Ted Thompson's best move as Packers GM

[Scott Campbell]

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.

I don't think it's just one decision either. I don't think Aaron did it alone. There were decisions made that helped him (and Flynn) develop.

[Fritz]

Well, maybe some of Thompson's best moves were non-moves. NOT caving in to the media/blogosphere pressure to sign a big name free agent. NOT taking the seemingly "obvious" picks all the time, like the receiver he didn't take (Chad Jackson?) the same year he took Greg Jennings instead. NOT bringing Al Harris back because Al worked so hard to come back.

[pbmax]

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

We'll never know, but I wonder if there was any shred of doubt in Favre about having to compete with Rodgers for the job. At the time, that thought seemed sheer lunacy. But knowing what we know now (according to Brandt, there was little doubt inside Lambeau offices about Rodgers), was he worried about being upstaged?

That would give many men pause.

BTW, the best move was a tie between Rodgers and sticking to the young QB when Brett retired/unretired. But because there are so many other moves that could be labeled 1A, it becomes obvious why the team is playing at a high level.

[Tarlam!]

After weighing up all of TT's acquisitions it's easy to say the Rodgers gamble paid off handsomely and thus, that move was his best. But, nobody has mentioned the Sherman/M3 move, which I personally think was pretty darn good. Love him or not, "Stubby" as some of you call him is pretty decent. Even when Flynn played, they almost beat the Patsies. I dunno how much TT had to do with hiring Dom, but sheeeet, that's a great move right there!

But, I don't believe any single player or coach acquisition was his best move. I believe his best move was being himself from Day One, despite the horrific pressure from the NFL's most passionate and arguably most football literate fans. How many of us screamed when he let Wahle leave? Of course we all did the math, but geez, Wahle? Rivera? In the same off season?? Then Sharper, the Applebees Kicker, household names in GB.

TT's greatest achievement is only being felt this season, when so many starters can be replaced with minimal collateral damage, we fans know TT has done his job.

[Fritz]

We'll never know, but I wonder if there was any shred of doubt in Favre about having to compete with Rodgers for the job. At the time, that thought seemed sheer lunacy. But knowing what we know now (according to Brandt, there was little doubt inside Lambeau offices about Rodgers), was he worried about being upstaged?

That would give many men pause.

BTW, the best move was a tie between Rodgers and sticking to the young QB when Brett retired/unretired. But because there are so many other moves that could be labeled 1A, it becomes obvious why the team is playing at a high level.

Yes, that would give many men a pause.

[MadtownPacker]

As good as it turned out I dont see how anyone can call the Rodgers pick TT "best move". IMO he HAD to pick Rodgers when he fell to him. I knew it was going to be Rodgers once the teams in the teens didn't pick him. Call it TT's luckiest pick if you ask me.

Best actual move has to be Woodson, took a fading star and put him in a place where he has shined brighter than ever.

[BZnDallas]

As good as it turned out I dont see how anyone can call the Rodgers pick TT "best move". IMO he HAD to pick Rodgers when he fell to him. I knew it was going to be Rodgers once the teams in the teens didn't pick him. Call it TT's luckiest pick if you ask me.

Best actual move has to be Woodson, took a fading star and put him in a place where he has shined brighter than ever.

i dont know mad... couldn't you say that woodson fell in TTs lap aswell seeing as GB was the only team going to allow him to play CB?

i agree with the opinion that TTs best move was sticking to HIS plan... never let the pressure change the way he was going to build this team... collectively his moves have created something i enjoy watching every sunday... (except tomorrow!!!) so i have to give my vote as sticking the the plan...

[steve823]

Lets just agree that TT is the man. All these moves he made are great and are the reason why we are here. I would also consider TT's non-moves as important as his moves. Many teams go after free agents or big names, while TT didn't and got criticized for it time and time again. His patience paid off and he has a great team. The only problem in the future will be keeping all this talent and signing everyone....and that's a great problem to have.

[Patler]

As good as it turned out I dont see how anyone can call the Rodgers pick TT "best move". IMO he HAD to pick Rodgers when he fell to him. I knew it was going to be Rodgers once the teams in the teens didn't pick him. Call it TT's luckiest pick if you ask me.

He "HAD' to pick Rodgers? Seriously? Don't you agree that a number of teams ahead of the Packers would have taken Rodgers if they had known how he was going to turn out? Why didn't they "have" to take him? The Packers had an urgent need in the O-line. Why didn't they "Have to" take Mankins? If he "HAD" to take Rodgers, why did so many criticize the pick? For the next 12-18 months we heard more about TT having wasted his first pick than we heard about his good fortune in having Rodgers fall into his lap.

