""WAITING GAME CONTINUES""

[Packerarcher]

i got a new theory

its based on what we saw about the pats giving away cassell for peanuts to the broncos. many people think good ole bill was doing his old buddy a favor by giving away cassel for cheap, and paying him back for all the good things he's did for the patriots

maybe thats what we did with ted thompson?

maybe bob harlan wanted to pay back holmgren for all the years of hard work and the good job he did with the packers. maybe bob did mike a giant favor by taking TT off his hands for him?

I think Thompson is an excellent GM, and I believe the record will reflect this in the next two years.

And if it doesn't, he'll likely be fired anyway.

i'll give you, he's good at scouting

but i'm not sold on his other gm qualities at this point

What qualities,he has none,unless you count being incredibly inept in FA a quality.

[Fritz]

Ted Thompson has no good qualities? Packerarcher, you called someone else's statement on another thread "asinine" - it was about someone saying he/she didn't want T.O. to get signed by anyone.

I'm going to call your Ted Thompson statement asinine. He may not last in Green Bay. Maybe the team will suck this year, maybe he'll get fired. I don't know. None of us do. But to suggest he has no qualities at all - asinine.

[sharpe1027]

The grass is always greener.

It is beginning to sound like a teenage girl bitch fest. TT sucks. Big deal. He's not going anywhere this year. Get over it. Good thing many of the posters are in WI so they have easy access to some cheese to go with their whine.

If you don't have anything constructive to say... ah forget it. Go ahead and bore us with your complaints.

[SkinBasket]

The grass is always greener.

It is beginning to sound like a teenage girl bitch fest. TT sucks. Big deal. He's not going anywhere this year. Get over it. Good thing many of the posters are in WI so they have easy access to some cheese to go with their whine.

If you don't have anything constructive to say... ah forget it. Go ahead and bore us with your complaints.

That reminds me of a story I heard once

[wist43]

TT will never be fired... he is a decent talent evaluator, and will continue to bring in enough talent thru the draft to keep the Packers in the 8-8 to 10-6 range... they'll never fire a 10-6 GM.

Carl Peterson never won anything... at least that I can remember; yet, he was a decent GM, kept his KC reasonably competitive, and was never seriously in danger of losing his job... I'm beginning to see TT the same way.

[wist43]

http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090305/PKR07/90305175/1058/PKR01

Mike Vandermause column: Be patient, as Ted Thompson is

The approval rating for Green Bay Packers General Manager Ted Thompson might have plummeted to an all-time low this week.

Dealing with the lingering effects of the Brett Favre trade last summer followed by the Packers’ disappointing 6-10 record was bad enough. But when Thompson failed to land any players in the early stages of free agency, his critics began braying like rented mules.

The rallying cry from a restless fan base went something like this: “Do something — anything — to upgrade the roster and appease us.”

To which Thompson, during an appearance at the University of Wisconsin pro day on Wednesday, calmly replied: “We don’t want to sign a guy just so we can say, ‘Look!’ or just to put another guy on the pile. We want a guy who can come in and fill a particular role. It doesn’t have to be a starter, doesn’t have to be all that. If a guy can do something to help our team and give us a better chance in the fall, that’s what we’ll do.”

Crack on him if you must, but at least give Thompson credit for standing up for his convictions. He refuses to engage in senseless overbidding for underwhelming talent even in the face of sharp criticism.

That’s why Thompson took a pass on free agent defensive lineman Chris Canty, who signed with the New York Giants for an exorbitant $42 million over six years despite never earning a Pro Bowl berth.

That’s why Thompson never bothered to enter the bidding for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, who was paid a king’s ransom — $41 million guaranteed and $100 million total over seven years — by the Washington Redskins.

Thompson will never let the urge for a quick fix get in the way of common sense, and that drives his critics nuts. They want instant gratification, which is in stark contrast to Thompson’s measured approach to building a team.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder might be considered the anti-Thompson in NFL circles.

He grew up a staunch supporter of the Redskins, and when he bought the team a decade ago proceeded to act out like a fan. That is to say, he threw millions of dollars at the most attractive free agents in a quest to achieve immediate success.

In the eyes of many Redskins fans, no one is smarter or more popular than Snyder in the spring. But when the Redskins consistently flop in the fall, no one looks more foolish.

The Redskins have qualified for the playoffs just twice in the last nine seasons under Snyder and never have advanced past the divisional round.

