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HarveyWallbangers
04-04-2006, 11:04 PM
Quite frankly, every time I read his quotes I find something that disturbs me.

Thompson still hopes to improve team
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com

On the Green Bay Packers' Web site a poll asks readers, "Which recent free agent signing will have the greatest impact in 2006?"

The three choices: wide receiver Marc Boerigter, kicker Billy Cundiff and linebacker Ben Taylor.

The Packers might want to keep Brett Favre away from their Web site.

That's hardly a Murderer's Row of free agents who are going to turn the Packers from a 4-12 team to a 12-4 one. Granted, it doesn't include their two biggest free-agent additions - defensive tackle Ryan Pickett and safety Marquand Manuel - but it does speak volumes about what the Packers have accomplished in free agency.

Especially on offense.

General manager Ted Thompson has said publicly that he doesn't do things "based on one player or three players or five players" and that his concern will always be the overall good of the Packers, so it's clear he isn't signing players just to please Favre. But he has re-signed a number of offensive players from a team that dropped to 30th overall in offense last year and some wonder whether he wouldn't have been better off replacing them with new faces.

"We'll have a different offense this year because of a different coaching staff, but I expect some of our guys who were banged up to be back playing and I think that will help certainly quite a bit," Thompson said. "Like I said before, we were 4-12 for a lot of reasons. Part of the reason was my fault, and some of it was our players didn't play to their capability.

"We're not trying to be cocky and say we're set. I think we're a little bit better than the (team) we were last year. That means we have to get better and we'll try to get better with the people we have and get better if we can find good players on the outside."

Thompson's only non-Packers signing on offense has been Boerigter, and given the picked-through crop of players still available in free agency the former Kansas City backup receiver will probably stand as the most significant addition of the spring market. Thompson insists that the Packers aren't through adding players and will compete for anyone who is cut or on the trading block, but it's clear his options are limited.

Thompson said the Packers did go to bat on several bigger-name free agents early in the signing period but found themselves shut out.

The Packers are known to have inquired about Seattle guard Steve Hutchinson and to have considered Dallas guard Larry Allen, Minnesota wide receiver Koren Robinson and Arizona guard Reggie Wells, but all signed with other teams.

Thompson wouldn't comment on many specifics, but it's not hard to figure out that he wasn't going to play the "poison pill" game with his old club in the pursuit of Hutchinson, wasn't going to get Allen to pick Green Bay over a team close to his California home and wouldn't be able to construct a restricted free agent deal for Wells that the Cardinals wouldn't match (they ended up matching Buffalo's offer sheet).

"The guys on offense, the higher-profile guys went pretty fast, and quite frankly we didn't think there were that many hot guys out there," Thompson said. "Some of those guys went off the board really fast and it just never worked out.

"If I felt like at any particular position where we needed help there was one guy who would really give us a boost and there were six who really won't help us and we lose out on the one, it doesn't make sense to go after those other six guys. That's the way I look at it."

Thompson said he didn't think "there were a ton of premier guys on the offensive side this year" and thought it was more important to re-sign players like running backs Ahman Green and Najeh Davenport, receiver Rod Gardner and tackle Kevin Barry. He said he had no problem taking shots from angry fans who want him to do more, but he said he refused to sign players who he thought couldn't help the Packers.

Thompson has heard threats from Favre that he will retire if more isn't done to improve the team and criticism from others who question why he hasn't done more after starting the free-agent period with roughly $30 million of salary cap room. The Packers currently have $19 million of room, second most in the National Football League behind San Diego's $19.46 million, but probably won't use much of it because the market is almost dry.

They are still in the running for Oakland free agent cornerback Charles Woodson, who visited Monday but hasn't received an offer from them yet. The Packers are competing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Woodson's services and have the ability to offer a better contract, but Woodson's familiarity with Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden could be the deal-breaker.

If Woodson doesn't get a big-money offer, he might wait until after the draft to see if other teams become interested.

