Man in the yellow hat
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Chatman sent down and out
Packers seek bigger receivers
By BOB McGINN and TOM SILVERSTEIN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Mar. 2, 2006
Green Bay - Antonio Chatman's three-year career with the Green Bay Packers is over.
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Packers/NFL
Photo/Rick Wood
Little man Antonio Chaptman had his biggest season with the Packers in 2005, but it wasn't good enough for him to keep a job in Green Bay.
"Reggie McKenzie told me it's a new system and they want big receivers," agent Mark Mersel said, referring to the team's director of pro personnel. "I'm surprised. He's surprised. I thought he could be in Green Bay for the long run. But if they don't want to respect a guy with a big heart, then so be it."
Chatman, 5 feet 8 inches and 183 pounds, had his best season in 2005. He tied for 12th in the National Football League with a punt-return average of 8.2 yards, including an NFL-long 85-yard touchdown against Chicago. He also finished second to Donald Driver in receptions (49), receiving yards (549) and receiving touchdowns (four).
"I liked Chatman," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought the kid played hard. I liked his effort. I thought he was productive in the games I saw. I thought he had some quickness."
So why did the Packers get rid of him?
"I've always been a fan of big, physical people at that position," McCarthy said. "The bigger the target, the better your accuracy. We've got a lot of depth at that position.
"A lot of these decisions were pretty much based off last year. We had a chance to talk about all these guys and our coaches had a chance to look at them. I did not see him on special teams. I only saw him on offense."
Until injuries struck at wide receiver in '05, Chatman had been almost strictly a return specialist. He played only 13 snaps from scrimmage in 2003, 245 in '04 and 500 in '05.
Chatman had good hands, dropping just two of 86 passes in '05. But he offered next to nothing after the catch, had minimal big-play ability and wasn't much of a blocker.
In three seasons as a punt returner, Chatman returned 110 punts and made 63 fair catches. The only fumble that was charged to him occurred in 2004, but that was Robert Ferguson's fault on a reverse.
Chatman had career marks of 8.2 on punts and 22.1 on kickoffs. In 2003, he ranked 20th on punts (8.4) and tied for 18th on kickoffs (22.3). In '04, he ranked 19th on punts (7.7) and 18th on kickoffs (22.6). Last year, he returned just five kickoffs.
"Maybe one of their O-linemen is going to return punts," Mersel said. "He's never fumbled a punt. He had the longest punt return in the league with a horrible special-teams blocking unit. And he stepped up when no one did last year and caught 49 passes.
"Reggie said, 'Look, we're trying to do him a favor. We know ultimately he's not going to fit the system and we don't want to hold you up and mislead you if he comes to camp.'
"He wanted to stay in Green Bay. He loves Aaron Rodgers, he likes (Brett) Favre. But we're actually kind of excited. We'll find a good opportunity somewhere else."
Chatman sent down and out
Packers seek bigger receivers
By BOB McGINN and TOM SILVERSTEIN
bmcginn@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Mar. 2, 2006
Green Bay - Antonio Chatman's three-year career with the Green Bay Packers is over.
Advertisement
Packers/NFL
Photo/Rick Wood
Little man Antonio Chaptman had his biggest season with the Packers in 2005, but it wasn't good enough for him to keep a job in Green Bay.
"Reggie McKenzie told me it's a new system and they want big receivers," agent Mark Mersel said, referring to the team's director of pro personnel. "I'm surprised. He's surprised. I thought he could be in Green Bay for the long run. But if they don't want to respect a guy with a big heart, then so be it."
Chatman, 5 feet 8 inches and 183 pounds, had his best season in 2005. He tied for 12th in the National Football League with a punt-return average of 8.2 yards, including an NFL-long 85-yard touchdown against Chicago. He also finished second to Donald Driver in receptions (49), receiving yards (549) and receiving touchdowns (four).
"I liked Chatman," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought the kid played hard. I liked his effort. I thought he was productive in the games I saw. I thought he had some quickness."
So why did the Packers get rid of him?
"I've always been a fan of big, physical people at that position," McCarthy said. "The bigger the target, the better your accuracy. We've got a lot of depth at that position.
"A lot of these decisions were pretty much based off last year. We had a chance to talk about all these guys and our coaches had a chance to look at them. I did not see him on special teams. I only saw him on offense."
Until injuries struck at wide receiver in '05, Chatman had been almost strictly a return specialist. He played only 13 snaps from scrimmage in 2003, 245 in '04 and 500 in '05.
Chatman had good hands, dropping just two of 86 passes in '05. But he offered next to nothing after the catch, had minimal big-play ability and wasn't much of a blocker.
In three seasons as a punt returner, Chatman returned 110 punts and made 63 fair catches. The only fumble that was charged to him occurred in 2004, but that was Robert Ferguson's fault on a reverse.
Chatman had career marks of 8.2 on punts and 22.1 on kickoffs. In 2003, he ranked 20th on punts (8.4) and tied for 18th on kickoffs (22.3). In '04, he ranked 19th on punts (7.7) and 18th on kickoffs (22.6). Last year, he returned just five kickoffs.
"Maybe one of their O-linemen is going to return punts," Mersel said. "He's never fumbled a punt. He had the longest punt return in the league with a horrible special-teams blocking unit. And he stepped up when no one did last year and caught 49 passes.
"Reggie said, 'Look, we're trying to do him a favor. We know ultimately he's not going to fit the system and we don't want to hold you up and mislead you if he comes to camp.'
"He wanted to stay in Green Bay. He loves Aaron Rodgers, he likes (Brett) Favre. But we're actually kind of excited. We'll find a good opportunity somewhere else."
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