Ted Thompson

[Ballboy]

This should come as no surprise that the Packers are struggling.

We all know that MOST coaches/GM are EGO-Maniacs. TT, given his boyish appearance is all but this. He came here to GB to build HIS team and win a championship with HIS guys....not some left-overs from the past.

You ask....why did he keep Brett? The answer is easy....to avoid loss in money and income as he is a fan favorite.

Why else would he bring in young players and let them play? You ask why is Sharper gone? Whale? Rivera? Flannigan? Diggs? Walker?

Sure some of these may have had other motives($$), but TT wants HIS team to win.

[Packnut]

Re: Ted Thompson

This should come as no surprise that the Packers are struggling.

We all know that MOST coaches/GM are EGO-Maniacs. TT, given his boyish appearance is all but this. He came here to GB to build HIS team and win a championship with HIS guys....not some left-overs from the past.

You ask....why did he keep Brett? The answer is easy....to avoid loss in money and income as he is a fan favorite.

Why else would he bring in young players and let them play? You ask why is Sharper gone? Whale? Rivera? Flannigan? Diggs? Walker?

Sure some of these may have had other motives($$), but TT wants HIS team to win.

There is a distinct pattern for those who look hard enough. The facts are clear.

[MacCool606]

I know that people here feel the need to relax and wait for a couple of years, so TT can replenish the roster through the drafts. My problem is that, the 2006 Packer team is essentially an expansion team. Little experience, no time playing together, etc.
Why is it taken for granted that we will be winning and in the playoffs in 2 or 3 years. The people in Houston and Cleveland probably thought that too.
My point is that I have been a fan since I was 5 and can remember watching the games (that was in 1963), and I have seen this act before. Alot of hope, then disappointment. Teams like Pittsburgh went through tough times, but they were never taken all the way to zero.
One of my ex bosses used to say that if you don't learn from history you are destined to repeat it. I'm afraid that we are on that path. We are not guaranteed anything just because we are the Green Bay Packers.

[Scott Campbell]

I think the devil is in cahoots with the Chicago Bears, and together they orchastrated the hiring of Ted Thompson.

[Harlan Huckleby]

My problem is that, the 2006 Packer team is essentially an expansion team. Little experience, no time playing together, etc.
Why is it taken for granted that we will be winning and in the playoffs in 2 or 3 years. The people in Houston and Cleveland probably thought that too.

You make a very good point. There is no real advantage to sinking to 2-14. With free agency, 8-8 teams can restock just fine.

It's a black mark on Thompson that the team has sunk this low, if they do in fact finish worse than 4-12.

But even if they are horrible this year, it doesn't necessarily mean the team isn't set for a dramatic upswing.

[Partial]

I am going to go out on a limb and say that 1/6 of GMs maximum win a super bowl. I don't have much confidence in TT to get that done at this point. His track record is less than stellar, in my opinion.

[MJZiggy]

Partial, talk like that is just going to spur a whole other argument on TT's role in putting together the Seahawk roster and the dominant Packer roster before that...Ashes to ashes and that's what this horse has decomposed to he's been dead so long...

[vince]

I know that people here feel the need to relax and wait for a couple of years, so TT can replenish the roster through the drafts. My problem is that, the 2006 Packer team is essentially an expansion team. Little experience, no time playing together, etc.
Why is it taken for granted that we will be winning and in the playoffs in 2 or 3 years. The people in Houston and Cleveland probably thought that too.
My point is that I have been a fan since I was 5 and can remember watching the games (that was in 1963), and I have seen this act before. Alot of hope, then disappointment. Teams like Pittsburgh went through tough times, but they were never taken all the way to zero.
One of my ex bosses used to say that if you don't learn from history you are destined to repeat it. I'm afraid that we are on that path. We are not guaranteed anything just because we are the Green Bay Packers.

There is no question that IF the Packers aren't well on the path to glory within 2 or 3 years that TT will have failed in his efforts and will be fired. However, his strategies of building through the draft and making value-based free agent decisions are practically inarguable. Of course you can argue about who's "valuable" at what price and for how long - and who's not...

When you have a new coaching staff that you have to learn about, it doesn't make sense to go out and sign a bunch of free agents that may not be the right guys for how the new team comes together. As simple as it is to say that "losing is for losers" and throw around the "Green Bay Packer mystique is gone and it's unacceptable" perspective, the complex reality is that it takes time to build a sustainable winner. Continuously fighting the cap because you've consistently signed band-aids in order to maintain your perpetual 9-7, eek into the playoffs existence isn't what we as fans should want, IMO. In order to get what we should want, we had to take a step back in order to take two steps forward. You gotta break it down before you can rebuild it.

I think TT will do it sooner than 3 years. I have no doubt whatsoever that next year at this time, we'll ALL be singing a different tune - especially if Favre keeps himself in shape and comes back to lead the Pack again. He's still good folks, and next year, he'll even better, because his team around him will be better. If Brett retires after this year, then it'll take a little more time, because that adds a big question mark right in the middle of the equation...

Partial mentioned in this thread that only 1 in 6 GM's win a Super Bowl. That's because only 1 in 6 GM's have the balls to do it the way it MUST be done. They can't stand the heat of the fans' impatience, so they do things the riskless way that gets them no ultimate payoff by overpaying for FA's on the downside of their careers to make them competitive, but never elite, because they're constantly putting band-aids on their teams that lack the foundation of young depth that is needed when injuries come. They trade up in drafts, giving up draft picks, to get the exact person they want, only to see that individual not pan out into the sure-thing player they thought they were getting.

