uffda udfa
11 years ago

Talk of "no speed" regarding Richard Rodgers is laughable in comparing him to Jermichael Finley.

Finley's measured 40 time at the Combine: 4.82
Rodgers' measured 40 time at the Combine: 4.87

Richard Rodgers has far better hands, was touted as an exceptional cut blocker pre-draft, has nearly identical size to Finley, and is a proven route runner.

Have people forgotten Finley's desire to freelance on routes? How many times were he and Aaron Rodgers not on the same page? All the BS with special Saturday night meetings prior to game day...

I agree with you that the staff probably grew very tired of the high drop rates. DD was also on par with Finley for drops.

After seeing Richard Rodgers working on field even in OTAs setting, it is clear that he has the potential to be very, very good. He could easily blow away Finley as a threat to opposing defenses from my own perspective. He won't be a veiled threat either, as he will deliver by being in the right position in a route and finishing plays. Just wait till you see him turn the ball upfield after the catch. Trust me, you'll love it.

Originally Posted by: play2win 



It isn't laughable at all...you're laughing over a .5 second difference when it's already north of 4.8. I had to put that in there because you are comparing their combine times where Finley ran very poorly. see this from bleacherreport.com:

Several athletes have disappointed when running the 40-yard dash, with their on-field speed not showing on the track. Jermichael Finley, one of the NFL's fastest and most dynamic tight ends, ran just a 4.82 at the 2008 combine.

Rodgers runs like a DE not a TE. Let's hope his combine time was similar to Finley's situation but it sure doesn't sound like it. Finley ran high 4.6 in the hand time which I don't trust. Rodgers ran 4.8 and 4.9 during his pro day. Comparing Finley and Rodgers by only using their combine times paints an incomplete and inaccurate picture of their true speed. Plus, it neglects a .5 second differential that pushes close to 4.9 on digital timing. Show me a big time TE who ran 4.9.

The irony is this is Jermichael Finley's hands were touted as "natural" coming out of Texas. He looked anything but natural over the last couple of years in Green Bay. Rodgers gets the same type of love when it comes to hands but his speed is noted as "pedestrian" and "average". I know some have already gone on record as saying Rodgers is better than Finley but the guy can't run.

I'm hopeful Rodgers is, at least, a little faster than how he timed because when you run 4.9 at a pro day there is no other thing to say about it other than it's brutal. Chris Borland could keep up with this guy.



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Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."


StarrMax1
11 years ago

It isn't laughable at all...you're laughing over a .5 second difference when it's already north of 4.8. I had to put that in there because you are comparing their combine times where Finley ran very poorly. see this from bleacherreport.com:

Several athletes have disappointed when running the 40-yard dash, with their on-field speed not showing on the track. Jermichael Finley, one of the NFL's fastest and most dynamic tight ends, ran just a 4.82 at the 2008 combine.

Rodgers runs like a DE not a TE. Let's hope his combine time was similar to Finley's situation but it sure doesn't sound like it. Finley ran high 4.6 in the hand time which I don't trust. Rodgers ran 4.8 and 4.9 during his pro day. Comparing Finley and Rodgers by only using their combine times paints an incomplete and inaccurate picture of their true speed. Plus, it neglects a .5 second differential that pushes close to 4.9 on digital timing. Show me a big time TE who ran 4.9.

The irony is this is Jermichael Finley's hands were touted as "natural" coming out of Texas. He looked anything but natural over the last couple of years in Green Bay. Rodgers gets the same type of love when it comes to hands but his speed is noted as "pedestrian" and "average". I know some have already gone on record as saying Rodgers is better than Finley but the guy can't run.

I'm hopeful Rodgers is, at least, a little faster than how he timed because when you run 4.9 at a pro day there is no other thing to say about it other than it's brutal. Chris Borland could keep up with this guy.



Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 



The difference between 4.82 and 4.87 is not .5, it is .05.

.5 is 1/2 second, .05 is 5 one-hundreths of a second.

