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Interesting opinion piece that seems to support or at least regurgitate some of the same thoughts about TT on this board. Plus - I have to admit I haven't seen the humorous Brett Favre = Mickey Mouse metaphor as of yet.
From Here:
From Here:
PETER JACKEL: Thompson needs a big season
BY PETER JACKEL
pjackel@journaltimes.com
Monday, July 20, 2009 9:56 PM CDT
As we breathlessly await a puff of smoke to be emitted from the Metrodome a week from today to herald the return of Brett Favre (will a marching band clad in purple and gold enhance the moment with a rendition of “Gonna Fly Now?”), I just wonder what Ted Thompson is thinking.
My guess is that the Green Bay Packers’ much maligned general manager will be too consumed with the business at hand to give our favorite drama queen a second thought.
Nevertheless, heat will not be necessary for his Lambeau Field office even when Green Bay’s weather digs in its heels this winter if these Packers fail in this most crucial of seasons. And if Favre’s Minnesota Vikings set sail while these Packers plunge into the depths — and no one can rule out that set of circumstances — Thompson might want to consider leaving Green Bay under the cover of darkness.
And that’s really too bad. Not too much mystifies me after so many years in this business, but this utter contempt for Thompson from so many quarters sure does.
I recall listening to a Packers call-in show last September when the Favre soap opera was at its zenith. After one woman called to say, “Thompson has to go for what he did to Brett!,” the radio host patiently explained that Thompson made a reasonable business decision based on Favre’s advancing age and his heightening flair for the annual offseason dramatics.
And what was this women’s response? “Well, you just don’t run Mickey Mouse out of Disneyland!”
Okaaaaay, now that we have that settled ...
In Thompson’s case, I prefer to deal with facts and not emotional issues, the likes of which have no place in the cold reality of the National Football League. And from where I sit, the facts simply don’t support that Thompson is lacking as a general manager.
When he was hired to replace Mike Sherman — the Scooter McLean of Packers general managers — in January 2005, he inherited a team with a talent base that had been eroded to a sliver of soap by Sherman’s disastrous personnel decisions. And when the Packers were forced to field the remnants of Sherman’s failed vision in 2005 — dare I remind you of Mark Roman, Ahmad Carroll, Robert Thomas, Paris Lenon, Robert Ferguson and B.J. Sander? — they skidded to a 4-12 record.
Since Thompson had the opportunity to bulldoze away that rubble, the Packers have gone 27-20 and advanced to the NFC championship game in January 2008. On that Packers team, incidentally, 12 starters and 32 of 45 players active in the championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants were acquired under Thompson’s watch.
As the Packers prepare to get down to business for this season, they will led by Aaron Rodgers, only the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in his first season as a starter. And they will be stocked with other Thompson-acquired difference makers the likes of Greg Jennings, Nick Collins, Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Ryan Grant and a quality haul of rookies led by B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews Jr.
So what’s the problem?
That Thompson has seemingly wasted high draft picks on Justin Harrell (can we really write this man off after just two years?) and A.J. Hawk (who just might flourish in the Packers’ new 3-4 defense)?
That the Packers collapsed last season after losing three crucial defensive players to injury (and, no, I won’t conveniently neglect to mention that two of these players, Cullen Jenkins and Nick Barnett, were acquired by Sherman)?
That Thompson is somewhat clandestine and not nearly as personable as the great Ron Wolf?
That he hasn’t pulled a Daniel Snyder and thrown Monopoly money at the latest sensation on the free-agent market?
Or is it that he ran Mickey Mouse out of Disneyland?
So what would have happened if Mickey Mouse would have been allowed to stay in his magic kingdom last year? Jenkins and Barnett still would have been hurt. Favre’s arm would have still frayed, as it did during his one season with the New York Jets.
And Thompson would have been forced to either pin his hopes this year on a soon-to-be 40-year-old quarterback — after another offseason of melodramatics, that is — or what would have been a completely unproven Rodgers.
I will be the first to admit this season is crucial for Thompson. This will be his fifth season running the show and his team is in place.
With the personnel Thompson has acquired coupled with an easier schedule, I just can’t see these Packers not being in a mix with the elite this December.
And I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong.
Peter Jackel is a reporter for The Journal Times. You can reach him by calling (262) 634-3322, Ext. 323 or by e-mailing him at: peter.jackel@lee.net
BY PETER JACKEL
pjackel@journaltimes.com
Monday, July 20, 2009 9:56 PM CDT
As we breathlessly await a puff of smoke to be emitted from the Metrodome a week from today to herald the return of Brett Favre (will a marching band clad in purple and gold enhance the moment with a rendition of “Gonna Fly Now?”), I just wonder what Ted Thompson is thinking.
My guess is that the Green Bay Packers’ much maligned general manager will be too consumed with the business at hand to give our favorite drama queen a second thought.
Nevertheless, heat will not be necessary for his Lambeau Field office even when Green Bay’s weather digs in its heels this winter if these Packers fail in this most crucial of seasons. And if Favre’s Minnesota Vikings set sail while these Packers plunge into the depths — and no one can rule out that set of circumstances — Thompson might want to consider leaving Green Bay under the cover of darkness.
And that’s really too bad. Not too much mystifies me after so many years in this business, but this utter contempt for Thompson from so many quarters sure does.
I recall listening to a Packers call-in show last September when the Favre soap opera was at its zenith. After one woman called to say, “Thompson has to go for what he did to Brett!,” the radio host patiently explained that Thompson made a reasonable business decision based on Favre’s advancing age and his heightening flair for the annual offseason dramatics.
And what was this women’s response? “Well, you just don’t run Mickey Mouse out of Disneyland!”
Okaaaaay, now that we have that settled ...
In Thompson’s case, I prefer to deal with facts and not emotional issues, the likes of which have no place in the cold reality of the National Football League. And from where I sit, the facts simply don’t support that Thompson is lacking as a general manager.
When he was hired to replace Mike Sherman — the Scooter McLean of Packers general managers — in January 2005, he inherited a team with a talent base that had been eroded to a sliver of soap by Sherman’s disastrous personnel decisions. And when the Packers were forced to field the remnants of Sherman’s failed vision in 2005 — dare I remind you of Mark Roman, Ahmad Carroll, Robert Thomas, Paris Lenon, Robert Ferguson and B.J. Sander? — they skidded to a 4-12 record.
Since Thompson had the opportunity to bulldoze away that rubble, the Packers have gone 27-20 and advanced to the NFC championship game in January 2008. On that Packers team, incidentally, 12 starters and 32 of 45 players active in the championship game against the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants were acquired under Thompson’s watch.
As the Packers prepare to get down to business for this season, they will led by Aaron Rodgers, only the second quarterback in NFL history to pass for more than 4,000 yards in his first season as a starter. And they will be stocked with other Thompson-acquired difference makers the likes of Greg Jennings, Nick Collins, Tramon Williams, Charles Woodson, Ryan Grant and a quality haul of rookies led by B.J. Raji and Clay Matthews Jr.
So what’s the problem?
That Thompson has seemingly wasted high draft picks on Justin Harrell (can we really write this man off after just two years?) and A.J. Hawk (who just might flourish in the Packers’ new 3-4 defense)?
That the Packers collapsed last season after losing three crucial defensive players to injury (and, no, I won’t conveniently neglect to mention that two of these players, Cullen Jenkins and Nick Barnett, were acquired by Sherman)?
That Thompson is somewhat clandestine and not nearly as personable as the great Ron Wolf?
That he hasn’t pulled a Daniel Snyder and thrown Monopoly money at the latest sensation on the free-agent market?
Or is it that he ran Mickey Mouse out of Disneyland?
So what would have happened if Mickey Mouse would have been allowed to stay in his magic kingdom last year? Jenkins and Barnett still would have been hurt. Favre’s arm would have still frayed, as it did during his one season with the New York Jets.
And Thompson would have been forced to either pin his hopes this year on a soon-to-be 40-year-old quarterback — after another offseason of melodramatics, that is — or what would have been a completely unproven Rodgers.
I will be the first to admit this season is crucial for Thompson. This will be his fifth season running the show and his team is in place.
With the personnel Thompson has acquired coupled with an easier schedule, I just can’t see these Packers not being in a mix with the elite this December.
And I’ll be the first to admit I was wrong.
Peter Jackel is a reporter for The Journal Times. You can reach him by calling (262) 634-3322, Ext. 323 or by e-mailing him at: peter.jackel@lee.net
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