Ben Gardner - surprise DE?

[Idgit]

He's my alpha pet cat. He runs the stable of cats that are in my little kennel. While others get Meow Mix, I'm keeping Gardner fed on Fancy Feast.

Yup, too much time in here.

Somebody got into the catnip.

 

[Fletch]

Somebody got into the catnip.

Nice.

 

[Idgit]

Nice.

CZ, this offseason:

Gotta say, I kinda like it, actually.

 

[maxdallasfan]

Short arms? I shall call him T-Rex

 

[Fletch]

CZ, this offseason:

Gotta say, I kinda like it, actually.

Now that's great. That's a lot of ............... cats. Yeah. Cats.

All of them cats are drunk.

 

[Satchel89]

Everyone says he's bulked up quite a bit and I know Broadus thinks he's a pretty good player. What a difference a year makes. I'm excited about the defensive line

 

[MagicMan]

Don't know about being overlooked, I've been high on him this past few months. I know he was doing good in TC last summer prior to getting hurt and then out for the season. As long as he stays healthy, I see him being a big contributor on the line rotation this year........and agree that DT may be his best position of impact on this defense.

The guy can put pressure from inside a lot better than coming round the end. And yeah, T-REX would be a great nickname for him. Wtih the Kraken and T-REX we gots ourselves a regularJurassic Park going here.

 

[big dog cowboy]

All these comments about short arms reminds me of all the Costa short arm threads.

 

[darthseinfeld]

JJ Watt weighed 290. Gardner weighed 262. There are CBs that had better speed and jumps than Watt, but that is also irrelevant.

Gardner is an interesting player. His primary competition is likely Ryan Russell unless they move Gardner inside.

He has really short arms which would be less of an issue inside.

I think they both make the 53 out of camp due to Hardys suspension with one possibly being cut when he comes back. However if Gardner can play inside they may keep both.

Lawrence
Mincey
Gregory
Russell
Gardner

Crawford is a wild card, but if all is equal I think Russell and Gardner because they control the contract longer

When Hardy comes back, they may need to cut one to clear a roster spot, but if Gardner becomes and inside/outside guy that may be a DT that gets the ax

 

[xwalker]

I think they both make the 53 out of camp due to Hardys suspension with one possibly being cut when he comes back. However if Gardner can play inside they may keep both.

Lawrence
Mincey
Gregory
Russell
Gardner

Crawford is a wild card, but if all is equal I think Russell and Gardner because they control the contract longer

When Hardy comes back, they may need to cut one to clear a roster spot, but if Gardner becomes and inside/outside guy that may be a DT that gets the ax

The way I look at it is that the more guys with some talent on the roster the more likely that 1 steps up and takes a spot.

Between Russell, Gardner and Jack Crawford, I expect one of them to look really good in the preseason. It's just a bonus if more than one steps up.

 

[jobberone]

I'm too lazy to look it up but I think his big challenge is that he has short arms for a DE, which could mean a switch to a passing-down DT could be in the cards.

I think we could use him as a thumper LB like that huge LB that played at Pittsburgh from Latta SC. Perfect.

 

[RS12]

Lets see him in pads first.

 

[xwalker]

I think we could use him as a thumper LB like that huge LB that played at Pittsburgh from Latta SC. Perfect.

Levon Kirkland is the biggest off-the-ball (non 3-4 OLB) that I've seen. He was 275 and maybe as high as 300 at one point. His is from Lamar SC and played at Clemson.

 

[jobberone]

Levon Kirkland is the biggest off-the-ball (non 3-4 OLB) that I've seen. He was 275 and maybe as high as 300 at one point. His is from Lamar SC and played at Clemson.

It WAS Lamar outside Lydia and about 1/2 way between Bishopville and Hartsville. Latta is in SC but not sure where now.

 

[sbark]

I think we could use him as a thumper LB like that huge LB that played at Pittsburgh from Latta SC. Perfect.

Makes one wonder what it took for Landry to move Randy White from LB to DT, or Mark Tuniei from DT to Off Tackle.........I wonder if a lot of players resist those moves to a position of need, or if coaching as a whole doesn't think outside the box in trying to find a spot for a guy that can play football, just not at the spot he came thru college as.......I suppose the salary cap, and roster limits to 53 etc actually puts a crimp on teams taking the time to make the moves,

 

[Bullflop]

Ben Gardner should afford the defense some solid depth at DE, if nothing else. He's got some useful skills and has proven to be a relentless competitor in the past. It's far from being just any DE who can make that claim.

 

[Staubacher]

 

[T-RO]

Stop with the J.J. Watt comparison LOL! I just want him to be a nice rotational guy.

I expressly said he was more likely to be on the street than to produce like Watt. But his PJ Olympic measurable (jumping, running, bursting) are all that and more.

Watt is bigger, stronger, has all-world motor and all-world instincts.

 

[chagus]

[quote="Jarv, post: 6148266, member: 263"truck://www.patriots.com/video/2014/02/02/2014-draft-prospect-ben-gardner-de-stanford

Pretty good video.[/quote]

Sheds blockers well and hits like a dump truck. Cant wait to see Gardner in action along with the rest of this revamped dline.

 

[gimmesix]

JJ Watt weighed 290. Gardner weighed 262. There are CBs that had better speed and jumps than Watt, but that is also irrelevant.

Gardner is an interesting player. His primary competition is likely Ryan Russell unless they move Gardner inside.

He has really short arms which would be less of an issue inside.

Yes, I really didn't understand why Watt was picked out for comparison since they are not similar-sized players. Watt's a big boy who is tough to handle not because he has exceptional speed, but because he has power and quickness, along with long arms.

Gardner's speed for an end is not good at his size, and his shorter arms hurts his ability to be a power player. If he's going to thrive in this league it primarily will be because of tenacity and work ethic.