Will Thompson handle the offseason differently this year?

[Deputy Nutz]

I just don't see Thompson breaking the bank on any one free agent this spring. I can see him paying a healthy contract to an offensive guard that is worthy. I can see him picking up some veterans to compete for roster spots, but not starting positions. Crumpler forget about it. Franks can still play football, just not at 6 million bucks. I still wouldn't cut him unless you have an equal or better option at tight end, and the Packers won't have that unless they hit one in the draft.

The Packers biggest need is depth and starting caliber play in the interior of the line. Tony Moll is the Packers number one reserve along with Junius Coston. That is a really shitty sentence.

Moving on. KGB gets double digit sacks, any other team will pay him 7 million to do that in 2008. If the Packers had an equal or better replacement then I say let him go, but Micheal Montgomery is surely not the pass rusher that Kabeer is.

Poppinga isn't great, hell he might not be average, but again how much do you spend to replace him? I still think saving on a guy like Poppinga and investing the money on a better pass rush is a bigger issue. Maybe spend it on a better defensive system, I don't know...

Plodding along, the Packers secondary could use some adjustments, at safety, the Packers have Bigby, Collins, and Rouse. You would think out of those three the Packers could come up with two servicable safeties. Another draft pick might not help at safety, maybe a couple of journeymen safeties will help secure the two spots.

Cornerback is interesting because you have talented but very raw, and inexperience back up, and you have two really old, experienced starters that are a year away from collecting social security.

[RashanGary]

Franks at 6 mil is just not working out. If you really have a hole burning in your pocket because we have cap room, then go spend 6 mil per year on a really good guard or someone who acctually makes a postive difference in games at any position.

This whole "ah well, he's better than an NFLE scrub, might as well pay him 6 mil per year" thing just gets out of hand.

My attitude is why not spend it on a good player. Further more, if it takes a year to find that player, I don't care because having Franks or not having Franks doesn't make one iota of difference on the outcome of next season.

Shit, if you really have to have it spent right now then go extend Jennings or Grant or something just to say it's being used so you don't have a little panic attack about not having every penny spent during these couple years after the thin Sherman drafts.

[PackerBlues]

Good stuff man.

I think TT is gonna drop some major bankroll on a a few select player. G, DL, CB and LB is what I think he will be actively pursuing. With the #30 pick he will feel like he is playing with house money and make some risky moves.

He better.

Thanks Mad, the thing is, the Packers don't seem to be in bad enough shape in any given position that Thompson should feel that he would have to make any risky moves. LOL, besides, what would be risky to Thomposn? Signing a guy over the age of 30? Making a trade involving giving away a draft pick? Trading up?

Wynn showed that the character issues that dogged him in college might still be a problem in the pros. I think it's more likely that they keep Jackson over Wynn and bring in another RB.

Could you fill me in on the character issue stuff? I usually keep up on this stuff pretty good, but I did go a couple of months without internet last year(pure hell) , so I must have missed something.

I'm thinking Bubba is gone. He's basically a blocking TE at this point. Those guys are pretty easy to acquire, and at a far smaller salary. This position needs an influx of talent.

I agree Harv, but does the TE position need the influx any more or less than any other position?

If you are for keeping Franks, then I don't understand this. KGB and Bubba are getting paid relatively similarly, and as a backup player, KGB's pass rush abilities are much more important and much harder to find than Bubba's blocking abilities.
Mostly agree with your other takes.

Sorry Harv, sometimes its hard for a person to convey what they mean with the written word, without laying on the sarcasm extremely thick. (been tryin to avoid doing that) When I said that Thompson may want to rethink Bubba's importance to the team, I meant that maybe Thompson should start looking for a new TE, because Bubba may not be worth keeping. Same goes for KGB in my opinion, although, you are right about KGB, unless a noticeably better player were to become available, and considering the leap in cap space........maybe we would be better off keeping KGB. I dunno.

Now that's funny. You don't usually see the word meathead included in player critiques.
Am I crazy, or does cutting Franks and signing Crumpler sound not so bad?

