Quote Originally Posted by call_me_ishmael View Post
Good point. I hadn't really considered this. It really makes you wonder then. I would argue that Teddy T has shown historic levels of poor performance on defensive drafting, but maybe it is Capers playing an equally big role.
If your argument is that Thompson has drafted historically bad on the defensive side, I would submit that he has drafted fairly well on the defensive side. Burnett, Dix, House, King, Randall, Martinez, Matthews, Perry, Hayward, Hyde, Clark, Lowry, Ryan, and Daniels are all Thompson draft picks. All of them are starters at the NFL level. Some have reached pro bowl levels. If your argument is that he has not put enough difference makers on the field. I won't disagree with that. Although, even that comes with a qualifier. Both Shields and Matthews had been difference makers. Both of them have struggled with injury and it has removed one from the field and made the other merely a very good player much earlier than it should have.

The question still remains. Is it the system that is limiting some players from reaching their potential or are the players not good enough to reach greatness? Hyde and Hayward have certainly played well since leaving Green Bay. Both might make the pro bowl for their respective teams. How many more players do we have that could do the same with a different system?