Has Ted Thompson really changed?

[Patler]

Lots of miscellaneous discussion in a couple threads, good comments by several on here, and citations to articles such as:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...die-in-the-nfl

Being old and confused, I decided to start a single thread to focus the discussion.

My opinion? Many of the national articles are shallow and overlook the details of what has transpired this off season.

1. The Packers have signed just 2 unrestricted free agents that I am aware of who are subject to the compensatory calculation, Bennett and Evans. Francois, House and Kendricks were released by their former teams, and therefore do not enter into the calculation . TT has always been willing to sign these types of players when the roster requires it.

2. The Packers lost an unusually large number of free agents this year, but it is understandable why. Guys they otherwise would have liked to keep (I'll suggest Cook, Lang and Lacy for sure; and maybe Hyde and Tretter under the right circumstances) demanded (Cook) or received offers (Lang, Lacy, Hyde & Tretter) well behind the limits the Packers had set for them. GB has always stuck to its determinations in this regard. Additionally the Packers lost Peppers and Jones, neither of which seemed to be in their off season plans. That's seven lost players subject to compensatory draft pick calculations.

3. Additionally injuries, age and stupidity took out former contributors Shields. Starks and Pennel, respectively. Combined with item #2 above, The Packer roster was down 10 players, all starters or 1st line reserves. You can't replace that many players of that level easily. It requires some input from the outside. Thus, the seemingly large number of signings by TT.

4. Interestingly, TT has brought in all these free agents WITHOUT impacting his compensatory draft pick awards next season significantly, because:
- The compensatory awards are given when the number lost exceeds the number signed.
- Players lost are offset by players signed, based on draft round awarded.
- No team can receive more than 4 picks.
- The Packers are still at a net loss in compensation, 7 lost and 2 signed. They can sign one more and still be entitled to 4 compensatory picks, potentially. Being entitled to 7 wouldn't have helped them in the numbers of picks awarded, nor does their current 5 net losses. All it can do is impact the round awarded, unless, of course, the value drops the lowest award beyond the 32 maximum awards. So far, that seems a ways off.

5. While this can change because the signing period remains open (players signed after a certain date do not enter into the compensation calculation no matter what their contract is); preliminary compensation projections are:
- Players Lost: Lang-3rd round, Hyde and Tretter 5th round, Cook, Lacy, Jones and Peppers 6th round.
- Players Gained: Bennett 5th round, Evans 6th round.
- Projected off-sets; Bennett against the Packer's highest 5th (Hyde) and Evans against the lowest 6th (Peppers). Because ot the 4 award maximum, the 6th for Jones will not be received currently.

So far, the net result of the "new" Ted Thompson is a net loss of a few draft spots in the 5th round because Bennett off-sets Hyde, not Cook. The Packers can still get the maximum award of four picks, depending on the final FA contracts around the league.

Don't be surprised if the Packers sign another free agent cheap enough to offset one of their 6th round picks. It won't impact their compensatory awards.

Caveat - some have suggested that players with 10+ years in the league do not enter into the calculations. This would affect both Peppers and Evans and may be why projections off set them against each other.