SkinzCanes** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:10 pm

Gardner who? The only WR I know of are Coles, 50/50, Thrash, McCants, & Jacobs.... you've baffled me with the Gardner character...

That's hilarious

BringThePain! · Post by **BringThePain!** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:11 pm

patjam77 wrote:
BringThePain! wrote:Gardner who? The only WR I know of are Coles, 50/50, Thrash, McCants, & Jacobs.... you've baffled me with the Gardner character...

50/50?? holy crap that's such a perfect name for him.

unfortunately.. I didn't come up with it... Bruce Smith, I believe, beat me to the punch...

SkinzCanes · Post by **SkinzCanes** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:16 pm

I don't know if this article has been posted here before but I found it on Si.com

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Rod Gardner stood in the Washington Redskins parking lot with his hands in the air, one raised just above the other.

"It hit off this hand,'' he said. "And I couldn't get the other hand on it.''The play in Gardner's mind was a deep pass in the first half of Sunday's loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a play that stuck with him for good reason: Had that catchable ball been caught, it would have been an extraordinary event for a team that hasn't completed a big gainer in seven weeks.

"It's rough,'' Gardner said. "Because I might not get anything but one or two opportunities, so when the play is called, you put much more pressure on yourself.''

The struggles of quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Patrick Ramsey have had a residual effect on the receiving corps of NFL's lowest scoring team. Laveranues Coles, playing with a bad toe and sore finger, leads the team with a modest 57 catches though 11 games.

Gardner, meanwhile, has fallen off the charts. The fourth-year receiver has just 33 receptions on the season, and 10 of those came against Dallas in Week 3. He was held without a catch for the first time in his career four weeks ago against Detroit and has just seven catches in the three games since.

Just four passes were thrown his way in the 16-7 loss at Pittsburgh, all in the first half. He made only one catch for 11 yards, while he had a drop in addition to the long pass that hit his hand.

Gardner has a history of dropping the easy ones. Teammates once nicknamed him "50-50'' to reflect the odds that he'd come down with any given throw. His several drops this season have been magnified because the offense is playing so poorly, making him feel even more pressured each time he gets a chance.

"You see the best receivers drop a pass, they walk back to the huddle smiling because they know darn well in the next two series they're going to get another five thrown at them,'' Gardner said. "But we're struggling, so everything -- dropping a ball, throwing a bad ball -- gets escalated.''

The Redskins' longest completion in the last seven games was 27 yards to Darnerien McCants against Cincinnati. Gardner's longest in that stretch is 18 yards.

Coach Joe Gibbs does not believe in criticizing a player in public, instead offering only praise, so it's not surprising he's had little to say this season about Gardner. It's worth noting that when blame was heaped on Brunell for the offense's early season struggles, the coach always responded by saying part of the problem lay with receivers running incorrect routes or dropping passes.

"It's tough when you're not getting hooked up, period,'' Gibbs said when asked this week about Gardner. "We'd like for all of us to be having great years. We really haven't been getting it done as a group.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:19 pm

Count me in Ant. I think that he'll be here next year. From what we have seen there have been a number of plays for him and I think that he's staying!

Maybe the offseason will be good for our receiving corps. They will all get to work with Patrick for a few months or at least those that are going to be "involved" next year will.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 5:27 pm

I agree that we don't need another WR.

I agree that his 50/50 name should carryover to next season.

Redskins Rule · Post by **Redskins Rule** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:04 pm

I'm all for keeping Gardner for two reasons. For one reason, I bought his jersey (It was during his second year). For the second reason, This team needs continuity and chemistry more then it needs a stud wide out fresh out of college.

SkinzCanes · Post by **SkinzCanes** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 6:23 pm

I'm all for continuity but we shouldn't keep guys around for that purpose alone if they don't perform on the field. If you're nicknamed 50/50 by your teammates that says it all.

Skinsfan55 · Post by **Skinsfan55** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 7:44 pm

Rod Gardner is a very talented WR, he'd be a #1 on a lot of teams. He's big, physical and strong. Sure, he drops a few, but what WR doesn't?

I don't think it's Gardner that's the problem on offense.

Gibbs4Life · Post by **Gibbs4Life** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 7:54 pm

50/50 is too generous. This off-season get rid of all underachievers.

Jeremy81 · Post by **Jeremy81** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 10:47 pm

when the ball hits your hands, you catch it...period. randy moss didn't have a problem to adjusting to brad johnson, gus ferotte, randall cunningham, and daunte cullpepper. he's always put up good numbers. T.O.(as much as i hate him) always put up good numbers with steve young, jeff garcia, tim rattay, and donovan. i know torrey holt or issac bruce didn't complain whether it was trent green, kurt warner, jamie martin, or marc bulger throwing to them....gardner has no excuse for dropping the passes he does...

Redskin006 · Post by **Redskin006** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 2:19 am

although i hate to admit it, gardner should and probably will stay with the skins. he has some incredible catches this year, but he also has dropped some very easy catches. give him a little more time and he will be a stud receiver.

Chris Luva Luva · Post by **Chris Luva Luva** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 2:23 am

The only reason Im for keeping him is that we have BIGGER needs than him. He is sufficient enough for us to keep for another year or two.

When we have the money to shop around for WR than lets see what we can do.

SkinzCanes · Post by **SkinzCanes** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 3:04 am

Rod Gardner is a very talented WR, he'd be a #1 on a lot of teams

You must be joking

milkbone · Post by **milkbone** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 4:31 am

Gardner is more physical off the start than Coles or Jacobs, we need to keep him or he'll come back to haunt us on another team.

die cowboys die · Post by **die cowboys die** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 5:06 am

gardner clearly has a lot of talent, he makes some amazing catches. but there is no denying that he's incredibly inconsistent.

i think that we simply don't need him. coles, jacobs, thrash, mccants, those 4 should make for an elite group of WRs.

now, i don't think we should cut him though. we should dangle him as trade bait. if we can get something good, trade him. if not, keep him.

the bottom line is that we need help in other areas a lot more than we need him to stay at WR. but if we can't get any extra help by trading him, he's worth keeping around (as long as we don't overpay him).

BossHog · Post by **BossHog** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 9:25 am

I love all of this talk about Gardner being 'good' and being a #1 receiver elsewhere... he doesn't even stand out in Washington where we have one of the worst offenses in the league in 2004.

Just some numbers for the discussion:

Next year he is slated to cost 2.5M against the cap. We can cut him after June 1st for a minimal cap hit of 500K each year if we can't get ANYTHING for him.

I think we'd pull the trigger in a NY minute on anything more than a 3rd round pick. I think if we could get a #2 to replenish the one we lost for taking Cool

ey in 2004, the brass would have a hard time concealing their joy.

We have Jacobs and McCants basically in reserve... not only can we afford to lose Gardner... but we might be a BETTER team for it... and that's WITHOUT any compensation.

All he's proved while he's been here is that while he may have a large upside, his head CONSTANTLY gets in the way of him living up to it.

hailskins666 · Post by **hailskins666** » Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:20 am

gardner = mike westbroke #2.