Now that is a big differenence.

These combines gets these players drafted, there is a huge difference in combine speed and football speed.

I'm just gonna let this thing play out.

Bottom line the guys that succeed are just plain "Football Players".
Their talent will show up when the pads go on.

+1
uffda udfa
11 years ago
Thank you for the decimal correction... not sure what I was thinking there.

I would agree that there is a difference between football speed and timed speed but when a guy like Rodgers holds a pro day to improve on his poor 40 time and runs one that nets him 4.94...that is freaking terrible. It was interesting trying to track down Rodgers pro day 40 time. It was so bad the Cal articles didn't even mention his number, they just focused on how great he looked running routes and catching the football. When I was finally able to track down the numbers I saw exactly why those articles didn't mention his 40 time. It was so awful you didn't want that mentioned. So, not only did Richard Rodgers run poorly at the combine he ran poorly at his pro day which is typically where your 40 time drops by a few tenths. His did not. His later round grade by some draftniks was warranted based on speed alone despite what our QB Rodgers has stated about him. Khyri Thornton is close to being able to take him in a footrace.


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Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."


nerdmann
11 years ago
Finley may haved timed that well at the combine, but he doesn't have that same "freak" athleticism anymore, and hasn't for at least two years.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
steveishere
11 years ago
Lol who cares if he looks good at actual football lets worry about what he timed running in a straight line. 40 yard dash times are really extremely overrated. Any time I've actually watched him play I never got the impression he looked slow so I don't really care if he ran a 6.0 40 yards dash. His success or failure as a TE is going to come if he can learn to run smooth routes, have soft hands, and block not whether he could have gotten another .1 second on his 40 yard dash time in shorts and a t-shirt.
uffda udfa
11 years ago

Lol who cares if he looks good at actual football lets worry about what he timed running in a straight line. 40 yard dash times are really extremely overrated. Any time I've actually watched him play I never got the impression he looked slow so I don't really care if he ran a 6.0 40 yards dash. His success or failure as a TE is going to come if he can learn to run smooth routes, have soft hands, and block not whether he could have gotten another .1 second on his 40 yard dash time in shorts and a t-shirt.

Originally Posted by: steveishere 



I'm not sure why you mock a person's 40 time? Yes, there are examples of guys in the NFL who have proven to be excellent players despite a poor 40 time. However, when it comes to drafting a player 40 time is VERY important. It is one of the main variables scouts look at.

If he ran 4.7 then i wouldn't be so worried even though 4.7 isn't fast... he ran 4.94 at his pro day for one of his times. You can't tell me that isn't a reason for concern, or are you? You did say you didn't care if he ran 6.0, so I guess you really don't think it matters. I will completely disagree with you on that. One bad 40 time...not a problem...3 bad 40's...that's a bad trend unless he was injured.

Jarrett Boykin ran 4.74... horrible for a WR. I did find where he ran 4.57 and 4.62. Where was Boykin drafted? Right, he wasn't. Why? He couldn't run. Rodgers isn't really dissimilar and why he was a shocker as a 3rd rounder. Poor speed.



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Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."


nerdmann
11 years ago

I'm not sure why you mock a person's 40 time? Yes, there are examples of guys in the NFL who have proven to be excellent players despite a poor 40 time. However, when it comes to drafting a player 40 time is VERY important. It is one of the main variables scouts look at.

If he ran 4.7 then i wouldn't be so worried even though 4.7 isn't fast... he ran 4.94 at his pro day for one of his times. You can't tell me that isn't a reason for concern, or are you? You did say you didn't care if he ran 6.0, so I guess you really don't think it matters. I will completely disagree with you on that. One bad 40 time...not a problem...3 bad 40's...that's a bad trend unless he was injured.

Jarrett Boykin ran 4.74... horrible for a WR. I did find where he ran 4.57 and 4.62. Where was Boykin drafted? Right, he wasn't. Why? He couldn't run. Rodgers isn't really dissimilar and why he was a shocker as a 3rd rounder. Poor speed.

Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 



Poor speed for a WR.

TEs are bigger dudes. They're not expected to be quite a fast as the smaller guys.
“Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don't do things right once in a while…you do them right all the time.”
play2win
11 years ago

I'm not sure why you mock a person's 40 time? Yes, there are examples of guys in the NFL who have proven to be excellent players despite a poor 40 time. However, when it comes to drafting a player 40 time is VERY important. It is one of the main variables scouts look at.

If he ran 4.7 then i wouldn't be so worried even though 4.7 isn't fast... he ran 4.94 at his pro day for one of his times. You can't tell me that isn't a reason for concern, or are you? You did say you didn't care if he ran 6.0, so I guess you really don't think it matters. I will completely disagree with you on that. One bad 40 time...not a problem...3 bad 40's...that's a bad trend unless he was injured.

Jarrett Boykin ran 4.74... horrible for a WR. I did find where he ran 4.57 and 4.62. Where was Boykin drafted? Right, he wasn't. Why? He couldn't run. Rodgers isn't really dissimilar and why he was a shocker as a 3rd rounder. Poor speed.



Originally Posted by: uffda udfa 



And you decide to use Boykin as an example to try to support your argument?

Gee. I guess he sucks at the NFL level. Wow.

Never mind Richard Rodgers ran his 40 weighing a good 25lbs more than Finley...

uffda udfa
11 years ago

And you decide to use Boykin as an example to try to support your argument?

Gee. I guess he sucks at the NFL level. Wow.

Never mind Richard Rodgers ran his 40 weighing a good 25lbs more than Finley...

Originally Posted by: play2win 



Yes, I used Boykin as an example on the other side of things...however, anyone who watches Bokyin knows he has poor speed. Plus, his example is germane in that he was a prolific WR in college for Va Tech but was NOT drafted. Why?... poor speed. Don't you understand that? The point is he was undrafted because he couldn't run.

Rodgers was a reach based on speed. A TE who runs 4.8/4.9 like he did doesn't get taken in the 3rd round.

Gimme Lyerla... Ran 4.61 digitally.

Rodgers may be able to use his size but he won't be a guy getting a lot of separation with his speed.

Someone post up a star TE who ran 4.8+ and didn't run any better at his pro day. Best of luck.

His speed is comparable to Heath Miller (4.79) without the blocking ability. He is nowhere near the same league, speed wise, as guys like Graham, Davis, Cameron, Julius Thomas, Jordan Reed, Lyerla, Ebron, etc.

If he can be a solid contributor like a Heath Miller that would be fantastic. Heath Miller was a former 1st rounder who had/has a nice career with Big Ben. Miller doesn't create mismatches or change games but is nice TE. I would guess that's Rodgers ceiling.


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Ted Thompson sits on his hands per former GM: "because they’ve had 25 fricking years of great quarterbacks. Of course it works. Try it without a special quarterback."


play2win
11 years ago
Fixating again on 40 times seems foolish when his official 40 was only .05 seconds off of Finley's.

Will Rodgers (no pun) alter defenses like Finley. I doubt it. No speed.



You clearly are calling Finley the standard, and negating Rodgers over what exactly?

.05 seconds...

That's crazy.

You know what? I think it is a little early to be saying with any degree of certainty how good or bad these guys are going to be in the NFL.

Rodgers could stand to add some strength up top to help him as a blocker. That is readily apparent, and we really haven't seen him block yet.

Lyerla hasn't really been involved steadily in the game of football since 2012.

But, both players look promising. Rodgers for his sure hands (hasn't dropped a ball through 2 OTAs sessions) and Lyerla for his raw physical traits and what look to be very natural abilities at the position.

We all know most rookies need about a year or more to fully develop physically to the NFL level of play.

From the looks of things very early on, I believe both players could prove to be better talents than Jermichael Finley, and that is only an opinion after seeing two live practices. For what that is worth. I believe we have reason to be encouraged with both players moving forward.
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