Ted Thompson's best move as Packers GM

[Little Whiskey]

The favre move combined with the Rodgers pick, i believe, was TT biggest chance for failure or reward. If rodgers busts and Favre gets away.......everyone associated with Favre gets canned and probably never works in the NFL again. he is labled the guy who let a HOF qb leave for a bust first round pick.

if mathews fails, he's just another draft pick that didn't pan out. no different than Reynolds or BJ Sanders.

[gex]

YUP...bf. AR fell to tt and it was a no-brainer to take him. after seeing what he could do, and feeling secure that he could do it on a regular basis, letting bf go was his best move. fixing the cap situation and scoring in the draft were/are in his normal job description. i wasn't always behind him 100% but am now...until he doesn't sign someone i like . lol

This is the right one IMO

[The Shadow]

It was his finest hour, and his most criticized hour. Lesser men would have caved.

Agreed, agreed, agreed.
He made the tough - but correct - move.
Took great courage.

[SMBASS]

It's also worth noting that one of the picks traded to get Matthews was the pick they got from the Jets for Favre. There was absolutely no chance they would actually make that pick, they were going to trade it either to move up or for multiple picks when moving down. They absolutely did not want to saddle somebody with the label of "the player the Packers got for Favre."

I thought the same thing at the time of the draft Lurker. In addition, we were in the process of switching to a 3-4 defense and I think the 09 draft was the first year since Ted had been here that the roster had been re-stocked to a point where he didn't need numbers in the draft anymore. At the time he had finally positioned things to a point where he could take a chance and try to get a couple of impact players instead of drafting a bunch of mid-tier players.

[hoosier]

After ARod and Matthews one of the best moves TT made was one he didn't make, and not necessarily because he didn't try. If Lavar Arrington had signed with GB it's quite possible he wouldn't have pursued Woodson. And then everything on defense would have worked out very differently.

[Iron Mike]

Then again, he failed to draft Michael Huff.....

[SMBASS]

After ARod and Matthews one of the best moves TT made was one he didn't make, and not necessarily because he didn't try. If Lavar Arrington had signed with GB it's quite possible he wouldn't have pursued Woodson. And then everything on defense would have worked out very differently.

You're absolutely right...and I guess if in 1996 Baltimore wouldn't have been involved in a complex multiple team trade that allowed them to jump one spot ahead of us and take Ray Lewis at #26 we would have taken him instead of the unfortunately forgettable John Michels and things would have worked out very differently!

[Little Whiskey]

You're absolutely right...and I guess if in 1996 Baltimore wouldn't have been involved in a complex multiple team trade that allowed them to jump one spot ahead of us and take Ray Lewis at #26 we would have taken him instead of the unfortunately forgettable John Michels and things would have worked out very differently!

good call! but that was wolf not TT

[SMBASS]

good call! but that was wolf not TT

I know L.W... The thing is, you can play the "what if" game all day long. T.T. tried for Arrington first but if I remember correctly Arrington wanted to play for the Giants so he could face Washington twice a year. (At least that's what he said.) The Giants may have even offered him a little more money but I honestly can't remember for sure. Of course we all know Arrington was constantly hurt and never lived up to the contract they gave him.

The next best prize sitting out there was C. Wood and he had question marks as we all know. Well, he didn't get a huge "break the bank" contract because it came down to us and Tampa and because they wanted him to play safety it was one of the deciding factors in his coming to G.B.. Evidently T.T. saw enough and believed enough in him to give him a chance to prove himself. Plus he had been an excellent player at one time for Oakland.

My point was that every team can go back and find a million examples of how things would have been very different if circumstances beyond the G.M.'s control would have changed. It happens all the time and sometimes things are just meant to work out the way they do no matter what the G.M. originally had in mind.

[Guiness]

After ARod and Matthews one of the best moves TT made was one he didn't make, and not necessarily because he didn't try. If Lavar Arrington had signed with GB it's quite possible he wouldn't have pursued Woodson. And then everything on defense would have worked out very differently.

