Bretsky
04-29-2007, 12:46 AM
Top pick draws boos, not aahs
By MICHAEL HUNT
mhunt@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 28, 2007
Green Bay - It was hard to decide Saturday who was most rattled during the NFL draft/Brady Quinn kick-a-thon, the freefalling quarterback himself or the Green Bay general manager who looked like someone had just told him Brett Favre's orthopedist was on Line 2.
Clearly, Ted Thompson did not expect the faithful to boo his first-round pick of a guy who played almost none of his senior season with a torn biceps at the one position the needy Packers are stacked. Otherwise, Thompson would not have mentioned it in the course of justifying his selection of Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell.
It could've just as well been Justin Timberlake the way the stockholders reacted from the peanut gallery. Harrell was no more the people's choice than Ray Allen on that long-ago draft night when the Milwaukee Bucks traded Stephon Marbury for his rights. To Harrell's credit, he did not cry like Allen. This we know because Lambeau Field is still standing.
But, come on. How about a running back or a wide receiver or even Quinn, if only to send Aaron Rodgers on his way to Al Davis' menagerie and get this whole Randy Moss thing over with?
For the abovementioned reasons, the Harrell pick was really hard initially to get your mind around. It was also troubling when Thompson said, "His best football is ahead of him." How about a first-round pick whose best football is right now?
About that 8-8 finish last year: No one is still quite sure where the fulcrum is positioned. Are the Packers on their way up or ready to slide the other way? How about a little immediate help, not a guy who will slide somewhere into the Ryan Pickett/Corey Williams/Johnny Jolly/Cullen Jenkins scrum?
But the more you think about it, the more the Harrell pick fits Double-T's M.O. It's been, what, three drafts now? It's probably time to believe Thompson when he says, "We don't draft based on need."
Otherwise, the Packers would've found a way to move up to get Adrian Peterson instead of worrying about how to stop him twice a year in a Minnesota uniform. Look at it that way, and the Harrell selection takes on a moment of clarity. There's nothing quite like a couple of big pluggers in the middle to free Nick Barnett and A.J. Hawk to make tackles, which has suddenly become more of a concern with Peterson in the division.
The question, though, is whether Thompson is committed to loading up the defense at the expense of the offense. The Harrell pick would make more sense if the Packers eventually make the Moss move, advisable if they were able to redo his contract with behavioral/incentive clauses. Favre would then have his extra weapon, as long as it remains pointed the right way.
To further rationalize the first-round pick to the grumbling masses, Thompson threw out his usual code words. Harrell, he said, was a "value pick," a "man's man," a "grown man," a "good citizen." That is to say, Harrell fits the macho image Thompson prefers without much danger of getting into the NFL's new and enlarged doghouse. That's fine, but it would also help if Harrell is able to make a stop or two.
Most of all, Thompson continues to draft and rebuild like a man who expects to be around for a while. Not that he should get too comfortable. If anything, the boo birds reinforced the urgency for the Packers to win, and soon.
Send e-mail to mhunt@journalsentinel.com
By MICHAEL HUNT
mhunt@journalsentinel.com
Posted: April 28, 2007
Green Bay - It was hard to decide Saturday who was most rattled during the NFL draft/Brady Quinn kick-a-thon, the freefalling quarterback himself or the Green Bay general manager who looked like someone had just told him Brett Favre's orthopedist was on Line 2.
Clearly, Ted Thompson did not expect the faithful to boo his first-round pick of a guy who played almost none of his senior season with a torn biceps at the one position the needy Packers are stacked. Otherwise, Thompson would not have mentioned it in the course of justifying his selection of Tennessee defensive tackle Justin Harrell.
It could've just as well been Justin Timberlake the way the stockholders reacted from the peanut gallery. Harrell was no more the people's choice than Ray Allen on that long-ago draft night when the Milwaukee Bucks traded Stephon Marbury for his rights. To Harrell's credit, he did not cry like Allen. This we know because Lambeau Field is still standing.
But, come on. How about a running back or a wide receiver or even Quinn, if only to send Aaron Rodgers on his way to Al Davis' menagerie and get this whole Randy Moss thing over with?
For the abovementioned reasons, the Harrell pick was really hard initially to get your mind around. It was also troubling when Thompson said, "His best football is ahead of him." How about a first-round pick whose best football is right now?
About that 8-8 finish last year: No one is still quite sure where the fulcrum is positioned. Are the Packers on their way up or ready to slide the other way? How about a little immediate help, not a guy who will slide somewhere into the Ryan Pickett/Corey Williams/Johnny Jolly/Cullen Jenkins scrum?
But the more you think about it, the more the Harrell pick fits Double-T's M.O. It's been, what, three drafts now? It's probably time to believe Thompson when he says, "We don't draft based on need."
Otherwise, the Packers would've found a way to move up to get Adrian Peterson instead of worrying about how to stop him twice a year in a Minnesota uniform. Look at it that way, and the Harrell selection takes on a moment of clarity. There's nothing quite like a couple of big pluggers in the middle to free Nick Barnett and A.J. Hawk to make tackles, which has suddenly become more of a concern with Peterson in the division.
The question, though, is whether Thompson is committed to loading up the defense at the expense of the offense. The Harrell pick would make more sense if the Packers eventually make the Moss move, advisable if they were able to redo his contract with behavioral/incentive clauses. Favre would then have his extra weapon, as long as it remains pointed the right way.
To further rationalize the first-round pick to the grumbling masses, Thompson threw out his usual code words. Harrell, he said, was a "value pick," a "man's man," a "grown man," a "good citizen." That is to say, Harrell fits the macho image Thompson prefers without much danger of getting into the NFL's new and enlarged doghouse. That's fine, but it would also help if Harrell is able to make a stop or two.
Most of all, Thompson continues to draft and rebuild like a man who expects to be around for a while. Not that he should get too comfortable. If anything, the boo birds reinforced the urgency for the Packers to win, and soon.
Send e-mail to mhunt@journalsentinel.com