McGinn--"Packers Declined to offer Wahle a Contract

[Bretsky]

I guess I must be alone in thinking he wouldn't have been a bad acquisition.

He can still play the position, and I have my doubts about almost everyone, except

I would have like to see him come in here, and force the kids to get by him to earn a spot in the line. If he were to come in and NOT start, that would be great - because even if he isn't pro-bowl material anymore, he's still ok. And I don't think the money paid him would matter much, we've got so much cap room anyways, we can affoard a guy or two making starter money to be sitting on the bench.

IMO he'd have been a very good addition

[Merlin]

I don't want to hear "We like who we have here" and "We hope to be successful" this season from Ted Thompson. It's time to shore up the guard positions with or without Favre. If that's a stop gap veteran for a season or two until someone develops, fine. This idea of drafting someone and starting them is shown for the weakness it can be at this position. I don't like the idea of drafting someone to start. We have been too lucky for too long with that and it's time to be a real team and develop players.

[Scott Campbell]

I don't want to hear "We like who we have here" and "We hope to be successful" this season from Ted Thompson.

Yeah, well most of us didn't want to hear "I hate who we have here" and "were going to be unsuccessful" from you all last year. As Mick might say - you can't always get what you want. But at 13-3, we got what we needed.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

I don't like the idea of drafting someone to start. We have been too lucky for too long with that and it's time to be a real team and develop players.

Why is it "lucky?"

[pbmax]

Those Pro Bowls of Rivera's were a source of aggravation for Wahle. He thought the team did a much better job promoting Rivera than himself and I think he laid blame for that on Sherman. He told the J-Sentinel that he felt he was not one of Sherman's favorites.

McGinn seems to have an awful lofty opinion of Wahle, stating:

From 2001-'04, Wahle performed as well if not better than any guard in Green Bay since Gale Gillingham's career wound down in the early 1970s.

Seems somewhat unfair to Marco Rivera, a Pro-Bowl selection in 2002, 2003 and 2004. It is also inconsistent with his own grading of Wahle, which lagged behind Rivera in the early years. In 2001, he only gave Wahle a "C-plus". I suspect Timmerman and Taylor performed as well as Wahle did in 2001 and 2002. In 2003 he seemed to catch Rivera and probably was better than Rivera in 2004, mostly due to Rivera's injuries. I'm not sure that Wahle's best year in GB, probably 2004, was as good or better than Rivera's best years. Wahle is such a perfect looking athlete for the position that I think sometimes he is given more credit than a guy like Rivera who isn't as smooth in his performance, but always managed to get the job done.

Wahle didn't become a Pro-Bowl player until his contract made him a celebrity, not that the Pro-Bowl isn't about reputation as much as performance anyway. However, when Rivera made it he didn't have that type of promotion. He just scratched and clawed his way to earn the respect of the voters.

Wahle had 4 good solid seasons in GB, during which he got better and better. His best in 2003-2004 were pretty darn good, I admit. Luckily for him he hit his prime and had his best performances leading into a critical contract year.

[Patler]

Those Pro Bowls of Rivera's were a source of aggravation for Wahle. He thought the team did a much better job promoting Rivera than himself and I think he laid blame for that on Sherman. He told the J-Sentinel that he felt he was not one of Sherman's favorites.

Wahle does come across as a guy who believes he was under appreciated in GB. Rivera was a starter for 5 years before he made his first Pro-Bowl. Wahle didn't really lock in the starting spot until 2001 and by 2003 he was complaining about not being a "favorite".