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From JS Online today.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=431221
Boerigter making name for himself
By TODD ROSIAK
trosiak@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 2, 2006
Green Bay - Marc Boerigter was looking for a fresh start in a new offense. The Green Bay Packers were looking for big, physical, fast receivers.
And after Boerigter agreed to a one-year deal in late March, it appears both parties have gotten exactly what they wanted.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Boerigter so far has seemed to be a solid fit for coach Mike McCarthy's West Coast-style offense, displaying the ability to go up and get the football and gain yards after the catch.
He has been able to do so in the team's off-season practices thanks not only to the continued absence of projected No. 3 receiver Rod Gardner, but also because he seems to be quickly developing a level of trust with quarterback Brett Favre.
"Very solid, very consistent," McCarthy said Friday, referring to Boerigter. "Smart guy who plays all three positions. He's definitely what we saw in our evaluation process."
Boerigter arrives in Green Bay after an up-and-down stint with the Kansas City Chiefs that saw him go from featured receiver to afterthought in just four seasons' time.
A 2000 product of tiny Hastings (Neb.) College, Boerigter signed with the Chiefs after a productive two-year stint with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders that saw him catch 111 passes for 2,023 yards and 19 touchdowns.
In his first season in Kansas City, Boerigter was nothing short of a phenom. He made two starts and caught only 20 passes but finished with 420 yards (21.0 average) and eight touchdowns.
His first start, on Dec. 15, 2002, was his most memorable. Filling in for an injured Johnnie Morton in Denver, Boerigter hauled in five passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, including a 99-yarder that set a Chiefs record and tied a National Football League record.
From there, though, Boerigter tailed off. He made just 11 catches for 158 yards the next season, and missed the entire 2004 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in the exhibition season.
He made it back for the 2005 season but was active for only 10 games and had eight catches for 119 yards.
By then, the handwriting was already on the wall.
"I think I fell out of favor there a little bit. Looking back on it, I don't know if Kansas City was the best fit for me overall in terms of the offense," said Boerigter, 28. "They put a lot of stock when I was there in smaller, faster guys. My first year there they used me in ways that my talents are best utilized, in terms of getting down the field and in the red zone and things like that, and my numbers reflected that.
"The next few years, they dropped off a little bit. It wasn't so much anything else, it was just I didn't see the ball as much and I didn't get put in the same situations I did in my first year."
The Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and Packers all expressed interest in Boerigter once he left Kansas City, with Green Bay needing to protect itself in the event Javon Walker would not be available and Terrence Murphy would not be able to return from a neck injury.
With neither of those situations sorted out by the time he decided to sign with the Packers, Boerigter was nonetheless sold on the opportunity to play in a receiver-friendly system with Favre pulling the trigger.
"They made no bones about it when I came to visit that they were looking for big, physical guys that can run and I definitely fit that mold," said Boerigter, who ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash in 2000 and appears to be fully recovered from his knee injury. "I definitely think I can help this team win some games. That's the reason I came here. It's the best fit for me offensively with the scheme and everything else. "
With both Walker and Murphy out of the picture by the team's first off-season minicamp, Boerigter figured to fit in behind Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson, Gardner and second-round pick Greg Jennings.
Ferguson has been injury-prone throughout his previous five years, though, Gardner has been MIA and Jennings is a rookie. All that, plus a growing bond with Favre, could allow Boerigter a chance to move up in the pecking order before long.
Boerigter's biggest challenge to this point has been learning the offense and the nuances of the receiver position as they're taught in Green Bay.
"It's a bit of an adjustment period for me here," he said. "I'm feeling more and more comfortable every day. It's just a situation where you kind of have to de-program yourself from the stuff you've been doing the last four years and learn something new."
It's a process Boerigter was happy to endure, though, seeing as he thinks he's finally going to get a fair shot to show what he can do on the field.
"I felt most comfortable here and felt I had the best opportunity here to get back on the field," he said. "So far I'm happy with my decision and it's going well."
