Thursday Camp report from our pal CLIFF!

tromadz

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Cliffy rules! or not....here it is. u have been warned! CLIFF WARNING!@ :

Camp Report, Aug. 17
THUMBS UP

As a free agent twice over, wide receiver Ruvell Martin finds himself in the same position as a challenger in a heavyweight championship fight. To make the Packers’ final roster, he’ll probably need to score a clear-cut victory over his competition, which includes Rod Gardner, a former No. 1 draft pick; rookie Cory Rodgers, a fourth-round choice; and Marc Boerigter, an unrestricted free agent who received a $90,000 signing bonus.

The Packers typically have kept five wide receivers, but coach Mike McCarthy said that he’d like to keep six. Donald Driver and Greg Jennings are locks, and Robert Ferguson figures to make it, although he has had a quiet camp. He has just 12 catches in 11-on-11 sessions, although he appeared to have one of his best practices Thursday night. If Ferguson is safe that leaves two or three spots.

Based on 24 practices, Martin, who entered the league as a free agent out of Grand Valley State and joined the Packers as a street free agent, seems to be on his way to scoring that clear-cut victory that he needs. In team sessions, he has 28 catches, more than any other wide receiver.

On Thursday morning, Martin stood out again in a two-minute drill, scoring a 55-yard touchdown on a Hail Mary pass from rookie quarterback Ingle Martin. He also caught a short jump ball for a touchdown Thursday night.

The knock on Ruvell Martin has been that he lacks speed. The last time he was clocked on FieldTurf, he ran a 4.58 40-yard dash. But he appears to play as fast as Gardner and faster than Boerigter and he has outperformed both. Rodgers has been hard to even find in team drills. He has only six catches and only three more in seven-on-seven periods.

THUMBS DOWN

The Packers would like it if Tra Boger, a rookie free agent safety from Tulane, was a step faster. But he has the size, the athletic ability, the ball skills and enough toughness to make the cut, especially if the Packers keep four safeties. Then again, Boger has been maddeningly inconsistent.

The two-minute drill Thursday morning was another case in point. He made a nice play to break up a pass over the middle to rookie wide receiver Chris Francies and came from across the field to provide late help on a deep ball to tight end Tory Humphrey that fell incomplete. But it also was Boger, who allowed Ruvell Martin to leap above him to catch the Hail Mary.
 

Greg C.

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I told you Ruvell Martin was a player to watch. Didn't I? Didn't I? Yes, I did. Thank you very much. It's good to be appreciated.

Seriously, he hasn't made it yet, but I have seen quite a lot of him in training camp footage on the nightly news. I'm surprised to hear that the knock on him is a lack of speed, because he's always catching deep balls. Maybe he has Antonio Freeman speed, a.k.a. football speed.
 

DePack

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Greg C. said:
I told you Ruvell Martin was a player to watch. Didn't I? Didn't I? Yes, I did. Thank you very much. It's good to be appreciated.

Seriously, he hasn't made it yet, but I have seen quite a lot of him in training camp footage on the nightly news. I'm surprised to hear that the knock on him is a lack of speed, because he's always catching deep balls. Maybe he has Antonio Freeman speed, a.k.a. football speed.

Congrats. He better have the team made because if he can't beat out Gardner or Borighter he must have a broken leg.
 

Greg C.

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Gardner made a couple of nice catches in the game at San Diego. There is still hope for him. I think he will be #4 and Ruvell Martin will be #5, unless Cory Rodgers learns how to catch punts.
 

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