Interesting Ditka Quote

[Packnut]

"It takes longer than a day for a sick dog to get well and this dog ain't going to get well in one day, believe me," Ditka said. "They got problems and the problems are brought on by the front office."


I know, I know. The TT backers will denounce Ditka in order to support their view. However, he is not the first in the main-stream sports media to criticize TT andhe damn well sure won't be the last as the losses pile up.

[packinpatland]

Ditka is a smart man.

[rbaloha1]

Ditka is a smart man?

A guy who trades his entire draft for a doper is not a smart man.

[Noodle]

Re: Ditka is a smart man?

A guy who trades his entire draft for a doper is not a smart man.

Depends -- does the doper share?

[packinpatland]

Re: Ditka is a smart man?

A guy who trades his entire draft for a doper is not a smart man.

I'm sorry, but what did he do?

[AtlPackFan]

Ditka was ragging on Thompson last year already. All Ditka did was see 12-4 before Thompson, 4-12 after and assumed all the blame was Thompson's. He didn't dig to see that Sherman had less than stellar drafts, terrible free agent signings and had put the Packers in cap hell.

As I have stated before, I am not a Thompson apologist and I don't have much confidence that he and McCarthy can turn this around but to place all the blame for the Packers current woes at Thompson's feet is ludicrous and is another example of the ill-informed national media.

[packinpatland]

I think you're wrong there.
TT IS responsible for our front O-Line not being all it could be, he let Javon Walker go, he let Sharper go, and now I'm wondering why he let Longwell go( who knew he could throw?).
Yes, Walker wanted to leave, but it was his job to make him want otherwise. Except for Hawk, I really don't see much that TT has done...........yet.
I know this is all rehash stuff................Ditka just said it outloud on national TV

[GoPack06]

Dikta is the most overrated coach ever. He won a super bowl cause of Buddy Ryan and his defense. Ditka just got popular cause hes nuts.

He's a joke and his coaching record shows it after He lost Buddy Ryan.

[Patler]

I think you're wrong there.
TT IS responsible for our front O-Line not being all it could be, he let Javon Walker go, he let Sharper go, and now I'm wondering why he let Longwell go( who knew he could throw?).
Yes, Walker wanted to leave, but it was his job to make him want otherwise. Except for Hawk, I really don't see much that TT has done...........yet.
I know this is all rehash stuff................Ditka just said it outloud on national TV

Please explain the term "let (insert player name) go".
I hear this time and time again, but no one has explained how he was supposed to retain all those players. Saying "there had to be a way" simply does not cut it. The Packers were looking at being millions and millions of dollars over the cap limit. In a lot of ways their hands were tied going into the 2005 FA period.

As for Walker, whether that was right or wrong will be determined by the production of the players received in return.

[swede]

I think you're wrong there.
TT IS responsible for our front O-Line not being all it could be, he let Javon Walker go, he let Sharper go, and now I'm wondering why he let Longwell go( who knew he could throw?).
Yes, Walker wanted to leave, but it was his job to make him want otherwise. Except for Hawk, I really don't see much that TT has done...........yet.
I know this is all rehash stuff................Ditka just said it outloud on national TV

Please explain the term "let (insert player name) go".
I hear this time and time again, but no one has explained how he was supposed to retain all those players. Saying "there had to be a way" simply does not cut it. The Packers were looking at being millions and millions of dollars over the cap limit. In a lot of ways their hands were tied going into the 2005 FA period.

As for Walker, whether that was right or wrong will be determined by the production of the players received in return.

Patler, i agree with you.

Before the game last week and after the game this week I heard sports radio personalities referring to Wahle and pointing out the voluminous cap room that should have been used to sign Wahle. The cap situation was hugely different prior to the new CBA and I wished that I could have been God long enough to put you on the line with them to straighten them out.

And--even if you can fault TT for not having prognosticated that the league owners would elevate the cap high enough to get certain owners' tails out of the meat grinder--I don't believe Wahle wanted to stay. If he'd wanted to stay he would have stayed and been paid well--somehow--in a cap-friendly way.

I see no proof that TT didn't want to keep Wahle. I think it goes the other way around.

[MacCool606]

I think TT could help his cuase if he would just lay out his "plan". He is supposedly a Ron Wolf disciple. Ron Wolf wasn't coy in describing his ratings of his players. If he thought he needed an upgrade, he would say it.
When TT gives a flippant answer to legitimate questions, it makes me wonder if he really has a clue.
Wouldn't it be refreshing if there would be an interview with TT where you knew more coming out than you did going in?

[Packnut]

Cap

I think you're wrong there.
TT IS responsible for our front O-Line not being all it could be, he let Javon Walker go, he let Sharper go, and now I'm wondering why he let Longwell go( who knew he could throw?).
Yes, Walker wanted to leave, but it was his job to make him want otherwise. Except for Hawk, I really don't see much that TT has done...........yet.
I know this is all rehash stuff................Ditka just said it outloud on national TV

Please explain the term "let (insert player name) go".
I hear this time and time again, but no one has explained how he was supposed to retain all those players. Saying "there had to be a way" simply does not cut it. The Packers were looking at being millions and millions of dollars over the cap limit. In a lot of ways their hands were tied going into the 2005 FA period.

