Where are they this week?

After Rod Gardner had a good game against the Cowboys with a couple of spectacular grabs, there were a few folks who started threads here saying that Gardner had to stay here and how Gardner was improperly bashed by Skins' fans. I'm too lazy at the moment to go searching for them to bring them up to the top of the board here, but you know who you are...

I tried to say then that it was Gardner's inconsistancy that makes him the target for scorn and that he needed to play like he did against Dallas every week - or at least more than twice a year.

I'm wondering why I'm not seeing any "Rod Gardner for Pro-Bowl" postings here this week. Could it be 3 catches for 19 yards? Or is it the missed blocks in the running game?

Check the vidoetape for the Dallas game and then check the viedotape for the Cleveland game and you'll see why Rod Gardner is not worth the money he will be asking for in his free agent negotiations...

Of course Rod Gardner is going to make the Pro Bowl. Who else is going to carry Ade Jimoh's bags?

Jeez, SC, sometimes I just don't get your posts :D

Gardner only had about 4 balls thrown his way on Sun. It's really not all his fault.You have to look at the plays we where running!
But Rod does remind me a bit of Westbrook. Red hot one week. And Polor cold the next. But it's not like Gardner droped a bunch of cacth able balls !
We need to give Gibbs and the rest of the team a few more weeks. It's really all about next year! Any thing good that we do this year is gravy!

:httr:

As Riggo said, you can't catch what they don't throw. I think they shoulda seen if he had the hot hand again.

I saw very little of the game Sunday so I can't give a solid opinion but how much of this is attributed to the fact that Gardner wasn't getting open to get throws?

Rod had a favorable matchup against whoever was covering him that game. obviously, thats doesnt happen very often. BOTH our receivers have a history of having a hard time getting open (since Coles injury). notice how Ramsey is no longer the only Skin QB who holds the ball too long...they're waiting.

I guess the inconsistency that bothered most of us with Gardner is the drops. THat he didn't muff any easy ones this week is progress, I suppose.

I'd chalk up the drop of production in the Browns game to the anemic offense in general, rather than anything Gardner did. But if he continues to disappear, that demands attention.

My feeling: this is more on Brunell than the Wideouts, but I could be wrong. He's most effective when he mixes it up. Right now, he seems to key in on one guy, and the others don't get looks. Again, my guess is this is something that comes when you get comforatable with an offense.

So I give my new mantra: Patience, grasshoppers. Soon all will be set right in the football cosmos. (It better, or I will be very, very depressed!)

he didn't drop anything at least *shrugs*

Gardner is much better than most people give him credit for. In hindsight was he worth a first rounder? Nope. Has he been a bust? Nope. Any scout in the league will tell you they would trade 30 teams' #2 wideout for Gardner.

He not going to be worth the money he will be asking for, but that's not a good way to determine whether he's a valuable player. Anyone who remembers how he was the only wideout during Spurrier's first year who was able to get open consistently despite being DOUBLE-TEAMED.

Gardner was WIDE open in the end zone and Brunell elected to throw it to Cooley who was well covered. The reason Brunell's holding onto the ball too long sometimes is because Gibbs offense is a game of timing. If you miss that first open receiver or mess the timing up by a bad decision, the whole play is done and the receivers have to improv at that point to try to get open a second time. Thats why you see Brunell sometimes scrambling to try and buy the receivers an extra second or two, not because there not open but because Brunell's not in sync with the receivers. Yes Brunell has to improve but if you put Ramsey in there hell throw a pick trying to force something thats not there on the same play that Brunell throws it out of bounds or after scrambling, throws it to a position that only our receivers can catch the ball. As for Gardner, I think he's a big physical presence that this team needs. Heres how I see our big three receivers compared to the Posse of the past. 1 Rickey Sanders, crazy speed and can get the long bomb and yards after the catch = Laveranues Coles, very similar to Sanders in speed and ability to get open. 2 Gary Clark, Tough and can go over the middle and not be afraid to get hit for that first down, and ofcourse the bomb when needed in the right coverage = Taylor Jacobs, He may not play much but from what Ive seen of him is that he's a tough crafty receiver. 3 The MAN Art Monk, How do I describe this guy? He was a receiver with the best hands I've ever seen, they were like pillows for the football to land on. A guy who when you needed a first down was ALWAYS reliable for it. He may not have had the greatest speed but when he got the football was determined to get extra yards and give that extra effort to make the play that much more special = ???????????????ummmm ok I'll go ahead and say it, Darnerian MCcants, a guy who doesn't have the greatest speed but has great hands and will be reliable when you need him. Oh, I forgot to mention, he's also a Redskin fan. I wish that Gibbs would try these guys out some to see if I'm correct, because that would be awesome for this team. So where does this leave Rod Gardner? He's an extra guy that Gibbs never had before and I think Gibbs is trying to find out just where to put him into this offense. I for one feel good about having Gardner in this offense as an added bonus and in time will be used to his maximum potential for destroying the opposition.