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=431221
Boerigter making name for himself
By TODD ROSIAK
trosiak@journalsentinel.com
Posted: June 2, 2006
Green Bay - Marc Boerigter was looking for a fresh start in a new offense. The Green Bay Packers were looking for big, physical, fast receivers.
And after Boerigter agreed to a one-year deal in late March, it appears both parties have gotten exactly what they wanted.
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Boerigter so far has seemed to be a solid fit for coach Mike McCarthy's West Coast-style offense, displaying the ability to go up and get the football and gain yards after the catch.
He has been able to do so in the team's off-season practices thanks not only to the continued absence of projected No. 3 receiver Rod Gardner, but also because he seems to be quickly developing a level of trust with quarterback Brett Favre.
"Very solid, very consistent," McCarthy said Friday, referring to Boerigter. "Smart guy who plays all three positions. He's definitely what we saw in our evaluation process."
Boerigter arrives in Green Bay after an up-and-down stint with the Kansas City Chiefs that saw him go from featured receiver to afterthought in just four seasons' time.
A 2000 product of tiny Hastings (Neb.) College, Boerigter signed with the Chiefs after a productive two-year stint with the Canadian Football League's Calgary Stampeders that saw him catch 111 passes for 2,023 yards and 19 touchdowns.
In his first season in Kansas City, Boerigter was nothing short of a phenom. He made two starts and caught only 20 passes but finished with 420 yards (21.0 average) and eight touchdowns.
His first start, on Dec. 15, 2002, was his most memorable. Filling in for an injured Johnnie Morton in Denver, Boerigter hauled in five passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns, including a 99-yarder that set a Chiefs record and tied a National Football League record.
From there, though, Boerigter tailed off. He made just 11 catches for 158 yards the next season, and missed the entire 2004 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee late in the exhibition season.
He made it back for the 2005 season but was active for only 10 games and had eight catches for 119 yards.
By then, the handwriting was already on the wall.
"I think I fell out of favor there a little bit. Looking back on it, I don't know if Kansas City was the best fit for me overall in terms of the offense," said Boerigter, 28. "They put a lot of stock when I was there in smaller, faster guys. My first year there they used me in ways that my talents are best utilized, in terms of getting down the field and in the red zone and things like that, and my numbers reflected that.
"The next few years, they dropped off a little bit. It wasn't so much anything else, it was just I didn't see the ball as much and I didn't get put in the same situations I did in my first year."
The Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots and Packers all expressed interest in Boerigter once he left Kansas City, with Green Bay needing to protect itself in the event Javon Walker would not be available and Terrence Murphy would not be able to return from a neck injury.
With neither of those situations sorted out by the time he decided to sign with the Packers, Boerigter was nonetheless sold on the opportunity to play in a receiver-friendly system with Favre pulling the trigger.
"They made no bones about it when I came to visit that they were looking for big, physical guys that can run and I definitely fit that mold," said Boerigter, who ran a 4.47-second 40-yard dash in 2000 and appears to be fully recovered from his knee injury. "I definitely think I can help this team win some games. That's the reason I came here. It's the best fit for me offensively with the scheme and everything else. "
With both Walker and Murphy out of the picture by the team's first off-season minicamp, Boerigter figured to fit in behind Donald Driver, Robert Ferguson, Gardner and second-round pick Greg Jennings.
Ferguson has been injury-prone throughout his previous five years, though, Gardner has been MIA and Jennings is a rookie. All that, plus a growing bond with Favre, could allow Boerigter a chance to move up in the pecking order before long.
Boerigter's biggest challenge to this point has been learning the offense and the nuances of the receiver position as they're taught in Green Bay.
"It's a bit of an adjustment period for me here," he said. "I'm feeling more and more comfortable every day. It's just a situation where you kind of have to de-program yourself from the stuff you've been doing the last four years and learn something new."
It's a process Boerigter was happy to endure, though, seeing as he thinks he's finally going to get a fair shot to show what he can do on the field.
"I felt most comfortable here and felt I had the best opportunity here to get back on the field," he said. "So far I'm happy with my decision and it's going well."