The most questionable decision Thompson might have made was not going after Robinson, whom he drafted in the first round in Seattle in 2001. Robinson was cut from the Seahawks a year ago after fighting a substance-abuse problem and made the Pro Bowl with the Vikings as a kick returner with a 26-yard average.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Robinson fit the Packers' need for a big receiver and a talented returner, but to get him they would have needed to construct a contract that the Vikings would not match. Robinson was a free agent but had a clause in his previous deal that allowed Minnesota to match any offer.

The Packers could have constructed an offer that would have cost the Vikings a lot had they matched it and either robbed their division rival of a valuable player or forced them to eat up a lot of salary cap space. Thompson wouldn't say specifically why he didn't try harder to sign Robinson, but either he had reservations about his recovery from alcohol abuse or didn't think he was worth overpaying in an attempt to pry him from the Vikings.

"If he was just a free agent we probably would have been in there pitching," Thompson said.

GrnBay007
04-04-2006, 11:11 PM
"We're not trying to be cocky and say we're set. I think we're a little bit better than the (team) we were last year. That means we have to get better and we'll try to get better with the people we have and get better if we can find good players on the outside."


--------

Well Ted, I think you need to focus on getting a team that's A LOT better than last year!!

Patler
04-04-2006, 11:52 PM
"The Packers could have constructed an offer that would have cost the Vikings a lot had they matched it and either robbed their division rival of a valuable player or forced them to eat up a lot of salary cap space."


But doesn't that also mean to get Robinson the Packers would have had to "eat up a lot of salary cap space."

Since the Vikings had a right to match, the only thing GB could have done was GROSSLY overpay so the Vikings would have thought TT lost his mind, and not matched it!

Kiwon
04-05-2006, 12:46 AM
"We'll have a different offense this year because of a different coaching staff, but I expect some of our guys who were banged up to be back playing and I think that will help certainly quite a bit," Thompson said. "Like I said before, we were 4-12 for a lot of reasons. Part of the reason was my fault, and some of it was our players didn't play to their capability."

I wonder which part of 4-12 TT takes responsibility for?

AtownPackFan
04-05-2006, 01:18 AM
Part of the reason was my fault, and some of it was our players didn't play to their capability."

I wonder which part of 4-12 TT takes responsibility for?

The part where they won two games more then he wanted them to!

Patler
04-05-2006, 01:25 AM
"We'll have a different offense this year because of a different coaching staff, but I expect some of our guys who were banged up to be back playing and I think that will help certainly quite a bit," Thompson said. "Like I said before, we were 4-12 for a lot of reasons. Part of the reason was my fault, and some of it was our players didn't play to their capability."

I wonder which part of 4-12 TT takes responsibility for?

He knows he did not handle the guard situation well. Being a man of few words, TT does not lay out a story. You have to piece it together from numerous comments. I did that with stories on the guards, and my conclusion is this:

1. TT would have liked to keep both, but with the salary cap situation he knew one was likely lost.

2. He tried to renegotiate Wahles deal, but Wahle and his agent decided to test FA.

3. The plan was to pursue Wahle to a point. If it exceeded that, go after Rivera.

4. They thought Rivera was the easier one to re-sign.

5. Wahle got too pricey, so the plan shifted to Rivera.

6. Wahle was lost.

7. Rivera also decided to see what he was worth in FA. The Packers still intended to re-sign him.

8. Dallas made an outrageous offer for Rivera, an aging guard with some injury questions.

9. At that point TT felt it was just too much money for a what Rivera had left, and what the Packers would have to do to free up enough cap space.

10. Knowing what Rivera got, TT would have preferred to keep Wahle at the contract he signed, but it was too late.

Fritz
04-05-2006, 06:35 AM
One of the things people have to remember is that when Wahle signed that contract it was common knowledge that last year's part of the contract was a "throw away" - it was never, never thought by either side that the Pack would pay that year. It was one of those agent-negotiated things that make the overall contract look better than it actually was.