I actually like Pops, but I think the Packers could improve by replacing him. As for Franks for Crumpler, sounds good to me, I think that Lee is the man right now, and that Thompson may want to wait and see how Humphrey looks coming back from his injury. As much as I have always liked Bubba, I think his time in GB is about done.

Probably not. The results might be different because there is a better crop of UFA's and many might be willing to come to GB to be on a competitor this season as opposed to avoiding us like the plague last year.

I think Ted Thompson will always do what he thinks is right. He'll avoid the big mistakes but be aggressive with the big opertunities.

I'm excited that he'll do the same, but I'm also excited that the results may be different.

I think your right JH, in a way, I would expect Thompson to simply continue to draft the "best player available", especially considering that in all honesty, the team is pretty good at almost every position at this point in time. As for Thompson's use of Free Agency this off season........I think that by now, I trust in what Thompson is doing, I may not always agree, but after last season, I will give him the benefit of the doubt every time.

[PackerBlues]

Nutz, I agreed with everything that you said......but I loved this part:

The Packers biggest need is depth and starting caliber play in the interior of the line. Tony Moll is the Packers number one reserve along with Junius Coston. That is a really shitty sentence.

Good stuff.

[RashanGary]

I think your right JH, in a way, I would expect Thompson to simply continue to draft the "best player available", especially considering that in all honesty, the team is pretty good at almost every position at this point in time. As for Thompson's use of Free Agency this off season........I think that by now, I trust in what Thompson is doing, I may not always agree, but after last season, I will give him the benefit of the doubt every time.

Sometimes you go about your buisness as usual and results end up a certain way. Then the next year, you do the same thing and you end up with Woodson. Then the next year, you do things similar and you end up with nobody but a year later you do the same thing and you end up with 4 UFA's.

Each off season is different. I do think there is going to be a tendancy not to have many high priced UFA's, but I also think over the course of Thompsons tenure that you'll see some really effective ones too (Woodson, PIckett and more to come).

Bottom line, I think he'll balance things the way he knows how and the results will depend on the oppertunity at positions of need, not on forcing something. Listening ot Thompson, I think he has a way of approaching the markets that is designed to take advantage of oppertunity without making mistakes by forcing.

[Bretsky]

Re: Will Thompson handle the offseason differently this year

Am I crazy, or does cutting Franks and signing Crumpler sound not so bad?

Repeat after me; "Tory Humphrey, Tory Humphrey, Tory Humphrey".

The Packer website even has a feature article about him!
Seriously, I think he might be a decent second tight end who will be a better receiver than Franks and a better blocker than Lee.

Who was that Atlas Herron guy you kept hyping ?

I see you've found a new victim

[Scott Campbell]

Re: Will Thompson handle the offseason differently this year

You edited too much of my quote. I was referring to Tory Humphrey as a better receiver than Franks and maybe a better blocker than Lee.

How did you get that read? He was hurt all year.

Is that you Ted?

[Patler]

Re: Will Thompson handle the offseason differently this year

Am I crazy, or does cutting Franks and signing Crumpler sound not so bad?

Repeat after me; "Tory Humphrey, Tory Humphrey, Tory Humphrey".

The Packer website even has a feature article about him!
Seriously, I think he might be a decent second tight end who will be a better receiver than Franks and a better blocker than Lee.

Who was that Atlas Herron guy you kept hyping ?

I see you've found a new victim

You aren't going to let me forget that one, are you??

Herrion was just a guess based on some things I saw in the way he was handled.

What I find intriguing about Humphrey is that both MM and TT, even a coupe weeks into the season, brought him up as a disappointing loss to IR, and he was gone right after training camp started. He was mentioned several times, and TT again mentioned him at the end of the year. They seem to have some expectations for him.

I'll probably be wrong again, and he will be relaesed before camp even starts!

[Patler]

Re: Will Thompson handle the offseason differently this year

You edited too much of my quote. I was referring to Tory Humphrey as a better receiver than Franks and maybe a better blocker than Lee.

How did you get that read? He was hurt all year.

Is that you Ted?

Ya, but he was around in 2006 for half the season. He was fast enough to play on kick coverage teams for the Packers that year, and was the one they prepared to be the second fullback when Henderson got hurt and was out.