We're not there yet for sure, and the real gains probably won't come until the second half of the season, but when you look beyond this week and even next week, I am convinced we're on the way back.

Last week against the Bears was the bottom. Inexperienced coaches, inexperienced team, no timing, still learning and feeling each other out. As this team gains experience and learns more about itself, it will get better and better. Then, next offseason, when it knows more about itself, TT will be in a stronger position to sign the free agents that the team truly needs to help it succeed. Another draft to continue to build depth and add to the foundation of talent, and next year will be totally different.

I see a team with some holes to fill for sure - and some spots that will soon be holes... But overall, I see a team that has more talent than last year - albeit younger, more inexperienced talent that needs time to gain that experience - upon which the Packers will be able to substantially build around next year. They also have some aging people at some skilled positions...

It's been commented by a lot of people this week, but it appears that the ABSOLUTE FOUNDATION of the team - the D-line, is ready to stop the run consistently, and Kampman, with his superior work ethic both on and off the field, appears to have willed himself into a becoming superior D-lineman...

Hawk looked FAST out there for the first time against NO. You can't teach what he's got. The stuff he has to learn is now coming. LOOK OUT.

And Bush, who (here's a news flash) is going to be an absolute STUD if he stays healthy, couldn't shake Collins all game.

Woodson appears to be figuring things out, stepping up and getting his groove... Harris will be there. Manual can pop. Most of the big gains by NO were poor game planning by GB as a result of the coaches still learning about what they have - CORRECTABLE.

The coaches are learning about what works with this team too. Poppinga got burned for a big gain, and he's got work to do for sure, but in his defense, he got matched up with Joe Horn on the play. There's not a LB in the league that could have stayed with him there. That was simply an ill-advised switch when the tight end motioned wide and Woodson went outside to keep Poppinga inside.

The wins may be hard to come by this year - especially early, but we'll learn alot about what's needed next year as the year progresses, but I see some things to build around.

In the end, TT's methods are not for the impatient, and there are certainly less risky (but IMO ultimately less effective) ways to go about it. But I'm a high-risk, high-reward kind of guy. I accept the learning now because that's how you get back to the TOP.

Of course it isn't guaranteed, but I'd rather take the risk than trudge out a 9-7 team that never gets past the first round of the playoffs. That's what everyone else does, and that's why they don't win super bowls.

I've heard people say, "We should want to win every game, every year." I agree with that. Realistically achieving that means that we have to build the foundation. That's the state the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in... So go and check out the free agent signing history of the Steelers... Go on. I dare ya...

There's a right way to do it, and a wrong way to do it. Ted's doing it the right way. We're just at a point in the process that ain't much fun...

[MacCool606]

I'll give you that, and I'll try to remain optomistic. But, if I have to wait 30 years to get back to where we were just a few short years ago, I'll be in my late 70's. I could miss half of the games because they will play them during my nap time.

[Lurker64]

Seahawk fans were awfully disappointed two when their team was pretty mediocre for several years before they finally got it together. But that team drafted excellently (Sean Alexander, Steve Hutchinson, Michael Boulware, Darrell Jackson, Marcus Trufant, Ken Lucas, etc.) and became excellent.

I think Seattle is an excellent example of that Thompson knows how to draft. We can't get too when all of his projects fail, because if you make 11 picks a year you certainly aren't expecting all eleven of those guys to be stars. If you end up with a couple starters and a couple quality backups from a draft, it was a successful draft.

I think we need to wait longer than a year and two weeks to really condemn TT.

[FavreChild]

Well, if TT were our draft specialist, then I don't think there would be any complaints. But he's not. He's our lousy GM who is not respected.

[vince]

Well, if TT were our draft specialist, then I don't think there would be any complaints. But he's not. He's our lousy GM who is not respected.

I believe those people who disrespect him are wrong in their conclusions, and they will eat their words by next year.

[Scott Campbell]

Well, if TT were our draft specialist, then I don't think there would be any complaints. But he's not. He's our lousy GM who is not respected.

I believe those people who disrespect him are wrong in their conclusions, and they will eat their words by next year.

4-12. 0-2 start to this year. TT may very well turn it around and I hope he does, but people have every right to be dissapointed with the results thus far.

Of course those people who are calling for his termination already are just being silly, and don't get taken very seriously by the majority. And they're not the type to eat their words when they're wrong anyway.

[wist43]

I'm not calling for TT's head - yet.

When Wolfe came in in '92 he inherited a 4-12 team... the Packers went 9-7 that year. Wolfe traded for Favre, and stabalized the ship by bringing in some veterans who were near the end, but still had enough left in the tank to get the job done for one year.

While the vets were bringing stability to the situation, the young guys were learning... TT hasn't done that. TT has essentially thrown the young guys into the deep end of the pool to let them sink or swim.

Add that to the lack of veteran stability on the OL, and lack of play makers at the skill positions, and you have a team that really doesn't have much of a chance to win week in and week out.

TT has to bear the brunt of the criticism for that.

[Scott Campbell]

Add that to the lack of veteran stability on the OL.......

There weren't many of us who predicted the collapse of Clifton and Tauscher.