Another matter to consider was Wahle's attitude toward Shermy. Apparently he did not like either the Sherm-meister or Beightol, so getting him to come back would have been very diffucult. Wahle complained in the papers a few times too about how guards don't get the respect (read "money") that tackles do, so the chance to move to tackle in Carolina was appealing as well.

HarveyWallbangers
04-05-2006, 07:38 AM
Yeah, you can blame Andrew Brandt for that one. Although, maybe a deal doesn't get done without that bonus.

MJZiggy
04-05-2006, 07:42 AM
I just wish that after Wahle left, there might have been someone a little more appealing than Klemm available.

KYPack
04-05-2006, 09:32 AM
I'm with Zig on this one. TT was painted into a corner on Wahle and Rivera. In,fact, I wouldn't have blamed him if he didn't try to sign either player. He just didn't have any cards to play.

Where I fault TT is in his acquistions to shore up the guard position.

Klemm and O'Dwyer were both ridiculous FA signings. Klemm is a tackle, not a guard, as he so clumsily demonstrated last season. I live in the Cincy area & I assure you, Matt O'Dwyer was done after the '02 season. He was all played out in the league. Oh, he bumped around, but his days as effective player were over. TT and the Pack's league scouts should have known this. Hell, I knew it and I'm just a fan.

The rookie's were equally bad & I can't imagine why we didn't get a better crew of first year guys. Whittiker is one of the worst players in the starting line-up since Jon Michels in the late 90's. He has a little potential, but trying to field an NFL starting line-up with a guard like him was ridiculous.

The worst aspect of the whole deal is that it's one year later and we are virtually in the same position this year. If we go into '06 with NFLE guards, I'll join whatever "Hang Thompson" fan club forms on the Forum.

I still don't believe we haven't signed at least one vet OL in all of Free Agency. I know it ain't over yet, & the draft is coming up, but I'm nervous.

Anti-Polar Bear
04-05-2006, 09:55 AM
One of the things people have to remember is that when Wahle signed that contract it was common knowledge that last year's part of the contract was a "throw away" - it was never, never thought by either side that the Pack would pay that year. It was one of those agent-negotiated things that make the overall contract look better than it actually was.

Another matter to consider was Wahle's attitude toward Shermy. Apparently he did not like either the Sherm-meister or Beightol, so getting him to come back would have been very diffucult. Wahle complained in the papers a few times too about how guards don't get the respect (read "money") that tackles do, so the chance to move to tackle in Carolina was appealing as well.

Fritz, First, I want to clear something out for you:Thompson is NOT the ONE; if anything, he is more like Agent Smith; your avatar, although creative, is ridiculous.

Secondly, Wahle had absolutely NO leverage last year when he was still under contract with Packers. It was up to the Packers and if they had opted to pay him the $6 mil roster bonus, he would have no choice but to play in Green Bay for a few more years. It was up to the Packer.

Thompson chose to cut Wahle, repeat: Polar Bear CHOSE to cut Wahle. Wahle didnt leave. No, Thompson CUT Wahle. All that was needed to be done was restructure a few players’ contracts and Wahle would still be playing for the Pack today.

Ted Thompson fucked up.

motife
04-05-2006, 10:54 AM
http://www.profootballtalk.com/PackersTeamPic.jpg

Here's PFT's vision of the 2006 Packers.

MJZiggy
04-05-2006, 12:14 PM
I don't know whether to be insulted or happy that teams will no longer be bringing us their best game.

woodbuck27
04-05-2006, 12:30 PM
http://www.profootballtalk.com/PackersTeamPic.jpg

Here's PFT's vision of the 2006 Packers.


LOL. Now that is the new youth movement plan. GO Pack GO !

woodbuck27
04-05-2006, 12:43 PM
" Ted Thompson fucked up. " Anti-Polar Bear

Something like that , or he knew exactly what it would take to clearly put the team in his hands.

What is going on with the Packers now is worse than anything I have ever seen for the Organization since the early 60's. Our GM's agenda of the takeover is an utrageous bungling mess that is making the Packers the laughing stock of the entire NFL.

