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Packer WR's at mini camp


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Jobs up for grabs

 

Pack of wide receivers in running for roster spots with Green Bay

 

By LORI NICKEL

lnickel@journalsentinel.com

 

Posted: May 19, 2006

 

Green Bay - There were so many new faces wearing Green Bay Packers uniforms on the Clarke Hinkle practice field on Friday, trying to keep track of them all was dizzying at times. With practice that was sloppy in the morning before turning somewhat cleaner in the afternoon, it was also hard not to ask, what's the point, anyway? When cuts will eventually eliminate almost half of these people?

 

Well, for the wide receivers group in particular, it's moments like these - raw, rough May minicamps - that could begin to separate the front-runners from the training camp bodies. And what's at stake are the fourth and fifth wide receiver spots.

 

Donald Driver is the No. 1 receiver. Assuming for the moment that the second and third spots belong exclusively to Robert Ferguson and Rod Gardner, the Packers need to fill out the unit with two more people.

 

Second-round draft pick Greg Jennings and fourth-round pick Cory Rodgers are automatic leading candidates, even as rookies, because of their obvious talent and potential contributions as kickoff and punt returners.

 

But then practice squad veteran Ruvell Martin, nicknamed "Gumby" for his nearly 6-foot-5 frame, went out and had a day like Friday, when he plucked everything out of the sky from Aaron Rodgers. Free agent Marc Boerigter made a few grabs as well, including a deep ball down the right sideline over Mike Hawkins.

 

By the time NFL Europe players Chad Lucas and Vince Butler join Leo Bookman, Chris Francies and Calvin Russell in June for the organized team activities, it could be one of the most competitive positions on the team.

 

And so with Gardner gone Friday - one receiver said he was expected in the afternoon practice, but he didn't show - everyone tried to take advantage of the extra repetitions and rare, undivided attention of the coaches.

 

The Packers have a lot of people to evaluate, and some decisions to make. Do they find a tall body for the jump balls? A reliable safety net who doesn't drop passes? Or do they opt for speed to go for a deep ball and stretch the defense? Or a smaller, fast receiver who can find the seams and get open in the middle of zone defenses?

 

For Rodgers, the backup quarterback who assumed much of the work Friday with Brett Favre excused, a good fourth receiver doesn't have to know everything already.

 

"The fourth receiver could be a guy who's got a real big up side," Rodgers said. "Maybe someone who is kind of raw but a big up side in getting through the seams, making plays down the field. Somebody who is more of a super athletic guy instead of maybe a route runner."

 

Those characteristics immediately bring to mind Jennings, the rookie out of Western Michigan. He's not big, listed at 5-11 and 197 pounds, though he says he is actually taller than the 6-0 Driver and can vertical jump 37 inches. But in the afternoon practice, he took a pass from Rodgers just over the top of the linebackers at midfield and spun and twirled around would-be tacklers in the way a running back would. He could be a slot receiver who has the potential to rack up yards after the catch.

 

"But the most impressive thing about him is he's fast, but a lot of times fast guys aren't very quick out of their break," Rodgers said. "He's extremely quick out of his breaks. The first time I saw him on a route, he looked like a veteran, as far as getting out of his break, not telegraphing routes or anything."

 

Coach Mike McCarthy said in both the first minicamp two weeks ago and this one, he has introduced only the basics of a West Coast offense: slants and hooks and go routes.

 

"I am comfortable with the playbook, I don't have to keep looking at the thing to see what I have," Jennings said. "As far as routes, I haven't had any mistakes. I am still learning the blocking; I may stay on the corner instead of going down and getting the safety. But as long as you (block) a man, that's what they want."

 

Jennings, who is the 11th player in NCAA history to gain more 1,000 yards receiving in three different seasons, also wants a shot as a returner. The Packers won't practice that as a team until June.

 

Cory Rodgers is a kick returner as well, as it was his specialty in college. The 6-0 rookie out of Texas Christian didn't stand out with as many impressive catches Friday as Martin or Boerigter, but there are still three practices left in this camp alone.

 

With the Packers investing as much in those two higher picks, they are the players to beat. And although it's early, Martin gave the coaches something to consider.

 

He has an advantage over the rookies because he was on the practice squad in 2005 and worked with Aaron Rodgers on the scout team. And he has been here since March 20 working with the new staff. He is at a disadvantage, though, because he is an undrafted free agent out of Saginaw Valley State.

 

"This is a good time for me," Martin said. "They haven't told me anything. It's more, like, 'wait and see.' So this is an opportunity.

 

"I think they look for different body types. I think they want a little bit all across the board. I think I'm a little different than what they drafted. They've got a kick returner (in Cory Rodgers), they've got a solid wideout, more like a Driver type receiver (in Jennings), and they've got me, 6-4, can jump pretty good."

 

The Packers are hoping that out of the bunch, clear fourth and fifth receivers emerge.

 

"We've got big guys, Boerigter, Gardner. 'Fergie' and Driver are both solid," Aaron Rodgers said. "It'll be real competition once we get to camp, I'll tell you that."

 

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=425574

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■ EX-JAYHAWK IMPRESSES PACKERS: Former Kansas athlete Leo Bookman has made an early impression as a free-agent wide receiver in the Green Bay Packers’ offseason program. Bookman, a three-time NCAA 200-meter champion, hasn’t played football since 2002 at Kansas.

 

In March, Bookman, who is 6 feet 2 and 213 pounds, broke the unofficial 40-yard dash record inside the Packers’ Hutson Center. His first set of 40s was timed in 4.22, 4.24 and 4.25, and his second was 4.19, 4.21 and 4.22. A few days later, Bookman said he ran 4.26 on grass for the Chiefs.

 

“He’s still learning the game, but he’s a nice-sized kid, looks like he catches the ball pretty good and can run like the wind,” Packers general manager Ted Thompson said.

Wow, the Packers are digging deep in efforts to fix their busted WR corps.

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