Free Agents and Green Bay

[Brandon494]

Well, I'm not arguing that other places don't have a bigger draw. Who wouldn't want to live in New York or LA or Miami or Texas? They're great places with lots of draws. And I will concede that if salary was a wash and you had your choice between the 49ers and GB, some people would take the nicer weather but I'm sure there's a large amount of people who want the tradition and fanaticism.

Unless you grew up a Packers fan 99% of football players are going to pick 49ers.

[mraynrand]

For a young black adult star athlete, Green Bay is about as much fun as cancer.

[Brandon494]

Even for millions of dollars?

Well considering you can make millions of dollars else where....

[Brandon494]

For a young black adult star athlete, Green Bay is about as much fun as cancer.

Not only blacks, Jim Kelly named the Packers as one of the teams he didn't want to play for. You are young millionaire....why the hell would you want to live in Green Bay over other major cities.

I'm not knocking Green Bay but its like asking me if I'd rather fuck Scarlett Johansson or Meryl Streep.

[mraynrand]

The positives: Players make more and thus are more mobile - they can get away from GB quickly after the season is over in Jan and fly in and out for OTAs. Technology keeps them connected to their buds during the season. Green Bay does appeal to the players who really want to focus without distractions during the season. So unless you like ice fishing or snow shoeing (or occasional desultory hunting like Corey Williams), there's not much to draw you away from the work at hand.

[woodbuck27]

Irvin was an idiot cokehead though. Of course a guy like that doesn't want to go to a small city and a rural area. Yeah players who want the lights are going to be hard to bring in, but those usually aren't the kind of guys our team wants in the first place.

Whatever and coke:

Michael "The Playmaker' Irvin was flat out a sensational WR. Flat out a sensational team player for the Boys and in his prime; a burr under the Green Bay Packers saddle.

When I review film of him I'm always impressed. I get to see him a lot on NFL Access and over time have grown to appreciate him more. I wasn't a fan of his in the 1990's as he was so fricken' good and hurt the Green Bay Packers as a major foe. He was a part of "The Triplets" along with Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith and is known as one if not the greatest Dallas Cowboy All Time.

Career history ... Dallas Cowboys (1988–1999)

Career highlights and awards:

5 × Pro Bowl (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995) ; AP First-Team All-Pro (1991)
2 × AP Second-Team All-Pro (1992, 1993);

3 × Super Bowl champion (XXVII, XXVIII, XXX)

3 × NFC Champion (1992, 1993, 1995)

NFL 1990s All-Decade Team

NFL single season record eleven 100-yard games (1995)

Pro Bowl MVP (1991)

Dallas Cowboys Ring of Honor; Ranked 92nd by The Top 100: NFL's Greatest Players


Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee (2007)


Career NFL statistics:

Receptions 750 ; Receiving yards 11,904 ; Touchdowns 65

Where can Ted Thompson find a cokehead like that?

It doesn't matter as Ted Thompson's Legacy will always be defined by the luck that was Aaron Rodgers falling all the way down to pick NO. 24 in the 2005 Draft. The one time that picking BPA did work out very well.

Really and to date where would Ted Thompson be as a NFL GM and no Aaron Rodgers?

I hear a sink faucet dripping.

[Zool]

When your wiki page has a section for "Legal Troubles" with multiple links, you're an asshole. Michael Irvin is an asshole. Being a good football player does not excuse him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael...Legal_troubles

[pbmax]

Its obviously a factor. Woodson is proof you can spend enough to overcome it. But if a player has options, it is probably a point in favor of the bigger city.

Having regularly secured good players in FA and continued success, plus Rodgers and a Super Bowl winning coach are pretty good selling points. From White, Santana Dotson, Seth Joyner, Al Harris (trade plus contract extensions), Woodson, Pickett and Peppers, its clear you can come to Green Bay and do well. If you secure one of those guys every few years, the story you can sell to a prospect is pretty positive.

[ThunderDan]

Receptions 750 ; Receiving yards 11,904 ; Touchdowns 65

Where can Ted Thompson find a cokehead like that?

It doesn't matter as Ted Thompson's Legacy will always be defined by the luck that was Aaron Rodgers falling all the way down to pick NO. 24 in the 2005 Draft. The one time that picking BPA did work out very well.

Really and to date where would Ted Thompson be as a NFL GM and no Aaron Rodgers?

I hear a sink faucet dripping.