But that didn’t stop the free-spending Snyder from doling out $171 million in contracts last week for Haynesworth, cornerback DeAngelo Hall and guard Derrick Dockery.

In stark contrast, the only unrestricted free agent Thompson signed in 2007 was cornerback Frank Walker, yet the Packers went 13-3 that year and advanced to the NFC championship game.

Thompson isn’t averse to throwing big money at free agents, as evidenced by his signing of Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett in 2006. But the player and the price must be right.

This is not an argument in favor of maintaining the status quo. The Packers took a big step backward last season, and management must be held accountable. Thompson clearly needs to upgrade the Packers’ defense, particularly the front seven, which played a key role in the team’s second-half slide.

But that doesn’t mean he should act out of desperation, which would only make matters worse.

Thompson has ammunition with four of the top 83 picks in next month’s draft, including the ninth overall. In addition, there is plenty of time to sign second-tier free agents or pull off a trade. Just because Thompson doesn’t keep up with the Snyders of the NFL world in March doesn’t mean the Packers are destined for failure in September.

Thompson can’t make football decisions based on fan sentiment. He learned that from former Packers General Manager Ron Wolf.

“You can’t really worry about it,” Wolf recently told me about public criticism. “Because you’re trying to do what in your mind … is in the best interests of the team.

“You could be wrong, but you have to live with yourself.”

Thompson should ultimately be judged on the Packers’ record this season, not how much money he spends on free agents.

After the abuse Thompson took this summer, I wonder how long he'll want to stay in Green Bay--even if the team starts winning again. I'd think if he looked to go elsewhere, he'd be in demand. I have this strange feeling that he'll leave here and build a championship caliber team elsewhere.

Look at the bright side folks

Every year we're going to have the healthiest dam Salary Cap going into the season of just about the entire NFL

Healthy salary cap, youngest roster year after year, and a string of 9-7 seasons.... woo hoo!!!!! lol

We're going on 13 years since we won the SB... the dry spell is going to get much longer.

[mraynrand]

they'll never fire a 10-6 GM.

Well, except for Mike Sherman. But they'll keep him on as coach so they can fire him again next year. Maybe when they fire Thompson they can demote him and then fire him again too.

[sharpe1027]

TT will never be fired... he is a decent talent evaluator, and will continue to bring in enough talent thru the draft to keep the Packers in the 8-8 to 10-6 range... they'll never fire a 10-6 GM.

Carl Peterson never won anything... at least that I can remember; yet, he was a decent GM, kept his KC reasonably competitive, and was never seriously in danger of losing his job... I'm beginning to see TT the same way.

Maybe. Unlike KC, they went deep into the playoffs only a year ago. Personally, I'm O.K. with a GM fielding a team that can get within one pass away of the superbowl. Next time around, maybe that play goes our way.

I look at it this way. He cleaned house his first year and had a very bad year. After that year, he continued to bring in fresh blood, both coaches and players and had two years of steady improvement. Last year was a clearly a step back. The difference between winning and losing is razor thin with all the parity of late, and the Packers were within a hair of winning many of the games they lost. I am going to wait and see if they can get that hair back this year.

[sheepshead]

Loosing 6 games by 5 points or less has NOTHING to do with the general manager. NOTHING. Our biggest need is on the defense. So he spent lots and lots of money on it. ON COACHES.

Compare these two teams for instance over the last 10 years:

Washington Redskins - 10 years = 1 playoff win


Pittsburgh Steelers - 10 years = 11 playoff wins (two super bowls)

Now, google all the Big Name Free Agents Snyder has signed.

Try to do a similar search for the Steelers. I couldnt name one OL on that team. Oh but we all know the Jets OL dont we??

I'm glad he is not signing 36 year olds to 5 year deals and putting them in the top 5 of all salaries on the team.

[Deputy Nutz]

TT will never be fired... he is a decent talent evaluator, and will continue to bring in enough talent thru the draft to keep the Packers in the 8-8 to 10-6 range... they'll never fire a 10-6 GM.

Carl Peterson never won anything... at least that I can remember; yet, he was a decent GM, kept his KC reasonably competitive, and was never seriously in danger of losing his job... I'm beginning to see TT the same way.

Maybe. Unlike KC, they went deep into the playoffs only a year ago. Personally, I'm O.K. with a GM fielding a team that can get within one pass away of the superbowl. Next time around, maybe that play goes our way.