By all accounts, that was total luck. He pursued Arrington, had a contract nearly in place, but LA decided to stay in the division so he could stick it to his old team twice a year. Once he was gone, plan b was Woodson. Woodson was signed late in the FA period.

If LA had decided to come to GB, I don't think we even look at Woodson. I wonder where Lavar and his wonky knees are these days?

[Patler]

After ARod and Matthews one of the best moves TT made was one he didn't make, and not necessarily because he didn't try. If Lavar Arrington had signed with GB it's quite possible he wouldn't have pursued Woodson. And then everything on defense would have worked out very differently.

So he doesn't get Woodson, and the Packers have a win or two less in 2006. Puts them higher in the draft and rather than taking Harrell at #16 he takes Revis at #14 or higher. Or maybe rather than beating MN twice in 2006 in close games they lose both and end up 6-10 and the Vikings 8-8, essentially switching spots. Then, in the 2007 draft TT takes Adrian Peterson, or Patrick Willis instead of Harrell.

My point is you can't just switch Arrington for Woodson and assume everything else would have stayed the same. If Woodson is the reason they won more games, drafts would have been different and instead of Harrell and Nelson as the first picks in the next two drafts TT might actually have had a couple difference makers, like Revis and Chris Johnson. The Packers might be better today because of it.

[Brandon494]

Aaron Rodgers and its not even close.

The most important position in football is the QB, and to find an elite player like Aaron Rodgers only comes once every 5 years or so. Clay Matthews was a great pick but you can find a pass rusher every year in the draft. Same cant be said aobut a franchise QB.

[ND72]

It was his finest hour, and his most criticized hour. Lesser men would have caved.

It's looking as if Favre's best chance to get himself another ring would have been to be Rodgers Backup....

[RashanGary]

So he doesn't get Woodson, and the Packers have a win or two less in 2006. Puts them higher in the draft and rather than taking Harrell at #16 he takes Revis at #14 or higher. Or maybe rather than beating MN twice in 2006 in close games they lose both and end up 6-10 and the Vikings 8-8, essentially switching spots. Then, in the 2007 draft TT takes Adrian Peterson, or Patrick Willis instead of Harrell.

My point is you can't just switch Arrington for Woodson and assume everything else would have stayed the same. If Woodson is the reason they won more games, drafts would have been different and instead of Harrell and Nelson as the first picks in the next two drafts TT might actually have had a couple difference makers, like Revis and Chris Johnson. The Packers might be better today because of it.

Nice. I'll add on to the thought a little. An excellent GM (like it appears Thompson is) isn't destroyed by a few bad decisions (Harrell, Marquand Manual, Terrence Murphy [bad luck].) A very good GM has the good out number the bad in a way that's superior to his opposition.

Which brings me to an old topic, Mike Sherman. I remember his supporters used to say, "he had a good plan of attack and it almost worked if not for Joe Johnson's surprisingly low performance once he got here and injuries." From time to time injuries do effect seasons in a negative way. Bad moves to happen to every GM, but with Sherman, it was a slow plummet from excellence the year he took over to age and cap issues when he left. The good weren't outnumbering the bad. He wasn't reaching out to key players before their contracts were up to get discounts. He wasn't replenishing talent through the draft by taking the BPA on his scouts boards.

Ted has made a couple amazing decisions but it seems he's more of an "overall body of work" GM than a one or two lucky shots kinda GM.

[mraynrand]

Aaron Rodgers and its not even close.

The most important position in football is the QB, and to find an elite player like Aaron Rodgers only comes once every 5 years or so. Clay Matthews was a great pick but you can find a pass rusher every year in the draft. Same cant be said aobut a franchise QB.

So why is Aaron Rodgers elite? Wasn't he another Tedford QB with a weird delivery and all that? I wonder how he became elite?