HarveyWallbangers
09-05-2007, 11:46 PM
Packers keep youthful look
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - Like a hamster caught in a motion wheel, Ted Thompson is well aware of the pitfalls associated with year after year of youth movement.
"Right," the Green Bay Packers' general manager said Wednesday. "You can get into a perpetual wheel going round and round."
But that certainly didn't dissuade Thompson from going young for the third year in a row as he attempts to build the Packers back toward respectability and beyond.
The players on the Packers' current 53-man roster average 25.74 years per man. Last year, Green Bay had the youngest team in the league at 25.57, just ahead of Tennessee at 25.77.
It will take another week for the National Football League to break down opening-day rosters and release the exact ages for every team. But the Packers have done calculations of their own that indicate that the Indianapolis Colts will be slightly younger.
Actually, the 53 Colts who will open their season tonight against New Orleans average 25.74, the same age as Green Bay. The Colts ranked third at 26.13 last September en route to an NFL championship.
Colts President Bill Polian must see the beauty of youth, too. All nine of the Colts' draft choices made the team as well as three rookie free agents and three first-year players.
Indianapolis' total of 15 rookies and first-year men is three more than the Packers', who kept nine of their 11 selections, one rookie free agent and two first-year players.
The Colts have seven players age 30 or older, same as Green Bay. The Packers had as many as 13 in 2001.
"Would I feel better if we were a little bit more experienced?" Thompson said. "Probably. We've added a lot of young guys the last three years. But you get players where you can get them. You're dealt the cards you're dealt."
Well, not really. In an attempt to add more young players, Thompson has traded down nine times in his first three drafts. By doing so, he converted 23 picks plus wide receiver Javon Walker into 34 choices, 28 of whom made the team after their first training camp.
In 2004, the Packers' last winning season, their average age was 27.0, making that club their oldest since '89. Thompson, who has procured all but 14 of the current 53 during his 2½-year watch, trimmed the average age to 26.19 in '05 before really wielding the scythe a year ago.
The only way the Packers will become a more veteran team is if Thompson quits trading down for all these extra picks who invariably make the roster.
"If this team performs the way I think it will, then I think we'll be in position where we won't feel the need to do that," he said. "The more picks you have, obviously the better chance you have of accumulating some guys. But if we feel really good about a pick at the time, even though we have three guys (rated almost equally), we might just go ahead and take the first choice (instead of trading down)."
Green Bay's house-cleaning reached legendary proportions in '06. An astonishing 23 players with no time on the Packers' active roster or injured reserve the previous year made the opening 53, and there were a whopping 10 new starters.
In retrospect, Thompson acknowledged that the 23 newcomers "were a little high."
This year, the 14 newcomers on the 53 and the five new starters are almost exactly the same as the average from 2002-'05 and suggest a more substantial team.
"It indicates that it's tougher to crack our starting lineup this year," Thompson said. "It was a little bit more difficult to make this team this year."
The new starters appear to be tight end Donald Lee for Bubba Franks, running back Brandon Jackson for Ahman Green, fullback Korey Hall for William Henderson, defensive tackle Johnny Jolly for Corey Williams and strong safety Atari Bigby for Marquand Manuel.
Newcomers to the 53 include the nine draft choices, one unrestricted free agent (Frank Walker), one trade acquisition (Ryan Grant), one "street" free agent (Tramon Williams), one rookie free agent (Daniel Muir) and one waiver pickup (John Kuhn).
More than one-third of the changeover occurred at running back, where five new faces stare at coach Edgar Bennett. The position's serious weakness is evident, although Thompson doesn't view it that way.
Calling his third roster in Green Bay "deeper than we've been," Thompson saluted the offensive line and wide receivers in addition to the defensive line and cornerbacks for being particularly well-stocked.
The Packers' offensive starters average 27.27 years compared with 26.46 on defense.
"I think it's potentially a pretty good team," Thompson said. "I'm looking forward to watching this team play. I feel good about it."
The changing face of the roster is reflected by the fact that Brett Favre and Rob Davis are the only players left from the Super Bowl XXXII team, Donald Driver joins them as the only leftovers from Ray Rhodes' lone campaign, and only 21 players on the 53 (plus two on injured reserve) remain from the 66-man contingent inherited by Mike McCarthy from Mike Sherman just 20 months ago.
Thompson's 34 draft choices presently include nine starters, two situation substitutes, nine backups and kicker Mason Crosby. Ten have been cut, two are on injured reserve and wide receiver Terrence Murphy retired.
The only backups older than 27 are Franks and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, each 29.
According to the Packers' research, Green Bay was one of 16 teams that kept two quarterbacks. Thompson didn't agree that it was the team's unsuccessful scouting at quarterback and tight end why two made it at each position.
"I really think (Tory) Humphrey would have been an option but it doesn't matter because he got hurt," Thompson said. "It just didn't happen for Ingle (Martin) during the preseason. That's the way it goes."
