Misc TT article to analyze

[Bretsky]

Packers GM Ted Thompson has hit more than he missed in the 2005 and 2006 drafts, especially last year, when he landed four legit starters in the first three rounds.

If you’re going to build your team through the draft — making free agency no more than a supplementary way to improve the roster — then you had better be a pretty darned good evaluator of college talent.

So, how has Ted Thompson fared during his first two drafts?

Good enough that you’d have to say Thompson would be wise to stay the course.

Certainly, it’s a bit early to call some of the draft picks hits or misses. It’s impossible to say, for instance, whether drafting Aaron Rodgers was wise or foolish since he hasn’t had a chance.

Still, it’s interesting to look back at Thompson’s first two drafts.

In 2005:

1st round: Aaron Rodgers, quarterback

2nd round: Nick Collins, safety

2nd round: Terrence Murphy, wide receiver

4th round: Marviel Underwood, safety

4th round: Brady Poppinga, outside linebacker

5th round: Junius Coston, offensive lineman

5th round: Michael Hawkins, cornerback

6th round: Mike Montgomery, defensive end

6th round: Craig Bragg, wide receiver

7th round: Kurt Campbell, linebacker

7th round: Will Whitticker, offensive lineman.

Summary: Of the five players selected in the first four rounds, four remain with the team. Only Murphy, who suffered a neck injury during his rookie season that led to fears about a long-term, catastrophic injury and, therefore, his release, is no longer on the team.

Of those five, though, only Collins could be considered at least an average starter today with major upside for the future. The Packers, though, remain high on Rodgers. Poppinga had a decent year as a first-year starter last season, getting better as the year went on. Underwood was challenging Marquand Manuel for a starting job at safety before a knee injury ruined his season before it began.

Of the final six picks, only Coston, Montgomery and Whitticker remain on the roster, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Montgomery is the only one to get out of this summer’s training camp.

In a nutshell, this class could earn a B grade if most of the “ifs” work out in the Packers’ favor and Montgomery turns into at least a productive situational player. If not, Thompson could be in danger of landing exactly zero above-average NFL starters out of an 11-player class.

2006:

1st round: A.J. Hawk, linebacker

2nd round: Daryn Colledge, guard

2nd round: Greg Jennings, wide receiver

3rd round: Abdul Hodge, linebacker

3rd round: Jason Spitz, guard

4th round: Cory Rodgers, kick returner

4th round: Will Blackmon, defensive back

5th round: Ingle Martin, quarterback

5th round: Tony Moll, offensive lineman

6th round: Johnny Jolly, defensive tackle

6th round: Tyrone Culver, safety

7th round: Dave Tollefson, defensive end

Summary: What a draft, starting with the hard-nosed Hawk. Of the first five picks, four already are at least decent starters. This class would have to get an A-plus if Colledge and Spitz become above-average starting guards and Jennings continues to grow. From what we saw last season, that seems more likely than not.

Drafting Cory Rodgers is a black mark — from the first day in camp, even a casual observer could see he couldn’t play — and it remains to be seen whether Blackmon was just snake-bit last year or whether he’s injury prone and, therefore, unreliable.

Moll was a steal in the fifth round, even if he never becomes a full-time starter. Jolly and Culver seem to have futures as at least deep backups, and that’s all you can ask for out of sixth-round picks. Finding three bona fide players that late in the draft is what separates an astute evaluator like Thompson from the draftniks and mediocre general managers.



http://packers.scout.com/2/633558.html

[Bretsky]

Coston and Montgomery are actually the only 2 of the last six picks left.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Coston and Montgomery are actually the only 2 of the last six picks left.

I was just going to say... Whitticker?

[Patler]

As I posted on JSO, to me the writer loses credibility when he doesn't even realize a player was cut LAST preseason already.

[Bretsky]

As I posted on JSO, to me the writer loses credibility when he doesn't even realize a player was cut LAST preseason already.


Writers have their strengths and weakensses; he's stating views and I don't get too fazed when writers make mistakes, honest or now.

I would honestly say that fact wise several of us know more than several of the online writers, even some of the guys as JS.

I recall Cliffy stumbling on a bunch of factual questions in his chats over the years that were easy questions to me and he was unable to comment because he didn't recall facts. His knowledge base of the whole NFL was average at best, but he followed the Packers well and was able to aritculate his views one way or the other.

The ESPN guys seem very knowledgeabe; but several of the Fox sports writers seem to be very short of knowledge.

[Patler]

As I posted on JSO, to me the writer loses credibility when he doesn't even realize a player was cut LAST preseason already.


Writers have their strengths and weakensses; he's stating views and I don't get too fazed when writers make mistakes, honest or now.

I would honestly say that fact wise several of us know more than several of the online writers, even some of the guys as JS.

I recall Cliffy stumbling on a bunch of factual questions in his chats over the years that were easy questions to me and he was unable to comment because he didn't recall facts. His knowledge base of the whole NFL was average at best, but he followed the Packers well and was able to aritculate his views one way or the other.

The ESPN guys seem very knowledgeabe; but several of the Fox sports writers seem to be very short of knowledge.

Yes, but this was a mistake as to the substance of the article. He was analyzing two drafts and the merits of the players selected. To not even realize that one of the players has not been with the Packers for a year is not just a minor mistake.

I don't expect anyone to have all the facts in hand to answer all possible questions in a chat. That's unrealistic. But if a writer choses a topic to write an article about, I expect that he will be knowledable about the most fundamental details of it.

If he doesn't even know which draft picks are still with the Packers, how much does he know about how they are performing? When he says:


Of the final six picks, only Coston, Montgomery and Whitticker remain on the roster, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Montgomery is the only one to get out of this summer’s training camp.

how valid is his oinion that Montgomery might be the only one to survive the next camp? If he doesn't know that Whitticker hasn't played for GB for year, does he really know anything about how well Coston or Montgomery might be doing?

I would be less critical if he made a mistake about the round the player was drafted in. That is an incidental detail in an article about their performance and TT's capability to pick players. The fact that a player has already "failed" as a Packer is not incidental to the subject of the article.