Jordy Nelson: 302 rec, 4,590 yards, 36 TDs
If he plays the next 4 years like the last 3 he will be at:
600 rec, 9,400 yards, 80 TDs

Gregg Jennings: As a Packer 425 rec, 6,537 yards, 53 TDs in 7 years

James Jones: 310 rec, 4,305 yards, 37 TDs in 7 years

Randall Cobb: 136 rec, 1,736 yards, 13 TDs in 3 years

Four above average WR a couple who could become HOF material without injuries (Jennings and Cobb)

TT's legacy will be defined by his Super Bowl win and being able to guide the Packers from the Favre era to the Rodgers era. That he had the foresight to draft AR when he had a HOF, MVP caliber QB on his roster speaks volumes to his expertise not luck.

Also, are you really supporting drug use as a way of life? You seem to be telling TT to draft drug addicts something I would never suspect someone of your character to do.

[Smeefers]

Unless you grew up a Packers fan 99% of football players are going to pick 49ers.

You win. You've blown me away with your persuasive argument. No one wants to play in Green Bay except for former residents.

[Brandon494]

You win. You've blown me away with your persuasive argument. No one wants to play in Green Bay except for former residents.

Green Bay is obviously a great place because once players come here they love it. I'm just stating as far as FA destinations we will always be near the bottom of the list for most players.

[call_me_ishmael]

What do he suppose to say?

[Just Jeff]

99% of the players, all things being equal, would rather go to south florida, the west or east coast, maybe chicago. All things aren't equal. Most of the comments about not wanting to go to GB go back to the times when we sucked. I think that GB post 1992 is a far more inviting place than pre 1992.

[Guiness]

It doesn't matter as Ted Thompson's Legacy will always be defined by the luck that was Aaron Rodgers falling all the way down to pick NO. 24 in the 2005 Draft. The one time that picking BPA did work out very well.

Really and to date where would Ted Thompson be as a NFL GM and no Aaron Rodgers?

I hear a sink faucet dripping.

The one time? Come on Woody, that's pure foolishness and you know it.



I will grant that Irving was a great player though. He physically dominated corners and got away with physically abusing them.

As Zool pointed out, he wasn't very fond of the 'straight and narrow' but it's interesting to read his legal troubles. A line from his first brush with the law: "When arrested he was lying on the floor covered in cocaine with multiple strippers performing sexual acts upon him". Not sure that makes him an asshole!
He undoubtedly like to party, but it seems he was a pretty slippery guy. I think he ended up with only one conviction, from the initial incident?

[Patler]

Yea I've been saying this for how long? I mean its common sense really.

I'm sure Green Bay is a great place to grow up but no one wants to live in a small town with shitty weather while in the prime of their young life.

Well considering you can make millions of dollars else where....

Green Bay is obviously a great place because once players come here they love it. I'm just stating as far as FA destinations we were always be at the bottom of the list for most players.

I agree with all of that, and it also explains a lot of what TT says and what we see happen with FAs and Green Bay.

TT often has said the team does pursue free agents every year, yet we seldom see any signed. Since TT is loathe to overpay an outside FA, even if he makes competitive offers, they don't come to GB. We have seen numerous times when even middle range and lower FA's have gone to visit one team, acknowledge that GB was scheduled for a visit, but sign without ever going there. I don't think it is a coincidence that GB always seems to be their last visit.

Sure, a player doesn't have to live year around in GB, but he does have to live there for the better part of 6 months. While football consumes a great part of their time, they have evenings and off days throughout that time. Even if they aren't looking for the fast-track nightlife, their options in GB are limited. How many options do they have for a nice low-key evening? How many good places are there to eat compared to cities that are much larger? Shopping? Entertainment? For those who are married and have a wife or kids to go home to it's one thing, for an unmarried guy in his 20's it is quite different. How does he spend his free time?

Saying that the team looks for "Packer people" isn't snobbishness. It is a practical approach to looking for players and employees who are comfortable in a quiet midwest atmosphere. A young player looking for a good place to raise his growing family, a guy like Ryan Pickett, may chose GB over other options, especially if he is also one who enjoys fishing, hunting and other activities easily available in GB. An older veteran who knows the end of his career is only a few years off may chose GB because they want the chance of playoffs every year. But GB isn't the only place to do that.

Many criticize TT for not signing any of the many older vets who sign quite cheaply and serve as emergency fill ins. I'm not sure how easy it is for him to do that. If a 10+ year vet knows he won't get much more than a million or so from anyone, but has his option of going to SF, Seattle, Denver or Green Bay, why would he pick GB? Only something directly related to his opportunity to play. All being equal, he is likely to go somewhere else.

This is not a knock against GB, just a recognition of the fact that the atmosphere of a very small town area in the northern midwest region is not one that is appealing to very many of the typical pro athlete personalities. For some it is, but not too many.