By BOB McGINN
Green Bay - Like a hamster caught in a motion wheel, Ted Thompson is well aware of the pitfalls associated with year after year of youth movement.
"Right," the Green Bay Packers' general manager said Wednesday. "You can get into a perpetual wheel going round and round."
But that certainly didn't dissuade Thompson from going young for the third year in a row as he attempts to build the Packers back toward respectability and beyond.
The players on the Packers' current 53-man roster average 25.74 years per man. Last year, Green Bay had the youngest team in the league at 25.57, just ahead of Tennessee at 25.77.
It will take another week for the National Football League to break down opening-day rosters and release the exact ages for every team. But the Packers have done calculations of their own that indicate that the Indianapolis Colts will be slightly younger.
Actually, the 53 Colts who will open their season tonight against New Orleans average 25.74, the same age as Green Bay. The Colts ranked third at 26.13 last September en route to an NFL championship.
Colts President Bill Polian must see the beauty of youth, too. All nine of the Colts' draft choices made the team as well as three rookie free agents and three first-year players.
Indianapolis' total of 15 rookies and first-year men is three more than the Packers', who kept nine of their 11 selections, one rookie free agent and two first-year players.
The Colts have seven players age 30 or older, same as Green Bay. The Packers had as many as 13 in 2001.
"Would I feel better if we were a little bit more experienced?" Thompson said. "Probably. We've added a lot of young guys the last three years. But you get players where you can get them. You're dealt the cards you're dealt."
Well, not really. In an attempt to add more young players, Thompson has traded down nine times in his first three drafts. By doing so, he converted 23 picks plus wide receiver Javon Walker into 34 choices, 28 of whom made the team after their first training camp.
In 2004, the Packers' last winning season, their average age was 27.0, making that club their oldest since '89. Thompson, who has procured all but 14 of the current 53 during his 2½-year watch, trimmed the average age to 26.19 in '05 before really wielding the scythe a year ago.
The only way the Packers will become a more veteran team is if Thompson quits trading down for all these extra picks who invariably make the roster.
"If this team performs the way I think it will, then I think we'll be in position where we won't feel the need to do that," he said. "The more picks you have, obviously the better chance you have of accumulating some guys. But if we feel really good about a pick at the time, even though we have three guys (rated almost equally), we might just go ahead and take the first choice (instead of trading down)."
Green Bay's house-cleaning reached legendary proportions in '06. An astonishing 23 players with no time on the Packers' active roster or injured reserve the previous year made the opening 53, and there were a whopping 10 new starters.
In retrospect, Thompson acknowledged that the 23 newcomers "were a little high."
This year, the 14 newcomers on the 53 and the five new starters are almost exactly the same as the average from 2002-'05 and suggest a more substantial team.
"It indicates that it's tougher to crack our starting lineup this year," Thompson said. "It was a little bit more difficult to make this team this year."
The new starters appear to be tight end Donald Lee for Bubba Franks, running back Brandon Jackson for Ahman Green, fullback Korey Hall for William Henderson, defensive tackle Johnny Jolly for Corey Williams and strong safety Atari Bigby for Marquand Manuel.
Newcomers to the 53 include the nine draft choices, one unrestricted free agent (Frank Walker), one trade acquisition (Ryan Grant), one "street" free agent (Tramon Williams), one rookie free agent (Daniel Muir) and one waiver pickup (John Kuhn).
More than one-third of the changeover occurred at running back, where five new faces stare at coach Edgar Bennett. The position's serious weakness is evident, although Thompson doesn't view it that way.
Calling his third roster in Green Bay "deeper than we've been," Thompson saluted the offensive line and wide receivers in addition to the defensive line and cornerbacks for being particularly well-stocked.
The Packers' offensive starters average 27.27 years compared with 26.46 on defense.
"I think it's potentially a pretty good team," Thompson said. "I'm looking forward to watching this team play. I feel good about it."
The changing face of the roster is reflected by the fact that Brett Favre and Rob Davis are the only players left from the Super Bowl XXXII team, Donald Driver joins them as the only leftovers from Ray Rhodes' lone campaign, and only 21 players on the 53 (plus two on injured reserve) remain from the 66-man contingent inherited by Mike McCarthy from Mike Sherman just 20 months ago.
Thompson's 34 draft choices presently include nine starters, two situation substitutes, nine backups and kicker Mason Crosby. Ten have been cut, two are on injured reserve and wide receiver Terrence Murphy retired.
The only backups older than 27 are Franks and Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, each 29.
According to the Packers' research, Green Bay was one of 16 teams that kept two quarterbacks. Thompson didn't agree that it was the team's unsuccessful scouting at quarterback and tight end why two made it at each position.
"I really think (Tory) Humphrey would have been an option but it doesn't matter because he got hurt," Thompson said. "It just didn't happen for Ingle (Martin) during the preseason. That's the way it goes."