The only reason TT "had" to take Rodgers is because of his commitment to best player available, regardless of the present need for that player.

Saying he "HAD" to take Rodgers ignores the likelihood that other GMs in that same situation may not have taken Rodgers, such as those ahead of him that day that wish they had Rodgers now.

[Fritz]

Best player available...this means when Ted picks a tight end in the first round, I'm going to have to stifle my cries of anguish as my favorite right outside linebacker/cornerback sits and waits....

[vince]

1a. Trading up and paying a ton to get Clay Matthews
1b. Selecting Aaron Rodgers with Favre and a Bad D
1c. Signing Charles Woodson
1d. Drafting Jermichael Finley
1e. Sticking to His Guns with Favre
1f. Trading Down and Getting Greg Jennings
1g. Nick Collins from Bethune-Cookman
1h. Finding Tramon Williams
1i. Finding Sam Shields
1j. Sitton
1k. McCarthy
1l. Capers

12-way tie.

[Pugger]

[QUOTE=vince;572581]Favre is definitely one of Thompson's signature "moves," but when you look at the events that took place, I think Favre manipulated his way out of Green Bay more than Thompson got rid of him. There was a point of no return for Thompson in which he said the team had "moved on," and Favre was happy to put the "blame" on him, but without going back over the history, it's clear that he wanted out of town but didn't want to take the heat for leaving so he manipulated the situation into what it became.

If Favre wouldn't have "retired" he would have been the starting QB the next year.[QUOTE]

I agree with this. I too think Favre wanted out. Why else would a guy want to leave a team that was in the conference championship game just weeks before? I wonder if Favre feared he might have a hard time keeping Rodgers on the bench and he might lose his starting job during the next TC...?

To me TT's best move was pulling the trigger on Rodgers. I have a feeling there are 23 other GMs kicking themselves for passing on him that day.

[RashanGary]

Setting the schedule so that the injured players cannot travel with the team to Dallas or be a part of hte team photo. That was a genius one.

[swede]

12-way tie.

Heh heh! I got to the bottom and laughed out loud.

Seriously, though, when you lay those actions out many of them represent interrelated decisions. Aaron Rodgers fell to us--no doubt, but Ted stuck to his draft board as a matter of organizational policy. When no one in the public knew that Aaron might be pretty good, and when no one outside the organization had any idea that Aaron possessed a cocky, controlled cool and a drive to be great Ted and Mike were ready to give him his shot after Brent retired. And after Brent UNretired they stayed the course through the public relations nightmare. We've been over this all before but I think it really does show that Ted is really disciplined in his approach and strives to be fair as he can to people within the constraints of a business that demands that he hire and fire dozens of young men every year.

The one instance in which he may have gotten REALLY lucky is when LaVar Arrington turned down our competitive offer, making Charles Woodson move into the primary target as a free agent acquisition.

Even going after Arrington, in retrospect, seems a very Un-TT thing to do, and Arrington's lack of success afterward just goes to show that the free agent market is fraught with the peril that makes Ted so cautious to begin with.

[Smidgeon]

Heh heh! I got to the bottom and laughed out loud.

Seriously, though, when you lay those actions out many of them represent interrelated decisions. Aaron Rodgers fell to us--no doubt, but Ted stuck to his draft board as a matter of organizational policy. When no one in the public knew that Aaron might be pretty good, and when no one outside the organization had any idea that Aaron possessed a cocky, controlled cool and a drive to be great Ted and Mike were ready to give him his shot after Brent retired. And after Brent UNretired they stayed the course through the public relations nightmare. We've been over this all before but I think it really does show that Ted is really disciplined in his approach and strives to be fair as he can to people within the constraints of a business that demands that he hire and fire dozens of young men every year.

The one instance in which he may have gotten REALLY lucky is when LaVar Arrington turned down our competitive offer, making Charles Woodson move into the primary target as a free agent acquisition.

Even going after Arrington, in retrospect, seems a very Un-TT thing to do, and Arrington's lack of success afterward just goes to show that the free agent market is fraught with the peril that makes Ted so cautious to begin with.

Just like going after Woodson was a very Un-TT thing. But retrospect is great. What if Woodson bombed out and Arrington was the one to go onto another team and play five more solid years? Remember Woodson had been injured frequently before TT got him. And he threw big money at him and thought he was still a corner. That took a lot of risk, a lot of guts, a lot of faith in his scouts and sources, and he was rewarded with a DPOY, a player with better years in GB than in Oakland, and a tool for Dom Capers to create a unique defense in NFL history.