[Fritz]

Patler, just say "Odell Thurman" to Bretsky (or me), and he (and I) will turn red-faced and stop teasing.

[Patler]

Patler, just say "Odell Thurman" to Bretsky (or me), and he (and I) will turn red-faced and stop teasing.

Ya Bretsky!!!!! What about Odell Thurman!!!

(Thanks, Fritz! I had almost forgotten about that!)

[run pMc]

high-priced free agents expect to start. If you sign Crumpler, do you start him over Lee? Do you make them "suffer the indignity" (sracasm) of having a camp battle?

Franks is a decent player, but overpaid. KGB would be harder to replace.

I think GB needs most immediate help at OL, but TT might be looking to draft for the future.
Consider this team 2 years from today: Driver will start to show his age. Harris will probably be a nickel CB and Woodson a S. Both OT will be worn down. KGB will probably be gone. How much gas will Kampman have left in the tank? The ageless Favre will probably be gone. Assuming he's not locked up, Grant will be an UFA. Not sure, but I think Jennings will be a FA as well.

I think TT will handle offseason differently, if only because he's managed to build some depth and improve special teams. I think we'll know pretty fast whether he goes all-in for a push to the Super Bowl next year or builds with the post-Favre era in mind.

[The Leaper]

I think TT will handle offseason differently, if only because he's managed to build some depth and improve special teams. I think we'll know pretty fast whether he goes all-in for a push to the Super Bowl next year or builds with the post-Favre era in mind.

I don't expect to see Thompson move "all-in"...but you can certainly make at least one signficant FA move, and OG seems a likely choice. It is one of the deeper positions in free agency this year.

Believing you can reach the Super Bowl at any point in the near future without massively upgrading the interior OL is crazy talk. As we've seen from Colledge, Spitz and the rest, relying on college talent to come in and immediately shore up the OL is iffy at best.

Use the draft to continue fleshing out depth at LB, CB, RB, TE, OT and DE.

I'd use FA to shore up that interior OL for the near future. You've already got Colledge and Spitz. They are still young and have room to develop in the next 2-3 years. What good is another green rookie going to do there? Bringing in a veteran lets this team actually have a chance at a title next year.

[Merlin]

Good stuff man.

I think TT is gonna drop some major bankroll on a a few select player. G, DL, CB and LB is what I think he will be actively pursuing. With the #30 pick he will feel like he is playing with house money and make some risky moves.

He better.

You have been watching 3T all these years right? Has he ever shown he would do anything remotely close to this? I see him trading down because the draft is horrible this year and no one left @ #30 will be worth first round money. Look for him to trade out of the first round and pick up 27 other guys, half of whom make the roster as we continue our push to be the youngest team in the NFL every year.

Seriously though I wouldn't at all be surprised if he traded out of the first for a pile of picks and then kept the cream of the crop. If it ain't broke don't fix it (at least from his perspective) or as he would say "We like who we have here" and "We hope to be successful".

[MJZiggy]

Good stuff man.

I think TT is gonna drop some major bankroll on a a few select player. G, DL, CB and LB is what I think he will be actively pursuing. With the #30 pick he will feel like he is playing with house money and make some risky moves.

He better.

You have been watching 3T all these years right? Has he ever shown he would do anything remotely close to this? I see him trading down because the draft is horrible this year and no one left @ #30 will be worth first round money. Look for him to trade out of the first round and pick up 27 other guys, half of whom make the roster as we continue our push to be the youngest team in the NFL every year.

Seriously though I wouldn't at all be surprised if he traded out of the first for a pile of picks and then kept the cream of the crop. If it ain't broke don't fix it (at least from his perspective) or as he would say "We like who we have here" and "We hope to be successful".

He's said those things in the past, and in the past he's also brought in Pickett and Woodson. He has the cap space to do whatever he wants this year and he has been quoted (referring to stockpiling draft picks) that he doesn't have to do that this year. I see no reason for him to trade out of that pick if there's someone there that he likes. He hasn't traded his first rounder since he got here and I see no compelling reason he'd do so this time.