Wolf and Thompson - JSO Article

[Bretsky]

silly free agency; the players on our roster are always better than anything out there so why waste time looking there to improve our roster depth from anywhere but our own

[Lurker64]

silly free agency; the players on our roster are always better than anything out there so why waste time looking there to improve our roster depth from anywhere but our own

Well... this is obviously an overstatement intended sarcastically. But the thing is, being GM of an NFL team would be significantly easier if you could see the future. The thing is, none of the GMs are effective augurs, so they're all just making informed guesses. You never know how much better a young guy is going to be than the year before, and likewise you never know how good a potential free agent "upgrade" is going to be for your team. Flash back one year ago before OTAs, nobody knew how good Jermichael Finley was going to be as he had a pretty underwhelming rookie campaign, but he obviously turned out pretty well. Back up a few months further, and people were bemoaning Thompson's inability to sign either Canty or Olshansky which supposedly left the DL in shambles, but none of us knew how good Johnny Jolly was going to be at the 5-technique position.

The thing is though, that improving from within essentially costs you nothing extra, so it's always a good idea to at least try to do that; while improving from without can potentially be very expensive, so it's not always worth it. I won't say that there's never a way to improve via free agency, but I am firmly of the mind that it's almost never a good idea to overpay for a free agent from another team. Thompson has a good method, he sets a price he's willing to pay for a free agent and never exceeds it by much. In recent years we've seen some relatively mediocre players command crazy money simply because they're "the best at their position" in a given year and the team that signed him perceived a "need" at that position.

So as much as Thompson has sat out free agency to this point, I don't think he really has a lot of misses. Sometimes not signing somebody can be the right decision (e.g. it would have been a waste if Thompson signed LaVarr Arrington).

[Fritz]

What he said.

Again: Whom would you all have wanted TT to sign? Jason Taylor - then move your rookie of the year from last year to a new side? Adalius Thomas - whom the Pats did not want?

[bobblehead]

silly free agency; the players on our roster are always better than anything out there so why waste time looking there to improve our roster depth from anywhere but our own

TT has been very active in FA when it doesn't cost him big garaunteed money to do so. Pickett, Woodson, Chillar, not to mention all the young guys like TWill, Bigby, and such. Some work out and some get cut without costing us anything (Klemm).

What he won't do is commit big dollars to a guy who might not be worth much anymore. He also won't spend HUGE dollars for a guy like Haynesworth who has a history of being lazy, or trade away the future for a guy like JAllen who he would then have to pay huge as well.

[RashanGary]

We'll see how it all plays out. I think we can win a championship or three doing it just the way we are.

I think this year and the next several years are going to be some of the best in Packer history.

[Deputy Nutz]

I can see the kool-aid is flowing.

Until someone tells me how the Packers got significantly better in defending the pass in the off season I ain't betting on them to win no Super Bowl.

Listening to some of ya, why don't we just build a statue of Thompson out front of Lambeau and put him right between Curly and Vince.

[ND72]

Until someone tells me how the Packers got significantly better in defending the pass in the off season I ain't betting on them to win no Super Bowl.

You'd be surprised how much improvement happens from an offseason of work and game-film watching.

[Joemailman]

I can see the kool-aid is flowing.

Until someone tells me how the Packers got significantly better in defending the pass in the off season I ain't betting on them to win no Super Bowl.

Maybe they won't lose 3 CB's this year to season ending injuries.

Maybe Underwood, a very talented player, will be better than he was as a rookie. Brad Jones too.

Maybe Capers will gameplan to stop Favre as much as he did to stop AP.

Maybe Josh Bell will be better now that he will have some time to learn the defense.

Maybe Morgan Burnett will be a better backup to Bigby than Derrick Martin.

Maybe everybody will be a little better in the 2nd year of this defense.


Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News likes the Packers as one of the top teams in the league with staying power:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-05-14/49ers-top-list-emerging-teams-staying-power

[falco]

TT has been very active in FA when it doesn't cost him big garaunteed money to do so. Pickett, Woodson, Chillar, not to mention all the young guys like TWill, Bigby, and such. Some work out and some get cut without costing us anything (Klemm).

What he won't do is commit big dollars to a guy who might not be worth much anymore. He also won't spend HUGE dollars for a guy like Haynesworth who has a history of being lazy, or trade away the future for a guy like JAllen who he would then have to pay huge as well.

+1

[RashanGary]

I think there is a good chance Neal is a solid addition to our DL group. Last year, we were playing Montgomery and the rookie version of Jarius Wynn when Raji went down. This year, we should be able to absorb at least one injury on the DL without the drop off we had last year.

Tramon, Chuck, Collins, Bigby, Underwood, Harris and Bell are all in their 2nd year in the defense. Underwood and Bell both have a chance to be solid nickle players, although I would have felt a lot better with some new blood in there. Burnett is an exciting addition to the secondary.

Matthews is in his 2nd year. Jones is in his 2nd year. Both should be more assignment sure, stronger, and have better technique rushing the passer.

Capers will work hard to clean up some of last years confusion and he has great teaching tape to work with now.



And then the offense. . . They look to be better up front, Grant is showing no signs of falling off. Rodgers is just at that point where he's in his physical prime and had just enough seasoning to be really comfortable out there.


ST's can't be worse.


I like our chances. I think the Packers are elite this year.

[Bretsky]

What he said.

Again: Whom would you all have wanted TT to sign? Jason Taylor - then move your rookie of the year from last year to a new side? Adalius Thomas - whom the Pats did not want?

This is always the convenient argument. Do we have anybody out there better than guys like Bush or Breno the Italian Stallion ? Every year there are guys that can help us; the question is whether it's a good risk reward ratio.

And then cup that along with how do we know they were better than what we have. After all, guys like Chris Hope would have been no better than Jarrett Bush and no way he makes a difference a few years back

And then even if there were better players who is to say they'd have come to Green Bay ? To some the solution is just never to question because we're just a bunch of online yahoos. I'll never buy into that.

Lots of ways to skin a cat

[falco]

the question is whether it's a good risk reward ratio

This is a good point. No one else wanted to take a risk on Woodson (other than the Bucs I think).

I would be interested to see a list of all the great FA signings in the time sign TT has been here. I can't think of many offhand that made a big difference.

Off the top of my head, Michael Turner had a good first year in ATL; he was less than stellar last year, but I think he could have been good for GB.

[Pugger]

I can see the kool-aid is flowing.

Until someone tells me how the Packers got significantly better in defending the pass in the off season I ain't betting on them to win no Super Bowl.

Listening to some of ya, why don't we just build a statue of Thompson out front of Lambeau and put him right between Curly and Vince.

Your sarcasm is showing. No one here is declaring TT the second coming of Curly or Vince.

Do you not think adding Neal and Wilson to the D line will improve our pass rush? Or do you believe the pass rush comes mostly from the OLBers in Capers' scheme?

[Tarlam!]

Do we have anybody out there better than () Breno the Italian Stallion

Breno is, in fact, Brazilian. I know I'm splitting hairs....

Fans get to see some training camp, but we don't get 7/8ths of the info that TT and coaches get. If they cut guys like Breno or Harrell, then call them busts.

Every GM has a list of draft pick busts. The lengths of those lists are obviously a variable and it would be interesting to compare by team and GM how long each list actually is. I have a sneaking suspician that many would be surprised at TT's non bust list compared to most other teams/GMs.

TT is very sensitive to the overall status of the locker room; bringing in high profile FAs is a huge risk in more ways than just boom or bust for the player. Money comes into it and nothing is potentially more explosive for a locker room than a highly paid FA coming in. Jealousy is a curse, but it's a natural human trait.

Woodon and Pickett, even Chillar and Grant(I know, he was traded for, but he belongs in this discussion) have been largely successful because the big bucks they did get had to be earned (incentives, playing time etc.). It's the standard TT style contract. Unproven FAs don't get a heck of a lot in guarantees.

Does anybody here think a brand like Julious Peppers was going to a contract like TT's when teams like Da Bears are prepared to open the safe in guaranteed money?

I suggest TT's motivation is team balance, value and locker room fit.

[bobblehead]

I can see the kool-aid is flowing.

Until someone tells me how the Packers got significantly better in defending the pass in the off season I ain't betting on them to win no Super Bowl.

Maybe they won't lose 3 CB's this year to season ending injuries.

Maybe Underwood, a very talented player, will be better than he was as a rookie. Brad Jones too.

Maybe Capers will gameplan to stop Favre as much as he did to stop AP.

Maybe Josh Bell will be better now that he will have some time to learn the defense.

Maybe Morgan Burnett will be a better backup to Bigby than Derrick Martin.

Maybe everybody will be a little better in the 2nd year of this defense.


Vinnie Iyer of the Sporting News likes the Packers as one of the top teams in the league with staying power:

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/article/2010-05-14/49ers-top-list-emerging-teams-staying-power

thats a lot of maybes....and only one or two have to happen to make our pass D better. Simply having Harris back and giving BJones an offseason of pro work will help immensly I would think.....never mind the other 2 season ending injuries that could have kept bush off the field.