As for Walker, whether that was right or wrong will be determined by the production of the players received in return.

I just can't let this cap excuse fly anymore cause it's nothing but a smoke screen used by you guys to defend TT. There have been SEVERAL people including Noble who stated TT made no effort to keep guys like Sharper and Wahle. You want to know how? It's very simple. Hunt for 1 should have been cut right away along with some of the other dead weight we had. Then TT should have went to Favre and had him re-structure like Brett has done done in the past. There may have been a few other guys willing to do the same thing. Every idiot on earth knew the cap was going way up except TT.

Other teams do it in order to keep their blue chip players. The cap keeps increasing and if you work it right it can be done. The truth is this is not about the cap but the fact TT thought Sharper was washed up. He did'nt bother to do his homework to find out Sharper played hurt which is what made him look bad. Who would'nt rather have Sharper than Manuel right now? As far as Wahle well I think the "guards are a dime a dozen" quote speaks for itself.

TT made terrible mistakes as far as player evaluation went. Funny how he had $800k in a signing bonus to give that garbage guard he signed and nothing is said about that. There are so many proven facts about TT's mistakes that it really is sad that guys like you still defend him.

[lord favre]

Dikta is the most overrated coach ever. He won a super bowl cause of Buddy Ryan and his defense. Ditka just got popular cause hes nuts.

He's a joke and his coaching record shows it after He lost Buddy Ryan.

As a Bears fan it pains me to admit you are right. Thta team should have won 3 or 4 superbowls, this was before free agency when you could actually have a dynasty. His handling of the QB situation in '86 split the team right down the middle. Starting Flutie poisoned the team. They won in spite of his blowhard ass.

[Joemailman]

Ditka, like many coaches, tends to be loyal to other coaches. The fact that TT fired Sherman did not sit well with Ditka. I think it is Ditka's feeling that Sherman should not be have been fired, and likewise, that people should not criticize McCarthy if things don't go well here in the near future.

I think it is still too early to judge whether Thompson can handle the job. I do think, however, that he is finding out that being GM is a lot different than running a draft.

[Patler]

Re: Cap

I just can't let this cap excuse fly anymore cause it's nothing but a smoke screen used by you guys to defend TT. There have been SEVERAL people including Noble who stated TT made no effort to keep guys like Sharper and Wahle. You want to know how? It's very simple. Hunt for 1 should have been cut right away along with some of the other dead weight we had. Then TT should have went to Favre and had him re-structure like Brett has done done in the past. There may have been a few other guys willing to do the same thing. Every idiot on earth knew the cap was going way up except TT.

Other teams do it in order to keep their blue chip players. The cap keeps increasing and if you work it right it can be done. The truth is this is not about the cap but the fact TT thought Sharper was washed up. He did'nt bother to do his homework to find out Sharper played hurt which is what made him look bad. Who would'nt rather have Sharper than Manuel right now? As far as Wahle well I think the "guards are a dime a dozen" quote speaks for itself.

It was all about the cap in 2005, not 2006. How much were the Packers over the cap before anyone was released? Do you have any idea? It was more than $11 million on an $85 million cap.

Restructure Favre? Not possible. There was an article last year that mentioned Favre's contract was not elligible for restructuring in 2005. There are limits on how often a player's contract can be restructured. Not more than once in 12 months, or something like that, and there are imits on what parts of the payments can be restructured based on what was restructured before. For example, I believe, though I'm not certain on this, that a roster bonus that is guaranteed so as to be spread out over the remaining years of the contract can not be toyed with later. The article was very clear that nothing could be done with Favre's contract in 2005 to help with the 2005 salary cap.

Cutting Hunt couldn't be done to improve the chance to sign Wahle If Hunt was cut before June 1 it would have actually worsened the salary cap situation. His entire cap hit would have been in 2005, none deferred to 2006 as it has been now by releasing him after June 1. That would have been $4.4 million. So there was nothing to be done with Hunt in March.

Look at the salary list for 2005. No significant roster bonuses that could be guaranteed to gain significant cap space. The highest were Favre, KGB, Harris and Ferguson at a million each. Favre wasn't elligible, Harris may not have been either since he had signed a new deal during the 2004 season. Amortizing KGB's over the remaining 5 year life would have gained a whopping $800,000 and amortizing Fergusons over his remaining 4 years would have gained $750,000. The rest were even more nickel and dime stuff.

The only places to gain cap room were with Wahle and Sharper themselves

You write as if blue chip players are never allowed to leave. This year alone Hutchinson, Bentley, Edjerrin James and Vinatieri were "let go" by their clubs. All were among the best at their positions. How about Brees, McNair, Terrell Owens? Also "let go". Branch was let go in the same way Walker was, via a trade. How about Culpepper? Sometimes salary caps get into situations that give you no choice, or players orchestrate things to get what they want (Hutchinson, Walker, Owens, Branch).

Thsi argument that TT could have done "something" to keep Wahle, Rivera and Sharper ignores the true facts of the situation in March 2005.