I look at it this way. He cleaned house his first year and had a very bad year. After that year, he continued to bring in fresh blood, both coaches and players and had two years of steady improvement. Last year was a clearly a step back. The difference between winning and losing is razor thin with all the parity of late, and the Packers were within a hair of winning many of the games they lost. I am going to wait and see if they can get that hair back this year.

One good season with a little bit of magic here and there isn't going to cover the other 3 season of failure.

Besides boiling that game against the Giants down to the interception by Favre shows your lack of football knowledge forgiving loyalty to the Packers. If anything that int showed just how dependent the team was on Favre. Where was the running game? Where was the run defense? Where was the fuck was Al Harris? The defense couldn't get it's ass of the field the entire second half.

[bobblehead]

Re: TT

Yep, Teddy's a stud. Giving Poppinga all that cash was just a brilliant stroke. Popp really earned it last season right?

Ya gotta love the Harrell move. Everyone and his brother knew the guy was damaged goods but Teddy knew better. Yeah he really showed his GM skills on that one. I remember touting Bowe and Nelson BEFORE that draft. With Nelson, Woodson does'nt play saftey and we would'nt STILL be looking for a saftey now, but hey what do I know?

Speaking of more Teddy genious, how about seeing with his own eyes at the end of the 2007 season how we could'nt generate a pass rush or stop the run. So like a good GM, he saw the problem and took steps to fix it right? Let's see, how much cash did keeping KGB cost us? Come to think of it, between Popp's contract and KGB, we might have actually been able to afford a FA. Why get in a bidding war when we can waste that money in house?

I could go on and on with FACT after FACT after FACT, but what's the use. Some believe producing a 6-10 team and having all the holes we have now after 4 years is being an "excellent" GM. Then there are some of us who believe the team we love deserves better.

Which facts again?? YOu mean that he didn't forsee Bigby getting hurt? Bigby was monster the last month of 2007 and had 2 good playoff games. If TT didn't see his injury coming...yea, he is incompetent.

As for Poppinga he played pretty damn good in the first half of the season and then struggled along with the rest of the D. He is an NFL caliber starter who plays good special teams, the contract he got was about right.

Who was that mythical pass rushing demon we could have signed after 2007 anyway? I know the market was flooded with 300 pounders who can get after the QB, my memory slips though so who were they again?

You're right, Bowe would have made a huge difference on our top ten offense, and probably would have had 10-15 sacks too.

There is a reason TT has been working in the NFL his entire life and you and I haven't.

I am hoping the defense is much better this season and the offense is at least as good. If it doeesn't happen and you continue to see the same breakdowns then TT and MM will have to answer for it, but coming off a season where 2 better kicks and 1 defensive stop out of 4 would have put us in the playoffs I think you are overreacting a bit, especially considering we lost 3 defensive starters to injury. If you have a magic formula to predict injuries I'm sure TT would love to hear it.

[bobblehead]

i got a new theory

its based on what we saw about the pats giving away cassell for peanuts to the broncos. many people think good ole bill was doing his old buddy a favor by giving away cassel for cheap, and paying him back for all the good things he's did for the patriots

maybe thats what we did with ted thompson?

maybe bob harlan wanted to pay back holmgren for all the years of hard work and the good job he did with the packers. maybe bob did mike a giant favor by taking TT off his hands for him?

You know, you whined about the political debates in RR, but I'm willing to bet that this tired act is annoying a lot more people.

even more then you do?

You mean by making posts full of stats facts and critical thinking instead of shrilly attacking TT cuz I'm in hate mode?? Yea, I guess that annoys people.

[cpk1994]

Great post Nutz...if you're at Sports Bubbler.

They let you post pictures of cock there?

Well, they do let Tank post there.

EDIT: Also where Scot Campbell has been reduced to hanging out at.

[Deputy Nutz]

Great post Nutz...if you're at Sports Bubbler.

They let you post pictures of cock there?

Well, they do let Tank post there.

EDIT: Also where Scot Campbell has been reduced to hanging out at.

Scott is, well, scott, did, well we can't talk about scott c. anymore

[bobblehead]

they'll never fire a 10-6 GM.

Well, except for Mike Sherman. But they'll keep him on as coach so they can fire him again next year. Maybe when they fire Thompson they can demote him and then fire him again too.

It continues to amaze me that people can make a statement that is so easily disputed. I mean, if TT goes 10-6 THIS year they ain't going to fire him, but if we go 10-6 the next 3 years and flop in the playoffs each year...buh bye.