It's outrageously embarassing. It's even got Packer Fans set one against the other. An obvious proof that the Organization is in turmoil over, of all things, a rush to retire a Packer Legend.

What a shameful mess.

Patler
04-05-2006, 01:13 PM
" Ted Thompson fucked up. " Anti-Polar Bear

Something like that , or he knew exactly what it would take to clearly put the team in his hands.

What is going on with the Packers now is worse than anything I have ever seen for the Organization since the early 60's. Our GM's agenda of the takeover is an utrageous bungling mess that is making the Packers the laughing stock of the entire NFL.

It's outrageously embarassing. It's even got Packer Fans set one against the other. An obvious proof that the Organization is in turmoil over, of all things, a rush to retire a Packer Legend.

What a shameful mess.

You obviously were not paying attention in the '70s and '80s. The organizational mess at that time was monumental.

MJZiggy
04-05-2006, 01:18 PM
I was trying REALLY hard not to pay attention in the 70's and 80's, but hey, a little girl's gotta learn to curse somewhere!! :mrgreen:

Anti-Polar Bear
04-05-2006, 02:13 PM
" Ted Thompson fucked up. " Anti-Polar Bear

Something like that , or he knew exactly what it would take to clearly put the team in his hands.

What is going on with the Packers now is worse than anything I have ever seen for the Organization since the early 60's. Our GM's agenda of the takeover is an utrageous bungling mess that is making the Packers the laughing stock of the entire NFL.

It's outrageously embarassing. It's even got Packer Fans set one against the other. An obvious proof that the Organization is in turmoil over, of all things, a rush to retire a Packer Legend.

What a shameful mess.

Great post WB.

Charles Woodson
04-05-2006, 02:40 PM
I dont like TT's attitude. Espically about the not to be cocky but were better. I mean of course ull be better. But better isnt good enough TT. We want a Damn SB and we want it now. Not in 3 years when we finnally fire u and get a GM who can clean up the shit u left here. I mean come on. And to say the stuff about there werent many good offfense of players. Ok i agree there werent a lot, but what about the defense. U signed a few defensive players but what about the other ones. You had a GOOD chance at signing Adam V. And Charles Woodson but U F'ed it up.Thanks Teddy! :evil:

BooHoo
04-05-2006, 03:16 PM
I dont like TT's attitude. Espically about the not to be cocky but were better. I mean of course ull be better. But better isnt good enough TT. We want a Damn SB and we want it now. Not in 3 years when we finnally fire u and get a GM who can clean up the shit u left here. I mean come on. And to say the stuff about there werent many good offfense of players. Ok i agree there werent a lot, but what about the defense. U signed a few defensive players but what about the other ones. You had a GOOD chance at signing Adam V. And Charles Woodson but U F'ed it up.Thanks Teddy! :evil:

Is this another 4-12 season????

BooHoo
04-05-2006, 03:16 PM
I dont like TT's attitude. Espically about the not to be cocky but were better. I mean of course ull be better. But better isnt good enough TT. We want a Damn SB and we want it now. Not in 3 years when we finnally fire u and get a GM who can clean up the shit u left here. I mean come on. And to say the stuff about there werent many good offfense of players. Ok i agree there werent a lot, but what about the defense. U signed a few defensive players but what about the other ones. You had a GOOD chance at signing Adam V. And Charles Woodson but U F'ed it up.Thanks Teddy! :evil:

Is this another 4-12 season????

Charles Woodson
04-05-2006, 05:08 PM
No, we will probly do better, but imo we wont get near the superbowl. If we do, i give no credit to TT.

MJZiggy
04-05-2006, 05:12 PM
What if we get to the Superbowl on Gado's legs, Borighter's catches and Kampman and Pickett's outstanding play.

Charles Woodson
04-05-2006, 05:21 PM
What if we get to the Superbowl on Gado's legs, Borighter's catches and Kampman and Pickett's outstanding play. :evil: