First-round draft picks have saved the Packers

[ND72]

Back to the topic though, I think Ted's ability to draft and many people's opinion that 1st round is the "big" round needs to also see how his 2nd and 3rd round picks have come through. I know he has had some misses, but those 2 rounds have put 11 guys still on the team with probably 10 of them actually looking like players.

2010
2nd Round - Mike Neal (Injury - looks good)
3rd Round - Morgan Burnett (Injury - Looks good)

2009
2nd Round - Jordy Nelson
2nd Round - Brian Brohm (Sucked)
2nd Round - Pat Lee (TBD)
3rd Round - Jermichael Finley

2007
2nd Round - Brandon Jackson
3rd Round - James Jones
3rd Round - Aaron Rouse (bust)

2006
2nd Round - Daryn Colledge
2nd Round - Greg Jennings
3rd Round - Abdul Hodge (Injury)
3rd Round - Jason Spitz

2005
2nd Round - Nick Collins
2nd Round - Terrance Murphy (Injury)

[Patler]

I will always wonder what TT and MM would have done if Favre had not opened the door for them by "retiring". How long would they have stuck with him? What kind of opportunities would they have given Rodgers even with Favre on the roster? Etc.

I think both are on record (I am sure about McCarthy) that he would have been the unquestioned starter in 2008 had he committed to coming back in the Spring. Beyond that they have commented that they would have tried to sign Rodgers to keep him around. But understood he would be anxious to leave.

I agree, the job was Favre's for 2008 to start camp, but would Rodgers have had any opportunities? Would a Favre injury have been used as their excuse to get Rodgers in, even if the injury was not real serious? If Favre had a bad game or two, would Rodgers have had chances in those games? Would they have traded Favre in 2009, or opened up the spot to competition in 2009?

I don't think they were of a mind to stick with Favre as long as Favre wanted to play, necessarily. They had two seasons to do something with Rodgers, his original contract was through 2009. It could have been even uglier than it turned out to be with Favre. Both TT and MM seemed confident in Rodgers in 2008, and I think they would have done something to keep him other than just offering him a new contract.

[Patler]

I started reading, and then decided to just post.

Couple things I've noticed, mostly from RG...Ted Thompson has NO media responsiblities. When he speaks to the media, it is by his choice, and his choice alone. The NFL does not regulate the GM make any appearance to the media. the only time the NFL "asks" a GM to speak is before the NFL draft, and that's it, but they still don't have to.

Good point, and reminded me of an article a couple years ago about TT. The writer pointed out a couple of very good GM's that are rarely seen or heard from, and said the local media was spoiled because Wolf liked to talk to the media even if it was just to mislead them.

[Bossman641]

I agree, the job was Favre's for 2008 to start camp, but would Rodgers have had any opportunities? Would a Favre injury have been used as their excuse to get Rodgers in, even if the injury was not real serious? If Favre had a bad game or two, would Rodgers have had chances in those games? Would they have traded Favre in 2009, or opened up the spot to competition in 2009?

I don't think they were of a mind to stick with Favre as long as Favre wanted to play, necessarily. They had two seasons to do something with Rodgers, his original contract was through 2009. It could have been even uglier than it turned out to be with Favre. Both TT and MM seemed confident in Rodgers in 2008, and I think they would have done something to keep him other than just offering him a new contract.

Thinking about that situation makes me shudder.

There is no way they would have been able to get rid of Favre after the 07 season. I highly doubt they would have been able to have a QB competition or even to pull Favre from games without the media and fans turnin on them.

Favre's retirement might have been the best thing to ever happen for TT/MM. It certainly wasn't the band-aid, rip it off fix that it could or should have been, but it would be much worse seein Rodgers in another uniform for the next 10 years.

The thing that still bothers me is the media's perception that TT forced Favre out of town. While I disagree that he was "forced out" in the first place, if anybody forced him out it was MM. Recall that MM was the one who sat down with Favre and decided that Favre was not in the right state of mind. The decision to go Rodgers over Favre was a lot more MM than TT in my opinion.

[Noodle]

Giving a reporter an exclusive tip once in a while, might be a nice thing to do. For example, when he decided to release Al Harris, he could have given an exclusive interview in 5 minutes talking about the great contributions he's made to the team over the years, and that he released him because he wanted him to be able to start and those opportunities were not available here, and Al deserved better than being the 4th string cornerback.

What did we get? Silence and a three line press release.

I see that as a missed opportunity.

I respect what TT has done, but RG makes a good point here. Sure, TT didn't have to do it, and a lot of GM's wouldn't have done it, but I think something like what RG suggests can help make GB a more attractive place for players to be.

One of the biggest rules in life is the Clint Eastwood maxim: A man's got to know his limitations. TT has to know that he's got a blind spot when it comes to this kind of thing, so why not trust and rely on a good media relations guy who might make something like what RG suggests happen? Heck, it doesn't have to be TT doing the interview, it could be someone else in the organization, but how you handle players leaving is only a little less important than how you handle bringing them in.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I'd like to think Thompson was somewhere like Pine Bluff, Arkansas or Butte, Montana look for the next no name UFDA to sign.

“We want to thank Al for his contributions to the Green Bay Packers,” Thompson said. “His hard work, dedication and professionalism have been the keys to his success. During his time here, he has been a valuable member of our organization and our community. We wish him the very best in the future and he will always be a part of the Packer family.”

[cheesner]

RW built a roster which should have won 3 consecutive super bowls. Its not RW's fault the packers lost to the Broncos and the 49'ers the following year

One can look at it this way, the Packers pre wolf: 75ish years and 11 championships, or less than 7 years per championship. Under Wolf? 1 championship in 15 years. In other words, Wolf underperformed to the Packer standard.


Of course this is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but on the serious side, I am with Patler on this. Wolf hit on a lot of 3rd round picks and definitely took advantage of the new FA system to build a great team. But as far as hitting those high picks, not so much.

[Guiness]

RW built a roster which should have won 3 consecutive super bowls. Its not RW's fault the packers lost to the cheating Broncos and the 49'ers the following year

fixed

[Zool]

Good point, and reminded me of an article a couple years ago about TT. The writer pointed out a couple of very good GM's that are rarely seen or heard from, and said the local media was spoiled because Wolf liked to talk to the media even if it was just to mislead them.

I'd go as far as to say the reason Thompson is so out in the open in GB is because there is no team owner to take some of that spotlight away.

[Noodle]

Good point, Zool. Murphy could be doing more of the communicating -- Harlan certainly didn't mind being in the press. But I never hear a thing out of Murphy. Seems a little odd.

[ND72]

Lombardi hated the media. Just throwin that one out there.

[channtheman]

Good point, Zool. Murphy could be doing more of the communicating -- Harlan certainly didn't mind being in the press. But I never hear a thing out of Murphy. Seems a little odd.

Murphy does have time to hand write responses to letters he gets (my dad wrote to him about the lame Packer G in the middle of the field and the unfilled endzones during the preseason).

[Patler]

Good point, Zool. Murphy could be doing more of the communicating -- Harlan certainly didn't mind being in the press. But I never hear a thing out of Murphy. Seems a little odd.

I have been surprised at that, too. Murphy is seen very little. I thought he might grab the "face of the team" role and run with it, having been a trial attorney for a while. But we seem to hear even less from him then from TT.

[Scott Campbell]

I respect what TT has done, but RG makes a good point here. Sure, TT didn't have to do it, and a lot of GM's wouldn't have done it, but I think something like what RG suggests can help make GB a more attractive place for players to be.

One of the biggest rules in life is the Clint Eastwood maxim: A man's got to know his limitations. TT has to know that he's got a blind spot when it comes to this kind of thing, so why not trust and rely on a good media relations guy who might make something like what RG suggests happen? Heck, it doesn't have to be TT doing the interview, it could be someone else in the organization, but how you handle players leaving is only a little less important than how you handle bringing them in.

I'm not sure. It would have been a nice gesture, but it could have blown up. At first they tried to be nice about Brett retiring, and everything they said and did ended up being used against them.

[Lurker64]

I have been surprised at that, too. Murphy is seen very little. I thought he might grab the "face of the team" role and run with it, having been a trial attorney for a while. But we seem to hear even less from him then from TT.

What do you suppose the odds are that he's seen quite a bit more after the whole CBA kerfuffle is resolved? Since Murphy is the guy in charge of one of the smallest market teams, and the only team whose books are made public, it's entirely likely that Goodell has him on a short leash lest Murphy say or do something that undermines the league's position.